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Newsbrief:
Afghan
Opium
Farmers
Drive
Out
Eradicators
1/3/03
Reuters reported Sunday that
the Afghan government's opium eradication effort in Nangahar province has
been halted by gunfire. Citing local authorities, Reuters reported
that opium growing tribesmen in the province's Shinwar, Khogyanhia, and
Achin districts open fired on government anti-drug enforcers, forcing them
to retreat.
The tribesmen vowed to resist
any future eradication efforts with armed force, according to local leader
Noor Rahman. "The tribesmen used loudspeakers to call on people to
come out of their houses to resist the plan," he told Reuters. "Government
troops have been forced to leave the area."
Nangahar province is responsible
for about one-third of Afghan opium production, according to the United
Nations. The UN forecasts that Afghanistan is on track to regain
the crown of world's leading opium producer this year, with a harvest estimated
at 3,400 tons.
The government of Hamid Karzai
ordered a ban on opium cultivation in January and promised farmers $350
for each acre of poppies destroyed. But many farmers complained that
they have not seen the compensation, and thus are flouting the ban.
In fighting over opium eradication in Helmand province in the spring, several
dozen opium growers were killed by government troops.
-- END --
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Issue #270, 1/3/03
Editorial: Constitutional Inconveniences | Pressure for Change Mounts as Ontario Judge Rules Canadian Marijuana Possession Law Invalid 270/californiabudget Budget Crisis Forces California Governor to Consider Early Releases, Other Prison Measures | Prosecutors Enlist in Drug Czar's Anti-Marijuana Campaign -- Will Prioritize Marijuana Cases, Lobby Against Reform | Latin American Anti-Prohibition Conference, Feb. 12-15, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico | Cumbre Internacional Sobre Legalización, 15-Dec Febrero, Mérida, México | Newsbrief: Connecticut Legislator to Reintroduce Medical Marijuana Bill | Newsbrief: Prosecutors Seize Bail Money, Claim Pot Smell -- A New Tactic? | Newsbrief: Louisiana Drug Raid Draws Protests | Newsbrief: France Looking to Heighten Marijuana Penalties | Newsbrief: NJ Weedman to Get Day in Federal Court After Months in Jail for Thought Crime | Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cop Story | Newsbrief: Afghan Opium Farmers Drive Out Eradicators | Newsbrief: Ethiopian Farmers Turn to Khat in Face of Drought, Low Coffee Prices | DC Job Opportunities at DRCNet | The Reformer's Calendar
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