Posted on 02/03/2006 6:46:17 PM PST by Stultis
Taking farmers into confidence on opium eradication
Sanjay Suri LONDON, Feb 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News) - Proposals being considered for the widespread destruction of opium plantations could end up destroying the lives of millions of farmers, an independent report warns. The report was released a day ahead of the international conference on Afghanistan that concluded in London on Thursday. The report by The Senlis Council, a drug policy advisory forum, says that in the face of mounting violence and instability in Afghanistan, the focus should be on the real stakeholders in Afghanistan's future. ''The Afghan farming communities must be empowered and included in decisions on the future of their country,'' the report says. Instead, governments meeting at the conference are considering destroying the livelihood of farmers by wiping out whole opium cultivations, the report says. Heroin made from opium grown in Afghanistan is known to be spreading at an alarming pace in Europe and North America. But opium is used also to develop morphine and codeine in controlled laboratories, particularly in India, France and Turkey. ''We are saying that Afghan farmers should be encouraged to grow opium and use it in a domestic industry for production of codeine and morphine,'' executive director of The Senlis Council Emmanuel Reinert told IPS. ''There is at present a severe shortage of morphine and codeine in the international market, particularly in developing countries,'' he said. At present 80 percent of the world population has access to just 7 percent of the morphine produced, he added. Morphine and codeine produced in Afghanistan could supply the large markets in China and Russia, he said. The harsh methods planned to eradicate opium would be inefficient because they would also destroy normal plantations, he said. ''And it would ruin more than two million farmers who depend on opium cultivation,'' he said. Many of these people could then begin to support militant groups, which is just the opposite of what Western forces want, he said. The Senlis Council had planned to bring four farmers from Afghanistan to its conference in order to give a strong message to the Afghanistan summit. But the farmers were denied visas by the British high commission in Afghanistan. The group has launched a Farmers Defence Fund to support farmers to take legal action against destruction of their crops. The farmers fund will also offer legal assistance to farmers in event of arrest, and support to families of imprisoned farmers. A farmers 'jirga' (an Afghan assembly where people meet to debate and take collective decisions) will be held soon to highlight the danger to farmers and to strengthen action against eradication of crops, the Council said in a statement. The jirga has been planned in Kabul in April this year. Farmers' representatives from each province will be invited to attend. The council's campaign builds on its own studies that show that eradication polices so far have not reduced the production of opium in Afghanistan, and on a United Nations security report that said that the eradication programmes are at the root of instability in several provinces in Afghanistan. ''Any move undertaken should be with the support of farmers and their needs and should not go against them,'' Safia Seddiqi, member of parliament from the Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, told IPS. So far manual eradication operations have been launched, but the Council says that chemical eradication is being planned in the near future. Already, crop eradication has forced many poor farmers to leave their fields, the group says in its report. ''These displaced farmers have either had to find work elsewhere in Afghanistan or even covertly cross the border into Pakistan in search of a means of supporting their families,'' Gulalai Momand, who works for the group in Kabul, said in a statement. ''They have become refugees in their own country. At the moment nobody is protecting the farmers." The council has prepared a draft law that will be presented to the Afghan parliament for consideration. The law prohibits the eradication of poppy crops in Afghanistan. By arrangements with IPS News
The Afghanis know that getting opium production under control will be tough, but they know that doing it is essential to the governance, development and future of their nation.
Hopefully these odious British busybodies will have no success in undermining the efforts of the Afghani government.
Maidan Wardak a poppy-free province: Governor
MAIDAN WARDAK, Feb 1 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Governor of the central Maidan Wardak province Abdul Jabar Naeemi Wednesday said not a single farm was cultivated with poppy in the province this year.
In a chat with Pajhwok Afghan News, the governor said the crop was banished from the province with the help and cooperation of religious scholars, local elders and a crackdown by police.
Describing it a great success, Naeemi said government and people of Maidan Wardak were proud of what they had achieved on that front. Situated west of Kabul, farmers in the province started growing poppies after the fall of Taliban.
"Last year, 3,370 acres of land was planted with poppies, but not a single plant was cultivated this year," said the governor, who praised the tribal elders, religious scholars and security officials for the achievement.
The governor asked the international aid agencies to lure the farmers by launching more reconstruction projects in the province so that they might not return to the old business.
Meanwhile, residents also confirmed poppies had been rooted out from the province. However, majority of locals demanded assistance and alternative livelihood in return.
Mohammad Azim Karimi, 38, said as they had shunned growing the banned crop, the government too, should fulfil its promises and provide assistance to them. He said the farmers were facing water shortage. Hence, the government should provide them with water and best quality seeds, he added.
