.Otunbayeva says aid to law enforcers promised by CSTO hasn't arrived yet.

22/7 Tass 417

BISHKEK, July 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Kyrgyz caretaker President Roza
Otunbayeva said the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation
(CSTO) member states had made the decision several weeks ago to supply
armoured vehicles, helicopters and other security equipment to Kyrgyz law
enforcement agencies to deal more effectively with the situation in
southern regions of the country swept recently by ethnic riots.
However no aid has arrived in the country so far, she said at a
meeting with Russian mass media on Wednesday.
"If not now, then when will all this come?" she asked. "The season
when drugs are moved through our region is nearing, and we need to deal
with this."
"The whole world is asking where all these CSTO, SCO Regional
Anti-Terrorist Structure and CIS Anti-Terrorist Centre are at a time when
the republic is facing such threats and challenges," Otunbayeva said.
Federal Anti-Drug Committee Chairman (FSKN) Viktor Ivanov urged the
international community to help Kyrgyzstan fight drug trafficking.
"The massive flow of narcotrafficking goes through Kyrgyzstan from
Afghanistan. The city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad and the Fergana
Valley as such are the area which is, unfortunately, engaged in
narcotrafficking," he said.
In his opinion, the menace is rather serious. "We observe what's going
on in Kyrgyzstan, but this may become relevant for other republics too,"
Ivanov said, adding that in his opinion, "narcotrafficking cultivates
terrorism outside Afghanistan".
He stressed the need to work with Kyrgyz authorities closer and
recalled that Kyrgyz leader Roza Otunbayeva had requested Russian
assistance.
FKSN has information about 175 Afghan drug laboratories that make
hashish and heroin under their own brand names.
Ivanov believes that since Russia is the main target of Afghan drug
production, it should lead an international movement against it.
Russia's seven-point plan is titled Raduga-2. Specific proposals
include the use of chemicals to destroy opium poppy plantations in
Afghanistan and seizure of land from local peasants.
The problem is complicated by the fact that Russia and NATO have
differing approaches to the destruction of opium poppy plantations in
Afghanistan. However both sides have made progress at the level of
professionals.
The heroin danger directly affects Russia where the number of drug
addicts has reached 2.5 million, of whom 90 percent use Afghan heroin.
More than half of the drug addicts are young people under the age of 30.
About 30,000 Russians die from drug addiction annually.
Afghanistan is an indisputable leader in heroin production in the
world. A report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
says that about 900 tonnes of opium and 375 tonnes of heroin are taken out
of the country every year, and almost one in ten working Afghans grows
opium poppy.
The FSKN chief believes that the threat is not exaggerated. "Last
year, more drugs were made in Afghanistan than ten years ago. About 100
countries, including Russia and Europe, are affected," Ivanov said.
The world opiate market is estimated at 65 billion U.S. dollars.
One-fifth of this amount goes to Russia. EU countries were in the lead
last year in terms of opiate consumption that had amounted to 711 tonnes.
Russia was second with 549 tonnes.
"It's not an exaggeration to say that the drug threat is one of the
main problems in the 21st century. This is why it cannot be solved without
joint efforts by EU countries, NATO and Russia," Ivanov said.
Russia understands that it is impossible to control all the paths used
by drug couriers, but one should begin not by blocking transportation
routes, but by destroying opium poppy plantations. However NATO refuses to
do so in Afghanistan, FSKN Deputy Director Nikolai Tsvetkov said.
In his opinion, the problem is complicated by the fact that Russia and
the NATO command take differing approaches to the destruction of opium
poppy plantations in Afghanistan. NATO officials cite three arguments.
First, the destruction of plantations will leave Afghan peasants without
means of subsistence. As a result, disgruntled peasants will join the
Taliban. Second, involvement in these operations will increase risks for
NATO personnel. Third, it's costly.
Ivanov said Americans in Colombia had destroyed about 80 percent of
illegal coca plantations by defoliation, clearing almost 230,000 hectares
of coca in 2008. Only about 5,500 hectares of opium poppy (a mere 3
percent of its plantations) were destroyed mechanically in Afghanistan in
the same year.
In order to fight the spread of drugs, Russia has suggested a
seven-point plan called Raduga-2, which is generally known and, according
to Ivanov, "has so far not been rejected by anyone". Specific proposals
include chemical destruction of plantations. There are also administrative
and legal measures, such as the creation of a cadastre of land owned by
Afghan landowners. If land is used for growing opium poppy, its owner is
most likely involved in drug trade and the Afghan government has the right
to seize this land.
-0-zak/


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