US apologizes to Azeri students for wrong data on drug addicts

The US embassy in Azerbaijan has apologized for incorrect data in the report of the Department of State (DoS) on the situation with drugs in this country. On March 2, the DoS reported that Azerbaijan has about 100,000 students-drug addicts.

"I ask pardon from the students and public of Azerbaijan for the DoS' report. The American government works a lot and can sometimes make mistakes," Terri Davidson, head of the PR Department of the US embassy in Azerbaijan.

The report of the DoS, disseminated on March 2 "Drug Control Strategy-2010", said that Azerbaijan has about 300,000 drug-addicts and 30-35 percent of them are students, the APA reports. However, the report meant not students but young men in total.

According to Mr Davidson, he had asked the Department to make changes in the report. The diplomat has also noted that the drug problem in the USA is much more scaled than in Azerbaijan.

The IA "Trend" adds that the report of the DoS has caused sharp protests of Azerbaijani public and students.

On March 11, Baku students held a protest action in front of the US embassy in Azerbaijan. "If we remember that Azerbaijan has about 140,000 students in total, the data in the report that 100,000 of them are addicts is just absurd," Dashgyn Ganbarov, chairman of the students' trade union of the Baku State University.