cannabisnews.com: Colombia Drug Crop Fumigation Resumes





Colombia Drug Crop Fumigation Resumes
Posted by FoM on July 31, 2001 at 10:23:26 PT
By Margarita Martinez, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
Colombia will not stop spraying coca and poppy fields, despite a judge's order to temporarily suspend fumigating drug crops, the chief of the country's anti-narcotics police said. Anti-narcotics chief Gen. Gustavo Socha said Monday that he ordered the fumigation to continue -- except in the Amazon.Amazonian Indians petitioned to have the U.S.-backed fumigation stopped, saying the spraying poisons the rivers and harms farmers' health. 
On Friday, Judge Gilberto Reyes of Bogota District Court ordered the aerial operations temporarily suspended until the Colombian government responds to health and environmental concerns.But the ruling has left officials with conflicting interpretations of how far-reaching it is.In Washington, State Department spokesman Charles Hunter said U.S. officials believed fumigation was suspended in all of Colombia.But Socha said he understood that it applied only to the Amazonian region in south-central and southeastern Colombia. Spraying missions were proceeding in Narino and Cauca states, where many of the planes are currently based, he said.''Today, I ordered the spraying to proceed,'' Socha said by telephone Monday, but bad weather kept the planes grounded.DynCorp, a U.S. firm contracted by the State Department to pilot the spray planes, said the company got the go-ahead from the Colombian government and U.S. officials to fumigate Tuesday, spokeswoman Charlene Wheeless said.Fumigation of coca and poppy -- which produce cocaine and heroin, respectively -- is funded by a $1.3 billion aid package from Washington.The initiative is meant to reduce the flow of cocaine and heroin to the United States -- and deprive Colombian rebels and paramilitaries of a fortune in proceeds from the drug trade.The fumigation is ''a key component of our counternarcotics effort,'' Hunter said.Source: Associated PressAuthor: Margarita Martinez, Associated Press WriterPublished: July 31, 2001Copyright: 2001 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Colombia Drug War Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/colombia.htmSpraying Blitz Cripples Colombian Drug Crop http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10459.shtmlBogota Judge Suspends Fumigation of Coca Fields http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10440.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Glyphosatehttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=glyphosate 
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Comment #5 posted by jorma nash on July 31, 2001 at 16:48:10 PT
surprised?
surprised? not the regulars here, who predicted this move to the letter.i said i'd be the first to admit i was wrong, but i'm not going to do it quite yet.why would a judge order suspension of spraying, only in an area where spraying wasn't occurring to begin with?i still hold out hope the judge will inform the general that in the finest legalese that:"um, i was talking about you."this will make the people addicted to spraying poison on someone elselook even worse than if they did what they were ordered to do to begin with...even if the whole thing does get successfully glossed over, it is still stark evidence of how out of control the Chemistry Police have become...the Drug Warriors obviously feel their Holy Mission is quite above the admonishments from some mere judicial branch of government.
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Comment #4 posted by New Mexican on July 31, 2001 at 16:31:40 PT
The Loopholes in the rule of law...
make any laws outside of the laws of nature (the only law, the principles of the EVER-EXPANDING/EVER CONTRACTING universe)obsolete. When laws are made to protect people, law enforcement openly breaks them, with little or no consequence. When we break petty, selectively enforced laws, for victimless crimes, we are brutally beaten, incarcerated, demonized and crucified for our beliefs (hmmmm...sound familiar, like Seattle, Gotenburg, Genoa). In terms of political cycles of state violence, 1929 and 1965 (36 year cycles) will be replayed, and expanded upon. It won't be pretty (the Great depression, Viet Nam, but the perps will be held accountable eventually (remember George Wallace, Nixon?). Which brings us back to the Loopholes in the rule of law....Peace!
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Comment #3 posted by TroutMask on July 31, 2001 at 12:10:22 PT
Not Suprised Either
I'm not suprised. The US government believes itself above human nature, Mother Nature and God.-TM
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Comment #2 posted by natural_mystic on July 31, 2001 at 11:19:00 PT
Is anyone surprised?
So tell me, is anyone?
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on July 31, 2001 at 11:13:36 PT:
Spraying is Bad Medicine
It will not achieve its goals and is a crime against nature.
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