http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,2067007,00.htmlBritish military sanctions Afghan poppy cultivation
Declan Walsh in Kabul
Friday April 27, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Angry Afghan officials have reprimanded British diplomats over a campaign by UK troops in Helmand telling farmers that growing poppy was understandable and acceptable.
A radio message broadcast across the province assured local farmers that the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would not interfere with poppy fields currently being harvested.
"Respected people of Helmand. The soldiers of ISAF and the Afghan national army do not destroy poppy fields," it said. "They know that many people of Afghanistan have no choice but to grow poppy. ISAF and the Afghan national army do not want to stop people from earning their livelihoods."
The message was drafted by British officers and carried on two local stations in Afghanistan's largest province. It infuriated senior Afghan officials - including the president, Hamid Karzai - who demanded an explanation. The Afghan government has been under intense western pressure to rein in the burgeoning drugs trade. Opium cultivation soared 59% last year, earning local traffickers £1.2bn. The spike was concentrated in Helmand.
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