City and disco owners to discuss Ecstasy

JAKARTA (JP): The public order office has invited 150 owners and managements of discotheques to City Hall today to discuss the best way to curb Ecstasy transactions.

The head of the city public order office, Kusaeni Budiarjo, said yesterday that talks between city officials, military and police officers and the owners and managements of nightspots are crucial in the fight against Ecstasy use and trafficking at the establishments.

The Jakarta Military Command, Jakarta Police and City Tourism Office have agreed to send representatives to the meeting, Kusaeni said.

"We plan to limit or forbid house music in discotheques if it is found that such music stimulates discogoers to take the banned Ecstasy," he said.

Kusaeni said the managements can use the meeting to express their problems. "We hope the managements will tell us everything, then we will have feedback from the series of Ecstasy crackdowns," he said.

The city administration, police and military have conducted surprise raids on discotheques, hotels and other nightspots in their efforts to apprehend drug traffickers and prostitutes as well as military and police officers who frequent such establishments.

The raids have produced varying responses. Observers say the police and military must find a better way to foil the growing Ecstasy business and stop harassing disco patrons.

The raids have also produced complaints from establishment owners and managements, who say the officers terrify their customers and claim the number of visitors dropped days after the "military" raids took place.

They said they support any effort to curb the drug business, but resent having their patrons bothered.

A consumer advocate, Zumrotin K. Soesilo, said visitors that frequent nightspots for relaxation but who are annoyed by such "arbitrary" raids have the legal right to sue the military and police.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has said that he will close any nightspot used for drug trafficking.

Jakarta has 3,233 nightspots, including discotheques, bars, nightclubs and karaoke centers. Thousands of people depend on nightspots for a living. They are also a good source of revenue for the city. (yns/sur)