From: Jim Rosenfield <[j n r] at [igc.apc.org]>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Date: 28 Oct 94 07:41 PDT
Subject: Re:  Interpol

From: Jim Rosenfield <jnr>

Date:  05-Oct-94 20:20 PDT 
RTw  10/04  Interpol head says drugs a threat to democracy

By Melanie Goodfellow 

ROME, Oct 4 (Reuter) - The global drugs problem is one of the
biggest threats to democracy and the scourge cannot be conquered by
law enforcement alone, one of the world's top police officials said
on Tuesday. 

"I believe that the struggle between East and West has been
replaced by the world's struggle against drugs," Interpol
Secretary-General Raymond Kendall told reporters on the final day
of the organisation's 63rd annual conference. 

"But there is an imbalance between the resources put into the law
enforcement side and that put into stemming the demand by which I
mean the drug abuse side," he added. "Unless we address this we
will not affect the problem." 

Kendall said that the United Nations' drugs commission had
recommended a move away from law enforcement which hit suppliers
towards an emphasis on more powerful health and education campaigns
which would cut the demand for drugs. 

"Unfortunately there are very few countries which have adopted
these recommendations," added Kendall, whose organisation
coordinates the work of 176 police forces worldwide. 

Over 500 top international policemen attended the six-day
conference at a police school on the outskirts of Rome. 

Money laundering, counterfeiting of currency and luxury goods, and
environmental crime such as the dumping of toxic waste and
trafficking of nuclear products were also high on the agenda,
Kendall said. 

Interpol also pledged to work closely with the International
tribunal set up to tackle crimes committed in former Yugoslavia. 

Next year's conference is to be held in Beijing in China, while
Turkey and India are vying to host it in 1996. 

Interpol, which will have a budget of $28 million next year,
elected Swedish national police commissioner, Bjorn Eriksson, as
the organisation's new chairman. 

"It's a great honour for me. There are few trade names so well
known as the concept of Interpol. Every little girl and boy in
Sweden knows about Interpol because it's in all the detective
stories," the 48-year-old Eriksson. 

In his speech, Eriksson called for greater cooperation among the
world's police forces and the need for public support. 

"It is vital that criminals should be unable to find refuge in any
part of the world," he said. 

REUTER  Copyright Reuters America Inc. 1994.  All rights reserved. 
<<>>