BRUSSELS: The UN has called on Nato forces to destroy the booming opium industry in southern Afghanistan, where 3,600 British combat troops are battling a resurgent Taliban.
The call was made by Antonio Maria Costa, head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who said it would be very difficult to defeat insurgents unless there was a “robust” crackdown on drug traffickers.
He told a news conference in Brussels: “I call on Nato forces to destroy the heroin labs, disband the open opium bazaars, attack the opium convoys and bring justice to the big traders.
“I invite coalition countries to give Nato the mandate and resources required.”
The Nato Secretary-General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said last week that the alliance was not planning to play a leading role in the fight against narcotics in Afghanistan. Nato has suggested its troops could play a back-up role if they had the time and resources to support Afghan forces and police in eradication of crops.
However, Mr Costa said that there was a “vicious cycle”, where the money from narcotics was used to fund terrorist groups. Mr Costa said a dramatic surge in opium cultivation and production had occurred mainly in the increasingly lawless southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, where the British are based.
His call for increased Nato action on opium eradication comes as Nato commanders have admitted they need more resources to battle insurgents. They have asked — so far in vain — for an additional 2,500 soldiers to fight alongside the American, British, Canadian and Dutch troops in Afghanistan.
British army chiefs have admitted UK forces are stretched in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The exact extent to which Nato forces are to push counter-narcotics measures has been hotly debated by politicians in the UK, not least because of fears it complicates security and development operations, making farmers who rely on opium less likely to cooperate.
The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, has promised a “holy war” against the opium trade, but Afghan officials, worried at the resurgence of Taliban fighters, and beset with other problems, have been wary of pushing farmers too hard.
Speaking about Nato’s position on counter-narcotics, Mr Costa said his office had met with Nato to discuss the issue and he met with the EU External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
“It’s clear the mission of Nato in Afghanistan has evolved into a full-fledged attempt to eradicate Taliban,” Mr Costa said.
Citing UNODC’s annual opium survey for 2006, published earlier this month, he said opium production had increased by 59% this year. The survey said Afghanistan produced a record 6,100 tonnes of opium, which is around 92% of total world supply.
UNODC said only six of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces were opium-free. Some 2.9 million people were involved in growing opium, representing 12.6% of the total Afghan population. Revenue from this year’s harvest is predicted to hit over $3bn (£1.6bn) and Mr Costa said the impact would be seen on the streets of the UK and other cities next year.
When the Afghan opium boom reaches users, prices are not expected to fall, but purity will increase and there will be a rise in the numbers of overdoses, Mr Costa said.
He called for increased development aid from international donors, such as the European Union, to get farmers off their dependency on growing opium. —Dawn/The Guardian News Service
