Pubdate: Thu, 14 Sep 2000
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 2000 United Press International
Author: Rodolfo A. Windhausen

U.N. OFFICIAL CHIDES LATINS ON COLOMBIA PLAN

UNITED NATIONS -- The head of the U.N. Office on Drug Control and Crime
Prevention said Wednesday he is "surprised" by the lack of support from
Latin American countries to the Colombia Plan, which is intended to fight
drug trafficking.

At a press conference, Pino Arlacchi, a former Italian Senator, also said
Afghanistan had a 28 per cent reduction last year in its opium poppy
cultivation, mainly due to a severe drought in the production areas. But, he
said, Afghanistan continues to be the world's largest producer of poppy for
opium.

The official indicated that 22 U.S. members of congress have asked Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright in a letter to provide $60 million to the Andean
countries of South America for five programs his agency has established for
the region.

"Obviously, we are very pleased for this letter written by prominent
congressmen," Arlacchi said.

"We have a continuing, positive trend in decline of cultivation in Bolivia,"
he said. He said Bolivia "has succeeded in eliminating between 80 and 90
percent in coca cultivation in the last three years. We also have a
consistent trend of reduction in Peru, almost 70 percent in the last four
years, but there has been a strong increase in Colombia that almost balanced
the decrease in Peru."

He attributed the decrease in the flow of cocaine around the world to an
augmentation in the number of seizures by law enforcement authorities, which
rose to almost half of the cocaine being produced in different parts of the
world in the large five years.

"We strongly support the Colombia Plan. We have collaborated with the
Colombian government, particularly in the writing of the plan regarding the
area of alternative development. We believe the Colombia Plan should be
fully supported by the rest of the world community," he added.

"We asked two days ago to the other Latin American countries, particularly
those that surround Colombia, to be more supportive of what Colombia is
doing," Arlacchi said.

"I was struck by the low degree of solidarity and support to Colombia by the
other Latin American countries. What Colombia is trying to do is beneficial
to all Latin American countries and also to the rest of the world," the
official claimed.

"Democracy and fight against drug groups should be a common endeavor of all
countries of Latin America," he added.

The Colombia Plan, proposed in 1998 by Colombian President Andres Pastrana,
seeks $7.5 billion in foreign aid, primarily from the U.S., to combat drug
trafficking and the guerrillas associated with it. The project has been
criticized in the U.S. and abroad as a potential intervention in Colombia's
internal affairs, but Pastrana said at the recent Millennium Summit that his
country "is no Vietnam."
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