Bolivia
Negotiations
Stall
as
Coca
Growers
Reject
Government
Proposal
10/12/01
(bulletin from the Andean Information Network) On October 9, coca growers' representatives met with Bolivian government officials in Cochabamba. Chapare union leaders reiterated their demand that each of the approximately 35,000 families in the region dependent on coca production be allowed to maintain one cato (1,600 square meters) of coca for traditional consumption and subsistence. The government refused to halt eradication or permit the continuation of coca production in the region and proposed:
Coca producers expressed skepticism about the government's ability to implement its proposal, based on chronic incompliance with past agreements. Representatives also noted that a one-year payment would not adequately substitute income from continued coca cultivation. Evo Morales, leader of the Six Coca Growing Federations, stated that the group maintains the demand for one cato of coca and gave the government until October 15 to respond. He threatened that road blockades could begin at that time if demands are not met. Leopoldo Fernandez, Minister of Government, stated that security forces would repress any attempted blockades. Coca growers maintain their vigil around at least six of the nine eradication camps in the region and other groups maintain in alert along the main road and other strategic locations. Tensions remain high in the region. At 1:00am on October 5, a group of 150 coca growers including women and children carried out a vigil at the military camp in the town of Isinuta. According to denunciations from residents of the region, members of the Joint Task Force tear-gassed the group, fired live ammunition, and beat some individuals. At this time, two people are receiving medical attention in the Villa Tunari Hospital:
Security forces detained union leader Samuel Chacon to investigate the incident, provoking protests from coca growers' leaders. For further information, contact the Andean Information Network at [email protected], visit http://www.scbbs-bo.com/ain/ or write to Casilla 4817, Cochabamba, Bolivia.
9. Activists Propose Take-Out Cannabis Cafe in Brixton, Authorities Mum Despite the alacrity with which authorities in Manchester moved to shut down Colin Davies' cannabis cafe last month (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/203.html#withinminutes), activists in Brixton continue to plan for such marijuana retail establishments to open there. Unlike Manchester, the London neighborhood has been the scene of a months-long experiment with marijuana decriminalization, with police no longer arresting people holding or smoking it. Cannabis Action, a British marijuana reform activism group, last week presented a plan for three Dutch-style cannabis cafes, including one with take-out service. The proposal comes after a series of consultative meetings organized by Cannabis Action with youth workers, Brixton residents, and pro-legalization campaigners and amidst the rapid dissolution of the consensus in favor of marijuana prohibition in Great Britain (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/202.html#brixton). Under the scheme drawn up by Cannabis Action's Tim Summers, who has helped organize major pro-cannabis marches in London for the past three years, three cannabis cafes are envisioned. They will be the follow-up to the six-month decrim experiment in the borough of Lambeth, of which Brixton is a part. The first would offer a licensed 24-hour carryout service to serve "drug tourists" and London residents. The second may be sponsored by the area's large Rastafarian community, and a third could be operated by the local hippie community, Summers said. "We would follow the tested Dutch regulations that mean no advertising, no sales of hard drugs, no nuisance, no alcohol, no sale to those under 18 years, and no sale of more than 30 grams of cannabis for each transaction," he told the Guardian. "The idea is to supersede the criminal trade by being open long hours and offering a wide choice of resin and herbal cannabis at cheaper prices." Governmental authorities moved quickly to pass the buck. The Lambeth council told the Guardian it was not a licensing authority for cannabis. The Metropolitan Police, who are overseeing the successful decrim experiment in Lambeth, told the newspaper the Home Office would have to make the decision. The Home Office has not commented.
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