Reuters AlertNet Lite - Don't blame me, Bolivian pres says in drug-hit Rio

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Don't blame me, Bolivian pres says in drug-hit Rio

19 Jan 2007 14:20:08 GMT
Source: Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Friday that coca farmers are not cocaine traffickers and that rich countries should fight demand for the coca-based drug instead of shutting down farms.

"I'm a coca leaf farmer and they've always accused me of being a drug trafficker but coca leaves don't cause addiction," Morales said at a summit of South American leaders in Rio de Janeiro.

Cocaine refined from coca plants grown in Andean nations like Bolivia and Colombia helps fuel a drug war among gangs in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, one of the world's most violent cities. Bolivia is one of the world's biggest coca growers.

"The cocaine problem in my country was imported from elsewhere," Morales, a former organizer of coca growers, said when asked what his government was doing to stop cocaine from reaching the streets of cities like Rio.

"Sure, we recognize that a drug problem exists, if people are using coca to make cocaine it's because there is a market for it," he said.

"There shouldn't just be zero cocaine policies, there should be zero demand, zero market policies."

Bolivians often chew on coca leaves or use them to make tea. Morales has said coca is a part of indigenous life, with an array of nutrients and medicinal qualities.

"You should talk to some developed, industrialized countries about eradicating this evil," he said.

Morales has often criticized the U.S.-funded purging of coca plantations in South America.

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Last updated:Fri Jan 19 14:21:25 2007