Pubdate: Sat, 04 Dec 2004
Source: BBC News (UK Web)
Copyright: 2004 BBC
Contact:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/558
Author: Andrew North

MISTRUST HAMPERS AFGHAN OPIUM BATTLE

Like the walls of a giant fortress, the snow-covered peaks of the Spin 
Ghar, or White Mountains, rise from the haze as you drive south from Jalalabad.

It is a spectacular landscape, but one swirling in rumour and tension these 
days.

Buttressing these peaks are the wooded hills of Tora Bora, famous now as 
the last known hiding place of Osama Bin Laden.

But today it is the setting for another battle, one arguably far more 
important to Afghanistan's future.

This is one of the main areas for growing opium poppy - source for most of 
the world's heroin.

With a recent UN report showing a two-thirds rise in poppy cultivation this 
year, Afghan and international efforts to curb the illegal trade are 
intensifying.

Grey Pellets

Yet there are signs such efforts could already be failing.

In the villages abutting Tora Bora's slopes, people are angry.

They believe unidentified aircraft have been secretly spraying herbicide on 
their opium fields, which they say they depend on for survival.

Most people here point the finger at the Americans or the British, the lead 
players in international efforts to combat the Afghan drugs trade.

"I heard the planes late at night about 10 days ago, circling above," says 
farmer Nader Khan, who lives in Pachir wa Agam district.

In the morning, he described seeing tiny grey pellets spread across his fields.

"I had planted just a small piece of land with poppy," he insists, showing 
me the size of the plants, no more than 10cm high.

"But now all the plants are finished. Some of my other crops were killed too."

Denials

Giving me a tour of his land, he points out a patch of wilting and 
yellowing onions, although there was no way of telling if this was because 
of the alleged spraying.

Nader Khan says his goats were also affected, although he won't say how. 
And when a crowd of fellow villagers gathers to listen, there is more than 
a little theatre in his answers and gestures.

In Kabul, the American embassy insists the US government has "not conducted 
any aerial eradication, nor has it contracted or sub-contracted anyone to 
do it on its behalf". The British embassy has given similar denials.

And some experts question why anyone would try to spray so early on, when 
the opium plants are so young.

Nevertheless, the mystery of what happened over the Tora Bora opium fields 
in the weeks after Ramadan will not go away.

Descriptions of tiny grey pellets match a sample that has been given to the 
BBC by a farmer from the neighbouring district of Khogyani.

Afghan authorities, who have expressed concern to the British government 
over the allegations, say they are testing substances collected immediately 
after reports of the spraying emerged. No results have been released so far.

Whatever the explanation, it has had the affect of spreading mistrust of 
any attempts by outsiders - Afghan or foreign - to stop poppy growing.

"Why do they do this secret spraying?" demands another farmer. "If they 
help us, with new roads, dams and electricity, then we won't grow it."

Embedded

That may be the explanation, argue some Western anti-narcotics officials in 
Kabul - a deliberate attempt by some major players in the Afghan drugs 
trade, aimed at stirring opposition to other "real" eradication efforts 
planned for the next few months.

If there really was a plan to kill off poppy plants early in the season, it 
does not appear to be working. In Pachir wa Agam, affected plots have 
already been re-ploughed.

Several fields can be seen from which the tiny leaves of new opium plants 
are sprouting - fields the farmers said had been sown with wheat.

Nothing is ever as it seems in Afghanistan.

The reality is that opium is embedded in the economy here.

"I have been growing poppy since Zahir Shah's time," says Haji Zarghoun, 
referring to Afghanistan's former king, who ruled until 1973.

The economics are simple. Haji Zarghoun says he earned around 300,000 
Afghanis - about $6,600 - last year from selling the opium resin from his 
poppies.

That is at the higher end of the income spectrum for an opium farmer. But 
compare that to the average wage in Afghanistan of around $200 a year.

"I have 30 people in my family, how can I feed them if I don't grow 
opium?'" he asks, then begins to cry.

"We know it is against Islam, but we have no choice. If you're hungry you 
can eat pork."

Thai Experience

In fact, some international assistance is being organised for opium farmers 
in this region.

This weekend, the American development agency USAID is due to announce the 
distribution of 500 tonnes of wheat seed for Nangahar province, of which 
Tora Bora is a part.

But even those who will be administering the programme, like provincial 
governor Haji Din Mohammed, are sceptical about its benefits.

"It is almost the end of the wheat planting season," he says.

What is more, wheat does not grow as well in the highlands around the Spin 
Ghar. Nor, more importantly, does it bring in anywhere near as much cash as 
opium.

Patrick Fine, Afghanistan director for USAID, says it knows this is not the 
answer to the problem. The wheat distribution is "just the first step in a 
much bigger programme" aimed at promoting alternative sources of income.

Later this year, Mr Fine says the US will be funding a major jobs 
programme, paying people in Nangahar and the two other main drug producing 
provinces to repair irrigation channels, road and other infrastructure work.

There is concern among development experts in Nangahar that the US is 
putting too much emphasis on eradicating poppy crops.

"It will not do what people think it will do," says Leo Brandenberg, team 
leader in Jalalabad for the German aid agency GTZ.

GTZ is running a development programme in the province to reduce its 
reliance on opium.

Mr Brandenberg's experience in Thailand showed it was better to leave 
farmers alone and concentrate more on breaking up drug gangs and 
trafficking networks first.

Governor Din Mohammed is worried too.

With so much pressure from the US to see poppy fields destroyed, he says 
there could be violence in Nangahar.

"There will be no choice for the people," he warns.

"It would be better to do this eradication and help at the same time."
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MAP posted-by: Beth