Iran, Malaysia Cut From U.s. List Of Drug Countries

WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had
removed Iran and Malaysia from its annual list of sources of illegal drugs,
but said the two nations still bear watching.

The survey also said that drug transport through Central America had
been disrupted by Hurricane Mitch after a period of rising traffic
over the past year, but that this traffic could resume or even
increase as the region recovers.

U.S. President Bill Clinton, in a letter to Congress, said Iran had
been removed from the list after the United States was able to confirm
the country's reports that it had eradicated cultivation of opium
poppies. It had been on the list since 1987.

Iran's progress was welcomed by the White House as a "positive" step,
but officials said the decision to remove it from the list was
unrelated to a slow thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations under Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami.

"These decisions on the drug list are done by statute, and there is a
specific criteria set forth by that statute of how you make the list
or how you move off the list. And it does not include political
considerations," said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart.

Malaysia was removed because although it is geographically well suited
as a transit route for heroin to the United States, there has been no
sign for several years that U.S.-bound drugs have been shipped through
the country.

The president said Iran and Malaysia would, however, remain countries
"of concern," which bear monitoring due to their potential as transit
routes.

Under U.S. law, countries determined to be major drug sources are
evaluated by the United States for their cooperation in fighting
trafficking. Those that fail to meet the standard can be
"decertified" and cut off from U.S. financial assistance for
anti-drug efforts.

Countries listed by the president as major producers or transit routes
for illegal drugs were: Afghanistan, Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos,
Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru. Taiwan, Thailand,
Venezuela and Vietnam.

Other countries or regions of concern were Netherlands Antilles, Syria
and Lebanon, Turkey and other countries along a Balkan drug transit
corridor, Cuba, Central Asia, and cannabis-producing states
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, the Philippines and South Africa.

Clinton also said he was concerned about drug trafficking through
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, although Hurricane
Mitch had disrupted activity. He said the coastline, ports,
transportation routes and limited law enforcement capabilities in the
region made it attractive to traffickers.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry