Activists urge war on drug trafficking in Aceh<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Police must go all out to stop drug trafficking
\nfrom the war-torn province of Aceh following last week's arrest
\nof three Acehnese women here with 1.5 tons of marijuana, antidrug
\ncampaigners say.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Indonesian Anti-Narcotics Movement
\n(GAN) Zulkarnaen Lubis said the flow of drugs from Aceh had
\nreached an alarming level.<\/p>\n
He said the cases of drugs trafficking from Aceh, uncovered by
\npolice in North Sumatra, rose by over 100 percent, from 1,096
\ncases in 2001 to 2,264 last year.<\/p>\n
"North Sumatra, being a neighbor of Aceh, is very vulnerable
\nto drug trafficking," Zulkarnaen said last Friday.<\/p>\n
Marijuana grows in Aceh and drug dealers have taken advantage
\nof the 26-year separatist fighting there to turn Aceh into a drug
\nproduction base for neighboring regions, including Java and even
\npart of the country's eastern region.<\/p>\n
Security forces and separatist rebels have allegedly received
\nkickbacks from the illegal business, making it difficult to put
\nan end to it.<\/p>\n
Around 1.5 tons of marijuana went missing from a police
\nstation in the North Sumatra town of Binjai last year, after
\nsoldiers stormed it during a shoot-out with police. The clash
\nkilled two civilians, five police officers and one soldier.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, police in North Sumatra caught three Acehnese
\nwomen with 1.5 tons of marijuana, a crime Zulkarnaen said
\ndeserved the death sentence.<\/p>\n
"If they are found guilty of possessing the marijuana, then
\nbased on Narcotics Law No. 22\/1997, the three suspects could face
\nthe death penalty," he said.<\/p>\n
"To deter others, the police and legal authorities must have
\nthe courage to sentence criminals to death," Zulkarnaen added.<\/p>\n
Langkat Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Arman Depari in North
\nSumatra agreed that the three women should receive capital
\npunishment if they were proven to be drug dealers.<\/p>\n
There were two cases in which defendants were given the death
\nsentence in North Sumatra last year, but neither has been
\nexecuted so far.<\/p>\n
According to Zulkarnaen, the delay sent wrong signals to drug
\ndealers as they would think the court was not serious. "It's no
\nwonder drug dealers never learn from their mistakes, the death
\npenalty is in fact only on paper," he said.<\/p>\n
Another bad example was the court verdict against Asiong who
\nwas convicted of carrying 50 kilograms of crystal amphetamine
\nlocally known as shabu-shabu. His sentence of four years and four
\nmonths was reduced to 13 months by a court official who falsified
\na court document.<\/p>\n
Arman further said the police were still investigating the
\npossibility of a third party using the three women to bring the
\nmarijuana from Aceh to North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
"For now, we are assuming that the three suspects were not
\nacting on their own. There could just be couriers. We are hunting
\ndown the main player in the case," Arman said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that Langkat is prone to drug trafficking from
\nAceh, and said that the local police were determined to uproot
\nthe network of drug dealers there.<\/p>",
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