CLINTON URGES UNITY IN DRUG FIGHT

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Clinton on Monday sought to mend fences
with Mexico over a secret U.S. money-laundering probe on its soil, and urged
international unity in the fight against drug trafficking.

"Drugs are every nation's problem, and every nation must act to fight them,"
Clinton said at the opening of a three-day special session of the United
Nations General Assembly devoted to curbing the use and trafficking of
illegal drugs.

"Together, we must extend the long arm of the law, and the hand of
compassion, to match the global reach of this problem," Clinton said.

Clinton, speaking as U.S. anti-drug tactics have come under renewed fire
from Mexico and others for running roughshod over the rights of other
countries, announced new domestic and international measures to fight the
scourge.

And he praised Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo for his courageous resolve
against drugs and for setting records in eradication of drug crops.

But Zedillo, still smarting from being kept in the dark about the U.S.
Operation Casablanca sting that took place on his soil, reminded members of
the assembly that national sovereignty must be respected.

"We must all respect the sovereignty of each nation 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," Zedillo said.

He spoke immediately after Clinton, and ahead of a meeting planned between
the two leaders for later in the day.

More than 30 world leaders are attending the General Assembly session, which
will meet morning, noon and night to accommodate the 150 countries taking part.

In last month's operation in Mexico, the result of a three-year undercover
probe, U.S. agents lured Mexican bankers to a fake casino in the United
States. As a result, some 150 people were arrested, $50 million was seized
and three Mexican banks were indicted.

Mexico has asked that U.S. customs agents involved in the sting be
extradited to Mexico, but White House National Security Adviser Samuel
Berger told reporters Monday, "we think it would be a very bad idea."

Asked how he expected Clinton to respond to Zedillo's criticism when the two
meet, Berger said, "I think the hope is to now move to the future. How do we
have better procedures for handling these kinds of operations?"

Clinton's speech ran four minutes over the seven-minute limit set for
addresses to the Assembly.

He proposed a 10-fold expansion, to $2 billion, of a media campaign funded
by public and private sources aimed at discouraging drug use by American youth.

The campaign would last five years, costing the government about $195
million each year.

Clinton also said the United States would use the Internet to distribute
international research on drug abuse prevention and treatment, and form an
academic program to bring drug experts from around the world to share their
knowledge.

In addition, Clinton said the United States would be adding 20 countries to
a list of dozens receiving U.S. assistance to track the laundering of drug
profits.

Lines had blurred between nations traditionally regarded as producers,
consumers, or traders of drugs, Clinton said. "The debate between
drug-supplying and drug-consuming nations about whose responsibility the
drug problem is has gone on too long," he said.

The White House anti-drug chief, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, said later there were
200 million drug addicts worldwide, and the United States, long considered
the top drug-consuming nation, had also become a major producer of drugs
such as methamphetamines.

The U.N. drug summit has drawn many groups challenging American drug
policies. They say too much money is going into law enforcement rather than
treating and preventing addiction.

Clinton said more than one-third of the $17 billion proposed for U.S.
anti-drug efforts next year would be devoted to reduction of demand.

In an open letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan over the weekend,
about 500 prominent figures around the world, including former
Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, said that the war on
drugs was now causing more harm than drug abuse itself and urged a rethink
in the approach.

Responding to the letter, a spokesman for Annan said the secretary-general
"invites anybody who has any suggestions, proposals or ideas which could
help improve the international community's response to this problem" to come
forward.

"We do not believe we have a monopoly on knowledge and the secretary-general
seeks creative contributions that will help refine the U.N.'s strategy," the
statement added.

Several private organizations argue that conventional "wars on drugs" can
never succeed and countries should seek to reduce harm rather than fill prisons.

These organizations, particularly the New York-based Lindsmith Center, a
foundation funded by philanthropist George Soros, say needle exchange
programs -- providing sterile hypodermic syringes in exchange for dirty
ones, as practiced by some European countries and many U.S. cities and
states -- can save thousands of lives by preventing the spread of AIDS and
hepatitis.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett