COLOMBIA DRUG CROP SPRAYING HALTED

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A Colombian court on Friday ordered a suspension of
aerial eradication of drug crops using the chemical glyphosate, the main
prong of a U.S.-backed counterdrug offensive in the South American country.

The ruling by a Bogota district court came in response to a petition by an
organization representing Colombia's native Indian communities.

President Andres Pastrana said his legal experts were studying the ruling.
He did not indicate whether he was ordering an immediate stop to the
spraying against the plants used to make cocaine and heroin.

Addressing a news conference, Pastrana reiterated his government's official
policy of spraying herbicides only against large-scale drug plantations and
of inviting poor peasant farmers to join voluntary manual eradication programs.

But Indian groups, small farmers and environmentalist say that poor
farmers' drug crops are also being wiped out by planes dumping herbicides
and that the spraying is poisoning rivers and making people sick.

"As a provisional measure, all aerial fumigation with glyphosate is ordered
suspended," the ruling said.

The court decision comes amid growing opposition in Colombia to herbicide
use against drug crops and as Congress considers additional drug fighting
aid for the country. Last year U.S. lawmakers approved a $1.3 billion package.

Washington is bankrolling the offensive against coca and poppy fields in
Colombia. The aid program provides crop-dusting aircraft and escort
helicopters that carry out spraying missions using glyphosate - the main
ingredient in the commonly used backyard fertilizers.

A court official, speaking on condition that he not be identified,
emphasized that Friday's ruling was preliminary. He said it a more
definitive verdict would be issued within 10 days.

The officials said the court would clarify as early as Monday whether the
suspension applied to spraying in the entire country or only on Indian
reservations. Judge Gilberto Reyes could not be reached for comment.

His ruling asked the government to respond within three days to a series of
questions about the legal framework, precision and the possible health and
environmental damage caused by the fumigation program against coca and
poppy plantations.

Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine and a growing exporter
of heroin to the United States and Europe.