De voorspelde 'War on Drugs' kan beginnen !!!!

[Henk Elegeert]

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De voorspelde 'War on Drugs' kan beginnen !!!!

"
NATO FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN SHOULD DO MORE TO CURB
DRUG TRADE, UN OFFICIAL SAYS

New York, Sep 12 2006 10:00AM
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime

(<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html">UNODC)
today
<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2006_09_12.html">called
for a robust military action by the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) forces to destroy the
opium industry in southern Afghanistan.

Presenting details of the
<"http://www.unodc.org/pdf/execsummaryafg.pdf">

2006 UNODC Annual Opium Survey at a news conference
in Brussels, Antonio Maria Costa noted that the
dramatic surge in opium cultivation and production
had occurred mainly in the increasingly lawless
southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar.

“In the turbulent southern region,
counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics efforts
must reinforce each other so as to stop the vicious
circle of drugs funding terrorists and terrorists
protecting drug traffickers,” the UNODC Executive
Director said.

“I call on NATO forces to destroy the heroin labs,
disband the open opium bazaars, attack the opium
convoys and bring to justice the big traders,” he
said, adding that coalition countries should give
NATO the mandate and resources required to
accomplish this.

Opium cultivation throughout Afghanistan surged 59
per cent to 165,000 hectares in 2006. The opium
harvest was an unprecedented 6,100 tonnes, an
increase of 49 per cent from 2005, making
Afghanistan virtually sole supplier to the world.

Only six of the country’s 34 provinces are
opium-free. Cultivation fell in eight provinces,
mainly in the more stable north. Around the country,
the number of people involved in opium cultivation
increased by almost a third to 2.9 million,
representing 12.6 per cent of the total population.

“Revenue from the harvest will be over $3 billion
this year, making a handful of criminals and corrupt
officials extremely rich,” Mr. Costa said. “This
money is also dragging the rest of Afghanistan into
a bottomless pit of destruction and despair.”

The UNODC Executive Director warned drug-consuming
nations that the Afghan opium boom was likely to
fuel a surge in the number of lethal drug overdoses
when the new heroin starts reaching users in 2007.

“I fear that in 2007, once the new crop has reached
the retail markets, Afghan opium will kill more than
the 100,000 people it has killed in the recent past.”

Among the measures he called for to redress the
situation was increased aid to Afghanistan. The more
vigorously district and provincial leaders commit
themselves to eliminate opium and curb corruption,
the more aid they should receive, he said. “If we
lose their support, insurgents will have an
unlimited supply of foot-soldiers and no resources
will be available to fight them,” he warned.

“There is no magic formula to save Afghanistan.
Instead, we need to insist on full implementation of
the Afghan national drug control strategy, which is
based on development, security, law enforcement and
good governance.”

  2006-09-12

"

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