92003E0220

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0220/03

by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Council

(3 February 2003)

Subject: Drug-related escalation of violence in Bolivia

The situation in Bolivia vis-à-vis the demonstrations of indigenous groups that advocate the use of traditional produce such as coca leaf currently strictly regulated by the Bolivian Government should become of particular concern to the international community. In fact, over the last few days in Bolivia there has been a series of clashes between the police and army and the protesters, mainly farmers, who were demonstrating against the eradication of their traditional crop. According to Bolivian media outlets the situation is characterised by an escalation of violence that has led to at least 17 deaths, dozens wounded and hundreds arrested.

Is the Council aware of the nature of such an escalation in the confrontation between the Government and indigenous groups on the eradication of coca, and what measures is the Council enforcing or does it intend to enforce in its support to the Bolivian authorities in their crop eradication activities?

Does the Council not believe that the time has come to address the failures, and disastrous consequences, that prohibition is provoking in producer and consumer countries alike and initiate at the upcoming ministerial segment of the UN Commission on Narcotics, scheduled for 16 and 17 April 2003, a process of revision of the three international Conventions on Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances in order to promote a more effective pragmatic approach to the drug question?

Reply

(21 July 2003)

The situation in Bolivia to which the Honourable Member of Parliament refers has not been discussed in the framework of the Council. The theme of crop eradication and alternative development will be discussed at the forthcoming high level meeting on drugs of the European Union with the Andean Community on 26/27 May 2003 in Cartagena de las Indias as well as in a broader framework at the Fifth High Level meeting of the coordination/cooperation mechanism on drugs EU/Latin America/Caribbean on 29/30 May in the same city.

As regards a process of revision of the three international conventions so far no such an initiative has been discussed in the framework of the Council.