Operation Narcotics Knockout in Afghanistan

06 May, 2002    ·   744

N Manoharan analyses the various strategies in dealing with the narcotics problem in Afghanistan

N Manoharan
N Manoharan
For Karl Marx, “religion is the opium of the masses”, but in Afghanistan opium seems to be the religion of the masses. Before analyzing the strategies for rooting out the drug menace in this war torn country, some facts are relevant:

 

 

·                     Afghanistan produces three-quarters of the world's opium – the base for heroin. Around 90 percent of the 20-30 tonnes of heroin sold in Europe come from Afghanistan .

 

                  

 

·                     Afghan heroin is the best in the world, as it comes from poppies cultivated at high altitudes and subject to high doses of ultra-violet light.

 

                   

 

·                     The farmers in Afghanistan grow poppy for their livelihood, one of the few commodities having a guaranteed market, and often their only source of income.

 

                   

 

·                     The entire process – from growing poppy to delivery of heroin – is controlled by the local warlords; and a powerful network of traffickers, traders, producers and processors operating across factional, ethnic and national borders with impunity.

 

                   

 

·                     In the past couple of years, Afghanistan , apart from being a major base for opium production, has become a centre for its processing into heroin, which is more profitable and easier to smuggle.

 

                    

 

·                     As per UN estimates, as much as 60 percent of the production may have been stockpiled each year since 1996, both as insurance and to keep prices high.

 

                 

 

·                     Before reaching its final destination in the West, the drugs from Afghanistan pass through several hands either going north through the Central Asian Republics , or west through Iran , or east through Pakistan .

 

                  

 

Combating the drug menace in Afghanistan is not easy. Challenges abound, and the will and resources to meet these challenges are meagre. Opium cultivation and its trade is well entrenched in Afghanistan . It is lucrative for the farmers, and there is lack of a viable alternative. Who will support farmers to produce food crops? Who will buy and market them? These questions haunt Afghan farmers when they think of alternative cropping patterns. A recent decree issued by the Interim Government Chairman, Hamid Karzai, bans poppy cultivation. But the law failed to provide an alternative means of livelihood to the farmers. US$ 500 per acre has been offered as assistance, but the decree is silent how the ban will be implemented and by whom and for how long will the assistance continue? On the other hand, if the farmers cultivate opium they will get a minimum of US$ 3400 per acre.

 

 

It is crucial that the international community, especially the West, funds the drug eradication programme in Afghanistan . The compensation amount needs to be reasonable – atleast US$ 1000, though the farmers have demanded US $3000. Efforts should also be made to revitalize agriculture by establishing a strong credit system, development of irrigation and the infrastructure for marketing and transportation. A free transit of agricultural produce to neibouring countries will help in marketing their produce; hence, cooperation between the UN, Afghanistan , Pakistan , Iran and Central Asian countries is important.

 

 

As the local warlords are prime beneficiaries of the drug trade, these measures would face stiff resistance from them. Dealing with the warlords is the primary concern. At present, the Interim Government lacks the strength to take on the drug mafia. The international force, which is involved in Al Qaeda hunting, can be tasked to enforce the ban on drugs. But it is feared that any serious eradication effort would antagonize the local warlords, and imperil the stability of the government and, thus, hamper the military campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. At the same time, the West should be aware of the transfer of funds to the Taliban by certain pro-Taliban warlords from the present trade. (http://www.observer.co.uk/afghanistan/0,1501,573451,00.html)

 

 

Apart from blocking the producers end, the government of Afghanistan , with international support, should buy and destroy the enormous stockpiles of opium in the country. The processing laboratories should be destroyed to prevent opium from being converted into high grade heroin. Measures should also be taken to tighten controls on the chemical precursors and other chemicals (acetic anhydride for instance) used for the manufacture of heroin and morphine base. The US needs to commit its intelligence resources and cooperate with neighbouring countries to launch a comprehensive anti-drugs campaign.

 

 

Overall, instead of setting over-ambitious targets, what is required is a gradual, but persistent approach, similar to the de-addiction process. 

POPULAR COMMENTARIES