Antidrug campaign victory merely a pipe dream

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The nationwide "Say No To Drugs" campaign is apparently nothing more than a public relations exercise regarding the issue of internationally organized drug trafficking, as the crime rate continues to increase.

Figures compiled by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) show a total of 958 drug cases in 1998, which increased to 1,833 in 1999. The numbers soared to 3,478 in 2000 and 3,617 in 2001. Last year, there were 3,985 cases.

Despite severe punishment for drug abuse and drug-related crimes, stipulated in Law No. 22/1997 on narcotics, which carries as a maximum penalty the death sentence, many involved in drug- related crimes still roam free in neighborhoods, even in schools.

A survey carried out by non-governmental organization Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) in 2002 revealed that 70.5 percent of drug addicts started to use drugs between the ages of 12 and 17.

The government is now in dire need of finding a way to stop the ready supply of drugs, as the campaign to curb demand is not working; human rights activists and many groups are also opposed to the death penalty for drug-related crimes.

However, is the situation so helpless that the government should use as an example the recent antidrug measures in Thailand, which has allowed the extrajudicial killing of over 1,500 people alleged to be drug dealers in just five weeks of the two-month campaign?

"Should the government pursue the idea, it would be a retrograde step to the 1984 extrajudicial killings of alleged criminals, which, till now, no one has ever taken responsibility for," human rights activist Irianto Subiyakto told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"And there is no guarantee things would get any better."

Irianto, who is the head of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, added that the country had still to make extra efforts, including the involvement of Interpol, to establish international cooperation in its operations against drug trafficking.

Criminologist at the University of Indonesia Harkristuti Harkrisnowo highlighted the involvement of law enforcement personnel in the crime, which had helped drug traffickers to buy their way out.

Be it members of the police, Military or other law enforcement authorities, all have had a share in damaging the situation by backing drug dealers or offering under-the-table deals.

"Given the current situation, all of us, both law enforcers and the public, should focus more on prevention and rely on the law only as an instrument of last resort to cope with this issue. It's hard to stop the crime altogether because that's where the money is.

"Moreover, I haven't yet seen a media campaign that tells you how drugs affect you ... your body, your family, or your newborn child ... It would be much more effective than the advice currently issued, which is not even in Bahasa Indonesia," she told the Post, referring to the "Say No To Drugs" slogan.