U.S. has played ignominious role in Afghan narcotics problem: spokesperson

BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- As the culprit of the Afghan issue, the United States has played an ignominious role in the narcotics problem in Afghanistan by acquiescing or even participating in drugs production and trade there, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query that a few days ago, the Afghan interim government announced a nationwide ban on poppy cultivation and the manufacturing, use and sales of all categories of narcotics.

Noting that narcotics is a common scourge of mankind, Zhao said that China appreciates the measures taken by the Afghan interim government.

He said that the Chinese government firmly cracks down on narcotics crimes and actively participates in international counter-narcotics cooperation. "We stand ready to further deepen counter-narcotics cooperation with Afghanistan and other regional countries to safeguard the healthy and tranquil life of all our peoples."

It is worth pointing out that the United States, the culprit of the Afghan issue, has played an ignominious role in the narcotics problem in Afghanistan, said Zhao, adding that according to some media reports, the U.S. forces stationed in Afghanistan implemented a project to create a drug laboratory on a global scale. As a result, the production of opiates in the country increased more than 40 times.

Alfred McCoy, an American historian, said in an article that to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the United States funded local guerrillas through the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), turning a blind eye to the fact that they were operating a chain of heroin laboratories. Charles Cogan, former director of the CIA's Afghan operation, said that the United States didn't really devote resources to an investigation of the drug trade in Afghanistan, the spokesperson pointed out.

"The two decades of U.S. presence in Afghanistan is two decades of death and displacement of innocent Afghan civilians and two decades of relentless rise of local drug production," Zhao said, adding that with its irresponsible and hasty withdrawal, the United States has left behind a series of grim challenges to the innocent Afghan people, including the drug issue.

"The United States should reflect on its behavior, offer sincere apologies and ample compensations, and strive to undo the harm it has inflicted on the Afghan people with concrete actions," Zhao stressed.