MOSCOW, March 10 – RIA Novosti. The President of Bolivia Evo Morales intends to defend the growing of coca leaf in front of members of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, meeting which will be held in Vienna on 10-12 March, reported local media on Tuesday.

Bolivia ranks third in world production of coca leaf. Under the agreement, which has signed with the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 1961, Bolivia was to be over 25 years of eradicating the cultivation of coca, but this did not happen.

According to the newspaper, the delegation of Bolivian coca producers in the meeting of the Commission headed by Morales himself, not just to protect the cultivation of coca leaf, which has a history of thousand years, and is inextricably linked with the traditions of the people of Bolivia. He intends to convince the members of the Commission to reconsider legislation that provides penalties for the cultivation of coca, because it is in his duties as president and head of the country “.

” We are defenders of cocaine, and our traditions and rituals. No one can ignore the history and culture of peoples, “- said Morales eve of his departure to Austria.

He noted that penalties for the cultivation of coca, which acts in the country for decades, is” a provocation against the identity and culture “of Bolivian people, and Bolivia “there is a strong case to show them (the UN), with scientific, cultural, economic, political points of view that it is impossible to stop the growing of coca leaf”.

President ofBolivia is a staunch supporter of the revival “of traditional Culture coca “and even declared it a national treasure, in accordance with the Constitution, adopted in February 2009. According to him, the coca leaf, primarily used in traditional medicine (as a medicine and very useful for human health food supplements), and religious ceremonies, not for drug production.

Despite the requirement to allow to grow coca, Morales was in favor of active combat illegal drug trafficking. Only in the last two years have been slaughtered around 18 thousand hectares of illegal coca planting (by law not allowed to sow more than 5 thousand hectares for domestic consumption). Agreement between Russia and Bolivia on cooperation in this field was signed during the visit of Morales in Moscow in February this year.

Bolivia, where there are 27,5 thousand hectares of coca plantations, took third place in the world producing a sheet of this plant, which serves as the main raw material for hard drugs cocaine and its derivatives. First place retains Colombia, where coca bushes are occupied 150 thousand hectares, the second – Peru from 97 thousand hectares.