Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jul 2002 Source: Star, The (Malaysia) Copyright: 2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. Contact: http://www.thestar.com.my Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/922 Author: Reuters COCA LEAF FOR OUTGOING ENVOY LA PAZ: A Bolivian Indian presidential candidate under fire from Washington for battling a crackdown on drug trafficking said on Thursday he would give the outgoing US ambassador a present - a coca leaf, the raw material used to make cocaine. "I congratulate the US people on their holiday," Evo Morales told La Razon newspaper in an interview published on the US Independence Day. "I will send him a little coca leaf as a gift," Morales said, referring to US Ambassador Manuel Rocha. Morales, who has led bloody protests against unpopular efforts to halt cultivation of the leaf also chewed by many people in this country to stave off altitude sickness and hunger, is running third in still incomplete official tallies from Sunday's election. - Reuters - --- MAP posted-by: Alex