Karzai says drug trade is bigger problem than war
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai declared a "holy war" on Afghanistan's runaway narcotics industry today, calling for international aid to counter a threat he said was more dangerous than any faced by his country in more than 20 years of war.
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Two days after being sworn in as the impoverished country's first elected president, Karzai opened a conference on U.S.-sponsored plans to crack down on a trade already supplying most of the world's heroin and which risks turning Afghanistan into a narco-state.
In an impassioned speech, Karzai also suggested Taliban militants were funding their insurgency with drug profits and warned elders and officials from across the country to stop groups of smugglers from poisoning its development.
"Opium cultivation, heroin production is more dangerous than the invasion and the attack of the Soviets on our country, it is more dangerous than the factional fighting in Afghanistan, it is more dangerous than terrorism," Karzai said. "Just as our people fought a holy war against the Soviets, so we will wage jihad against poppies."
Cultivation of opium poppies has skyrocketed since a U.S. bombing campaign drove the Taliban from power three years ago, fueling concern that billions spent on the effort to stabilize and reconstruct the country could prove in vain.
A recent U.N. survey found that cultivation rose nearly two-thirds this year to a record 324,000 acres. Bad weather and disease kept production from setting a record, although at 4,200 tons it still accounted for 87 percent of the world's opium supply.
Karzai, armed with a popular mandate from a landmark Oct. 9 presidential election, has said that countering narcotics will be the top priority in his five-year term.
Britain and the United States are training Afghan forces to destroy crops, smash laboratories and arrest top smugglers. A special high-security court and prison are also being set up.
But there is also concern that a heavy-handed approach could destabilize the country and prompt a violent backlash against the government and foreigners. Karzai has rejected U.S. proposals for a Colombia-style crop-dusting campaign to destroy poppy fields.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told the two-day conference, which drew hundreds of local officials and tribal leaders, that Washington planned to spend a chunk of the $780 million it has earmarked for the anti-narcotics drive next year on helping farmers switch to legal crops.
To soften the blow of eradication, a "cash-for-work" program will also soon employ 125,000 people in three key provinces, Khalilzad said. Seeds and fertilizers will also be distributed.
"This is Afghanistan's moment to act against narcotics, and the stakes are enormous," he said.
Karzai is expected to announce the establishment of a new ministry to lead the anti-narcotics drive, but on Thursday gave no details of his plans, focusing instead on persuading Afghans that producing drugs was a stain on their nation.
His audience listened politely as he claimed that virtually all the profits from drugs ended up in Western banks and in the pockets of the Taliban "enemies" who helped destroy Afghanistan's once-famed vineyards and orchards.
But he drew loud applause and shouts of agreement when he urged Afghans to recover their dignity by ridding the country of a trade which he said could return it to the status of international pariah.
"Let's make a promise today: that whether there will be any support from the international community or not, we will destroy the poppy fields," he said to cheers. "If we don't eradicate poppies, this international community will turn their face from us. If that happens, you will remember this day." |
