European Group to Help Afghan Poppy Farmers Sue Britain

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

Article summaries in My Journal.


2//The Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates 26 March 2006

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/March/theworld_March800.xml§ion=theworld



EUROPEAN GROUP TO HELP AFGHAN POPPY FARMERS SUE BRITAIN

(AFP)

KABUL - A European-based drug-policy group said on Sunday it would help hundreds of Afghan opium farmers sue the British government to collect 21 million dollars owed to them for eradicating their poppy crop two years ago after the few cheques they received had bounced.

The Senlis Council, a Paris-based group, said farmers in southern Helmand province claim British officials had promised them 350 dollars for every jerib (one-fifth of a hectare) of their opium crop they destroyed in 2002.

The farmers said they had together torn up 62,000 jeribs of opium.

However only a few of them were paid and most of the cheques issued by British officials had bounced, the council said in a statement.

The situation has left a bad feeling towards Britain in the province, where 3,000 British troops are due to deploy to assist in the fight against Taleban insurgents and in opium eradication, the council said.

The first troops are already on the ground, preparing for the arrival of the main force later this year.


(MORE)

[High Plains]

1. The Senlis Council has also proposed making Afghanistan one

of the select group of countries licensed to grow opium to supply the global medicinal market.