CLINTON IN UN PLEA FOR WORLD STAND ON DRUGS

Armed with plans for a $2 billion (1300m Irish Pounds) media campaign to
help stanch the flow of narcotics across international borders, President
Bill Clinton asked world leaders yesterday to "stand as one against this
threat" without blaming each other for the problem.

In an opening address at the UN General Assembly special session on drugs,
Mr Clinton told representatives of about 150 countries, including 35 heads
of state and government, that it is time to stop bickering over whether
blame for international drug trafficking lies with countries that demand
drugs or those that supply them.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who met privately in New York with Mr
Clinton before the session, called the drug scourge "a tragic reality" and
appealed to member nations to work seriously on finding common ground on
fighting drugs.

"It is my hope that when historians study the work of humankind in drug
control they will write about the next few days as the point at which this
trend was reversed," Mr Annan said. "We must never give in to the human toll
illegal drugs are taking on our societies."

BALANCED

Also at the session were Presidents Jacques Chirac of France, Ernesto
Zedillo of Mexico, Rafael Caldera of Venezuela, Alberto Fujimori of Peru,
Hugo Banzer of Bolivia and Ernesto Samper of Colombia.

Mr Zedillo called for a "balanced strategy" to combat drug trafficking "so
that no one can become the judge of others and no one feels entitled to
violate other countries' laws for the sake of enforcing its own." This is a
clear reference to the controversy over "Operation Casablanca," a major US
money-laundering sting that led to the arrests last month of 42 people
including about two dozen Mexican bankers.

Mr Clinton avoided any direct criticism of other countries, saying,
"Pointing fingers is distracting. It does not dismantle a single cartel,
help a single addict, prevent a single child from trying and perhaps dying
from heroin. Besides, the lines between countries that are supply countries,
demand countries and transit countries are increasingly blurred. Drugs are
every nation's problem."

Mr Clinton said a $2 billion, five-year media campaign against drugs would
be launched in the United States, targeting young people with a message that
"drugs destroy young lives, don't let it destroy yours."

Similar campaigns will be launched in Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil, Mr
Clinton said, adding that he discussed the issue with Brazilian President
Cardoso on Sunday.

Mr Clinton brought along Attorney General Janet Reno; his drug policy
adviser, Gen. Barry McCaffrey; Latin American envoy Mack McLarty, and Health
and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. They attended the UN session and
briefed reporters afterward.

Congress will be asked to provide $175 million of the $2 billion for the
media campaign, with the rest coming from businesses and philanthropic
organizations.

Mr Clinton reported a 49 per cent drop in overall US drug use since 1979 and
a 70 per cent decrease since 1985. Changing young people's attitudes is
necessary if that trend is to continue, he said, adding he would ask
Congress to extend the anti-drug push until 2002.

Leaders of the world's drug-producing nations showed no hesitation in
blaming consumers for the global narcotics problem.

Their message: if rich countries such as the United States want our help in
fighting against drugs, show us the money.

"The illicit drug trade is demand-driven," the prime minister of the tiny
Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Nevis claimed.

"How can we truly expect small, poor countries such as mine to defeat the
wealthy drug lords if the rich countries, with their wealth of resources,
are unsuccessful in limiting the demand," said Mr Denzil Douglas.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"