Hakim Basharat
By GEORGE PASCOE-WATSON
Political EditorBRITISH people should be proud of the troops we are sending to the most dangerous spot on earth, Afghanistan’s defence chief said last night.General Abdul Rahim Wardak declared their task is to save the human race from the “satanic cancer” of terrorism.
The UK force in Afghanistan will rise to 6,000 in April as our troops battle the threat of al- Qaeda and Taliban death cells.
General Wardak, in London for a security summit, said the troops would defend “democracy, liberty and freedom”.
He added: “They are fighting this war for the whole of civilisation and humanity.”
He said the mission will help make our capital safer, adding: “Afghanistan affects London, New York and Madrid. The dangers originate in Afghanistan.”
Do they, or are they just trying to stay on the US government's good side? And why should they or anyone else think that getting opium production under control is essential to the governance, development and future of their nation?
Uh, maybe because opium production is a primary element underlying major woes of Afghanis such as criminality, warlordism and terrorism?
Helmand residents stage demo against Kandahar blasts
LASHKARGAH, Feb 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Hundreds of people took to the streets in the southern Helmand province accusing the neighbouring Pakistan of interfering in Afghanistan. The protestors included tribal elders, members of the provincial council, religious scholars, government officials, representatives of Hindu and Sikh communities and large number of students. The participants accused Pakistan of involvement in recent bomb explosions and suicide attacks in different parts of the country. They said the neighbouring country did not want Afghans to live in peace. Addressing the protestors, provincial Governor Engineer Mohammad Daud asked Pakistan to stop sending mercenaries in Afghanistan to carry out disruptive activities. Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News tribal elder from the Hazarjuft district Haji Zarif Shah lamented the worsening law and order situation in the district. He said Taliban were infiltrating from Pakistan and harassing people. He added the insurgents had sanctuaries in the Gard-i-Zangal area of Pakistan. Tara Sing, a minority representative from Lashkargah, said Afghanistan is home to all Afghans. "We have to struggle for ensuring peace and stability here." In a joint declaration released at the end of the demonstration, the participants asked Pakistan to stop interference. They prayed for the souls of victims of the Spin Boldak suicide blast. At least 22 people were killed and dozens wounded when a motorcyclist detonated himself in the middle of a crowd in the border town of Spin Boldak some three weeks back. Abdul Samad Rohani
How so? (If the "criminality" you allege is simply breaking laws against opium production, then the obvious solution is to end that law against consensual activity.)
warlordism
How is going to war with the warlords better for Afghanistan than legalizing, taxing, and regulating their opium production?
and terrorism
Criminalizing the drug trade drives up profit margins and helps the terrorists.
You don't seem to grasp how the whole Warlord thing works. Warlords are all about preventing taxation. They (or their associates) buy the crops, warehouse them, arrange the sales, and keep the money for themselves. You can't tolerate the warlords AND collect taxes. The one prevents the other.
Look, I'm not dismissive of libertarian/legalization proposals to deal with the drug problem. But why don't we focus on debating and experimenting with such possible solutions in countries that have issues of law and order under basic control, eh? Not countries that have active, violent, mass-murdering, islamist insurgencies fueled by drug money, some of which finances the murder of American and allied soldiers. YA THINK THAT MIGHT BE REASONABLE?
Besides, The Senlis Council, the NGO behind this report, is NOT about anything remotely libertarian. They are angling for the worst of both worlds. They are soft on drug enforcement on the one hand, but also oppose legalization, instead favoring big intrusive government (or NGO) run "programs".
There's big money in illegal drugs only because they're illegal.
Sorry, but no one is going to decriminalize HEROIN. Ain't gonna happen. Or if it does you'll have to evolve toward that by starting with marijuana and the like. If you did try to leapfrog to legalizing heroin and other opiates the only effect would be to undermine the political fortunes of the legalization program. So your "solution" isn't.
Beside, the democratically elected Afghan government has decided to pursue a program of eradication. Who are you (of The Senlis Council) to gainsay their policy? Shouldn't they at least be given a chance to try it?
Since when do we not get to criticize any action of any democratically elected government? May we not criticize, e.g., the stands of Old Europe's democratically elected governments on the war on terror?
"Sorry, but no one is going to decriminalize HEROIN. Ain't gonna happen"
Why not? Heroin was not criminalised in the UK until 1973, and there haven't been any demonstrable benefits from having done so.
You can get a prescription from a doctor for morphine in the U.S. It's rare to do so, but does happen.
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