INTERIOR MINISTER WARNS DRUG GROWERS

Interior Minister Elias Murr said Sunday that a "wide-scale" campaign to
eradicate drug trafficking had begun, and he threatened anyone involved in
growing opium poppies or distributing the drug with prosecution and
immediate destruction of their crop. Murr said he gave the army and
security forces instructions to bulldoze any patch of land being used to
cultivate opium, and warned that authorities would accept no excuses, "of
whatever kind," for the continued cultivation of drugs.

Several months ago, Murr opted not to crack down on cannabis cultivation in
the Bekaa, saying that a socio-economic plan to help destitute farmers was
also needed.

However, on Sunday, the minister, who issued the orders in his capacity as
head of the Central Security Council, stressed the damage that drugs caused
young people by "destroying their future."