Pubdate: Sun, 24 Feb 2002
Source: Pakistan Observer (Pakistan)
Copyright: Pakistan Observer 2002
Contact:  http://www.pakobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1680

POPPY CULTIVATION STARTS IN AFGHANISTAN

KABUL-The Afghan farmers have completed their field work to restore 
the regrowing of opium crop in Afghanistan after years, which was 
banned by the former Taliban regime.

According to a BBC report, this time of the year in Afghanistan and 
in the tribal areas of Pakistan, one can assess the forthcoming 
harvest, opium, the raw material of heroin. And for the Western 
governments, concerned about the flow of heroin the news is bad.

The result of the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan is that 
opium poppy, outlawed by the Taliban, is back in great quantity.

Luke Harding, a reporter with the Guardian newspaper, who is 
investigating, told BBC "I don't want the Taliban back but I think 
they were never given credit for eradicating opium across all the 
areas they controlled. I would like to state it briefly that they did 
this by force."

He said they sent guides with Klashnikov into villages and said if 
did not stop growing poppy they would be sent to jail. This is a 
strange post Taliban period. Fear elements have gone. Every body has 
a growing piece of land and really, it will be a huge amount of 
heroin coming out of Afghanistan this year, he added.

Replying to a question, Luke Harding said that one can earns a lot of 
money from very little opium because Afghanistan has suffered a lot 
from drought. It is extremely dry and the poppy is suited to 
Afghanistan's arid climate. There is no shortage of businessmen 
mainly from Iran and Pakistan and then it goes overland via Turkey 
and via the third countries and then comes up to big cities of 
Europe, he added.

When asked about the United Nations Drug Control Programme in 
Afghanistan, a UN spokesman told BBC that there are strong 
indications that the farmers have resorted to regrowing opium after 
years that Taliban banned.

"Unfortunately we did not help farmers there since the terrorist 
attacks and international intervention. But recently we have been 
conducting our annual opium poppy show in Afghanistan. Field work has 
been just completed and indications are there growing of opium is 
taking place at high level. We have still got no figures. We will 
have them some times next week but indications are that it is being 
grown at high level," he added.

To another question, the spokesman said that they have traditionally 
growing areas probably the only crop they could grow without 
introducing new skills or technologies and there is, of course, the 
element of desperation on part of Afghani farmers who have no 
alternatives, who lost their whole income last year and they also 
badly are affected by the drought in the country for many years. So 
their desperation is probably something that drove them there even 
though drug traffickers are also doing their best to encourage or to 
even induce them to grow.

When asked it is too early to expect the interim government of Hamid 
Karzai to do anything, the spokesman said "We have been very much 
encouraged by their public statement on banning not only cultivation 
as Taliban did but also trafficking abuse of opium that was more 
comprehensive ban than Taliban issued.

He said the problem is of course that it would unrealistic to expect 
the government to have effective drug control mechanisms in place and 
therefore it is for the international community to help them.

"We have just reestablished our presence in Kabul last week and are 
coordinating with all UN agencies there and this time, for the first 
time, there is also international strategy. It is a comprehensive 
strategy that will take time to implement and that is our main 
concern that it takes time and on the other we have the harvest 
approaching and that it would affect international drug market," he 
remarked.
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MAP posted-by: Josh