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Enforcement of opium ban could be turning point

Following evidence of increasing enforcement of the ruling Taliban movement’s ban on opium poppy cultivation, UN officials predict that this year could be a turning point for illicit drugs, leading to a major reduction in Afghanistan’s opium poppy harvest next year. Provided the Taliban demonstrates the political will and leverage to follow through with the ban in rural areas, UN drug experts predict there could be a “colossal drop” in opium poppy cultivation next year. However, drug experts in Islamabad remained unconvinced. The Taliban ambassador in Islamabad, Abdul Salam Zaeef, told IRIN on Thursday that his authorities wished to comply with international law and calls for the eradication of opium production. “The drug trade is un-Islamic, a bane on the Afghan people and the rest of the world. Therefore it had to be banned.” Pino Arlacchi, head of the UN Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), speaking at the UN Conference on Combating International Organised Crime in Palermo, Italy, on Tuesday, acknowledged that the Taliban was making efforts to enforce the ban. However, he added that any credible policy to eliminate or reduce cultivation would have to be accompanied by the destruction of existing illicit stockpiles in Afghanistan. The UNDCP Representative for Afghanistan, Bernard Frahi, told IRIN that efforts by the Taliban to enforce the official ban on poppy cultivation were extremely encouraging. “The Taliban appear to genuinely not want poppy cultivation on their territory. In Nangarhar province [eastern Afghanistan] there is evidence of a drastic and irreversible change in the attitudes of the Taliban authorities. If this is in any way reflective of the rest of the country, then I believe we shall see a major reduction in poppy cultivation. This year could be the turning point with regard to illicit cultivation in Afghanistan,” he said. But drug experts in Islamabad told IRIN they remained sceptical and the Taliban still needed to convince western nations before it could expect help with drug control. US officials told IRIN that over 70 percent of the world’s heroin originated from Afghanistan and large stockpiles of illicit drugs were present in the country. In this light, it was “too early” to determine whether the Taliban was serious about enforcing the ban. The US counter terrorism coordinator, Ambassador Michael Sheehan, told a Washington judiciary committee on Thursday that in spite of a devastating drought and decrees from the Taliban leadership, opium poppy production had continued to increase. US reports claimed that opium production had risen consistently since 1991 to over 3,600 mt this year, with an overwhelming amount - 96 percent - reputedly cultivated in Taliban controlled areas. Sheehan stated there was clear evidence that Taliban officials had been handling opium and had imposed a 10 percent levy or ‘ushr’ on poppy farmers, as with other agricultural crops. This illicit revenue was then used to buy weapons to fight the opposition groups and maintain control over Taliban territory, he said. The spokesperson of the Russian Federation in Islamabad, Yevgeny Griva, told IRIN that he was not yet aware of any decrease in opium production in Afghanistan. “As far as we know, there are increasing amounts of drugs being trafficked through the Central Asian Republics.” According to UNDCP, the reported enforcement of Taliban leader Mulla Omar’s decree suggested that this was more than an attempt to improve the Taliban’s international image, badly tarnished by its condoning and alleged profiting from the drug trade. According to UN reports, the local authorities in Nangarhar province started a campaign to inform farmers about the ban before they started sowing for next year. The authorities have been working closely with religious leaders, who have declared opium poppy growing a sin punishable under Islamic law. Monitors were also appointed in 22 districts of Nangarhar, one of two provinces notorious for opium production. Taliban authorities there informed UNDCP that 34 people caught violating the poppy ban had been arrested in November. In a recent trip to the province, Frahi spoke with poppy farmers, some of whom had already opted to grow wheat this season. “Others had ploughed their fields and were hesitating over which crops to sow. Convincing these farmers to abandon their only source of reliable income will be difficult as most farmers do not have the resources to make the transition to alternative crops within one season,” he said. UNDCP said that opium dealers offer farmers credit in advance for their crops, making poppy cultivation the most secure source of income available for a farmer in Afghanistan today. The destruction of poppy crops - which had already happened in Nangarhar province, albeit on a limited scale in April - meant “financial ruin” for many farmers who were in debt to opium traders. Frahi predicted that without alternative support for those facing the transition from growing poppies to alternative crops, the eradication could mean serious hardship for up to 6,000 farming families. Aware of the potential for disruption and even clashes, district administrators in Nangarhar have worked closely with tribal elders to secure written approval in support of the ban. Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador, told IRIN that farmers needed help to make the transition to new crops. “Opium poppy has provided some Afghan farmers with a high income. These farmers will need help to shift to other crops now that the ban has been declared,” he said. According to UNDCP, a pilot project that targeted specific districts of Nangarhar province was able to reduce opium production by 50 percent during the 1999-2000 opium poppy season. The project provided alternative crops, water irrigation and credit support to allow farmers to make the transition from poppy growing. Frahi said such assistance was key in order to wean farmers onto alternative crops, like wheat. “Our experience in Pakistan, where opium production has been eradicated, demonstrates that farmers will make a relatively rapid transition provided they receive the right support, including credit facilities, help with irrigation, seeds, warehousing, and even marketing for new crops.” Drug experts in Islamabad said eradication depended on genuine political will, an ability to enforce the ban and international support for alternative crop programmes. This combination had contributed to the effective eradication of illicit opium cultivation in Pakistan, once the third largest producer of opium worldwide, they said. With genuine political will, Frahi considered that eradication would be straightforward as poppy cultivation was localised. “People have the impression that the whole of Afghanistan is covered in poppy fields. This is not the case at all - in fact, under three percent of arable land in Afghanistan is actually used for poppies and three quarters of Afghan opium comes from clusters of villages in only two provinces - Helmand and Nangarhar,” he said. Frahi was optimistic that enforcement of the Taliban decree in Afghanistan would eventually translate into a massive drop in opium production next year. Nevertheless he said that the huge stocks from the previous massive harvest in 1999-2000 will continue to fuel drug trafficking and urgent action was required from the Taliban to address this. Despite tangible progress after three and a half years of persistent advocacy with the Taliban authorities, UNDCP now faces a funding shortfall of US $6 million that - if unchecked - threatens to grind its projects to a halt by early next year. The Taliban have had to start implementing an unpopular ban without the luxury of international support to cushion the transition for poppy farmers. Nevertheless, Frahi expects preliminary assessments to give early indications of any reductions in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. “By the end of February we will see whether the Taliban authorities are serious or not. We will see if poppy fields are left fallow or replaced by wheat,” he said.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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