§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her oral answer of 26 June 2002,Official Report, column 866, what the result is of her inquiries into the use of landmines by Afghan cultivators to protect poppy crops; and if she will make a statement. [66746]
§ Clare ShortInquiries into the use of land mines by poppy cultivators in Afghanistan indicate that this was predominantly a case of rumour to disrupt the crop eradication programme. There has been only one reported incident since the start of the eradication campaign: on 22 April 2002 25 people were injured, seven seriously when a land mine was detonated in a poppy field in Uruzgan. Two deaths were reported but these were not verified. Casualties included people undertaking the crop eradication.
Both the Afghan Transitional Administration and the international community remain committed to the eradication of the opium poppy and the development of alternative livelihoods for all poor people in Afghanistan.