LIBYA FACES UP TO DRUGS MENACE

Libyan television has for the first time highlighted a growing drugs problem
in the country. The main evening news showed a report from a drugs
rehabilitation centre in the south, where a group of 157 young former users
and addicts were attending a "graduation ceremony" before being released
back into society.

The centre, at Tajurah, gives young people "the necessary medical treatment
to be cured from this illness which destroys man, his humanity, his senses
and physical and mental capabilities," a correspondent said.

An official added that the best way of fighting the drugs problem was to
stamp out the supply.

"Dealers and pushers target the infrastructure of this country. They are
agents of colonialism and Zionism," he said.

But the centre would help young Libyans turn away from drugs and "become
once again a model human being free from complexes and destructive traits".

In another sign that Libya is becoming more willing to admit its internal
problems to the rest of the world, Justice and Public Security Minister Musa
al-Abbar this month attended an international conference on organised crime
in Palermo.

Dealers... are agents of colonialism and Zionism

Libyan official He admitted that Libya had a problem with criminal gangs who
made use of its geographical position for smuggling.

And he said that new laws had been introduced to fight drugs, including
providing addicts with treatment and aftercare instead of punishing them.

Last year Libyan doctors were allowed to admit to foreign journalists that a
heroin problem was spreading among "children of the rich and young women".

But this is the first time the drugs issue has been referred to openly
inside the country.