Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jan 2001
Source: Times of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)
Author: Dr. John C.K. Daly, Analyst and scholar at the Middle East Institute,
Washington, DC
THE COVERT BIOWAR AGAINST DRUGS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Tashkent ( TCA ). Uzbekistan is the epicenter of American, British
and UN-funded secret research that could destroy not only illicit
drug-producing plants but also many of the world's cereal crops.
In February 1998, the UNDCP signed a three and a half year
contract with the Tashkent Institute of Genetics, Plants and
Experimental Biology to develop a "reliable biological control agent"
to destroy opium poppies.
The opium fungus Pleospora Papaveracea was field-tested with
complete success.
The fungus does not affect any of one hundred thirty closely related
plant species.
Field tests are to be conducted on small plots over the next three
years, after which scientists estimate that the fungus will be ready
for use. US scientists, however, have concluded that the toxins
possess "broad genetic variability" that could lead to mutant
strains devastating adjacent crops.
American interest in using biological weapons against drug
cultivation dates back to the Nixon administration, which in 1971
asked Congress to fund research into insect species that would
devour opium crops.
Today, the social cost of illicit drugs in the US is estimated at $70
billion and 14,000 deaths annually.
The "drug war" has become a high-profile "politically correct" issue
for politicians of all parties.
The USSR also approached the United Nations International Drug
Control Program ( UNDCP ) with proposals to develop more
effective and environmentally benign biological agents for use
against opium poppies and marijuana.
An expert group working for the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
also suggested the use of biological agents to eliminate narcotic-
producing plants.
Uzbekistan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. In April
1998, Uzbekistan signed a counter-narcotics cooperation
agreement with the United States. Uzbekistan is also a member of
the Economic Cooperation Organization that features drug control
coordination supported by the UNDCP. There are currently three
UNDCP projects operating in Uzbekistan. One provides support to
the Tashkent Institute of Genetics, Plants and Experimental
Biology to create an effective pathogen specific to opium poppies.
The US has also provided training in drug forensics at Drug
Enforcement Agency headquarters to two Uzbek laboratory
technicians.
Uzbekistan's highly significant holdings of unique fungal, bacterial
and viral strains are of potential considerable commercial value to
Western biopharmaceutical companies.
In 1998, Uzbekistan's annual "Operation Black Poppy" operation
destroyed only 2.9 hectares of poppies, since the government has
all but eliminated opium poppy cultivation in Uzbekistan. Under
American and British influence, Uzbekistan has become more and
more deeply enmeshed in the region as the West's surrogate
partner in the war against drugs.
In 1998 it is conservatively estimated that 1,670 metric tons of
opium were produced in Afghanistan. As a further incentive to
pressure Uzbekistan to cooperate with the United Nations, there is
evidence that heroin labs are being located close to the borders of
some Central Asian countries.
There is some question as to whether the use of Pleospora
Papaveracea would contravene the United Nations' Biological and
Toxic Weapons Convention ( BTWC ). Because of the active
participation of Uzbekistan in the culturing and use of the agent
within its own borders, many conclude that the BTWC would
probably not apply.
Some UN officials fear, however, that if used, the mycotoxins could
lead to charges of biological warfare by the fundamentalist regimes
in Afghanistan and Iran. The issue could be exploited to win wider
support in the Islamic world.
The foreign implications of the development of this biological agent
are troubling. The United States has no domestic cultivation of
poppies to eradicate. Thus, the development of the agent is for
foreign use and might be seen by its intended clients as a biowar
agent.
The top foreign producers of opium poppies are Burma and
Afghanistan where more than 90% of the world's illicit opiates
originate.
As neither state has a close relationship with the US, security and
political concerns impelled the research to continue in Uzbekistan.
There are substantial security concerns about the release of such
an agent into a politically hostile environment. Terrorists or rogue
states could arm themselves with biological agents that could be
used against Western food stocks. World population growth
places an immense strain on food supplies, making crops a
tempting target.
Confidential UN documents show its experts are worried that once
spread on poppy fields the fungus Pleospora Papaveracea might be
difficult to contain. There are also worries that it might mutate in
forms that could be used by terrorists or traffickers themselves.
The Anglo-American secret project is a direct threat to the financial
prosperity of some of the most powerful and ruthless criminals in
the world.
Drug cartels threatened with the loss of their livelihood could
themselves acquire the technology and use a form of agricultural
terrorism in revenge attacks against the Western developers of the
pathogens.
Loyal American client states have balked at participation in the
program.
In January 2000, the UNDCP acknowledged that both
Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan refused to carry out field tests of the
fungus.
In addition to Uzbekistan, both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have
been urged to participate in field trials.
Work continues at an accelerated pace driven by visions of
imminent success.
A confidential UN research report states: "Production capacity to
treat approximately 2,000 hectares of illicit opium poppy crop
currently in cultivation in the sub-region Central Asia could be
established relatively easily, and at modest cost." What the report
fails to address is the ultimate cost to the environment and
humanity if the scientists and politico-drug warriors are wrong.
---------
|
