Colext/Macondo Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior -------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Edward Hammond" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Multiple recipients of announce - Sent by" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2001 2:10 PM Subject: Sunshine: European Parliament Rejects Agent Green > The Sunshine Project > News Release > 1 February 2001 > http://www.sunshine-project.org > > > European Parliament Rejects Agent Green > > Citing Human Health and Environmental Dangers, > Parliamentarians Vote 474 -1 to Prevent Introduction of Biological Agents > > (Hamburg and Austin, 1 February) - Today the European Parliament > voted overwhelmingly against the introduction of biological agents > into the Drug War. In Resolution B5-0087/2001, which sets out a > stance against militarization in Colombian President Pastrana's "Plan > Colombia", Parliamentarians expressed their conviction that the > European Union: > > "Smust take the necessary steps to secure an end to the large-scale > use of chemical herbicides and prevent the introduction of biological > agents such as Fusarium oxysporum, given the dangers of their use to > human health and the environment alike;" > > Political support for the decision is strong. The European Union's > top foreign policy official, Council of Foreign Ministers President > Lars Danielsson, said the EU considered Plan Colombia - which calls > for the use of biological agents - a bilateral US-Colombia affair in > which Europe did not wish to become involved. Commissioner Poul > Nielson, speaking on behalf of the European Commission, declared that > he was "completely in agreement" with sponsor Joaquim Miranda of > Portugal, who attacked eradication with biological agents as > dangerous for biodiversity and potentially deepening international > spill over of Colombia's complex internal conflict. > > The proponents of biological eradication - the US and its junior > partner the United Nations Drug Program (UNDCP) - have faced fierce > opposition in recent months, forcing them to withdraw immediate plans > to test and deploy biological agents in the Andes. But neither has > renounced the strategy of attacking illicit crops with biological > weapons, and despite accusations of biological warfare, both the US > and UNDCP continue to conduct research and development of > anti-narcotic crop biological agents. > > The European Parliament's decision is a blow against these policies > because it rejects not just one biological agent (Fusarium > oxysporum); but the entire approach. Thus, European Parliament > resolution is an important step toward a global ban on the use of > biological weapons against illicit crops called for at a December > meeting in France by an international group of more than eighty > non-profit organizations (see the Sunshine Project website for more > details). > > The Resolution is embarrassing for the British government, which is > the only country outside the US that has provided money for UNDCP's > biological agents research. The Drugs and International Crime > Division of the UK Foreign Office is funding tests being conducted by > a facility of the former Soviet Union's offensive biological weapons > program located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In recent months, however, > as public scrutiny has increased of this program and the related one > to develop agents to eradicate coca in the Andes, the Foreign Office > has become increasingly tight-lipped on the subject, making ambiguous > public statements about the future of its support for biological > eradication. > > Last year the US Congress conditioned aid to Colombia on Bogotá > agreeing to use biological agents. This condition was suspended in a > waiver issued by former US President Clinton, who overrode the US > Congress citing concerns about biological weapons proliferation. But > this policy could be reversed in future appropriations. Shortly > before leaving office, Clinton reiterated the concern about > biological weapons. The new US administration has not made any > public statements on the issue. > ------ > Distributed via The Sunshine Project > Announcement listserver. For more > information or to sign on, please see > http://www.sunshine-project.org > > > -------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with UNSUBSCRIBE COLEXT as the BODY of the message. Un archivo de colext puede encontrarse en: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ cortesia de Anibal Monsalve Salazar
