Ecstasy at Schiphol

Ecstasy at Schiphol

In connection with the Attorney General Office's endeavors to
obtain the extradition of MS who is accused of smuggling Ecstasy
pills at Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands, I am of the opinion
that the extradition is unwarranted for the following reasons:

1. The Dutch law enforcers are better placed to develop the case
as extensively as possible and in a transparent way. There is
hope of detecting the producer, the distributor and the middleman
in the Netherlands, also the buyer, the operator and the
distributor here. There is strong doubt that Indonesian law
enforcers could do such a job because justice in Indonesia can be
bought and many of those dealing in prohibited goods are above
the law.

Besides investigating a case, even keeping a detainee in
custody is not possible. What happened with Zarima, Eddy Tansil,
Ria Irawan and the Bernas journalist are sufficient proof that
our law enforcers are extremely ineffective.

2. The Dutch court is more reliable in its honesty and integrity
in enforcing justice. Apart from receiving an adequate income,
judges are not easily tempted because the control of the press
and the Lower House of Parliament is sufficiently strong to
balance the government's power.

I am very worried that if MS is tried here the court will
decide on a stiff sentence, only to have the Supreme Court
dismiss the case because it considers MS's action to have been an
"error in procedure" only, or MS will escape like Zarima and Eddy
Tansil or have the case shelved like that of Ria Irawan.

3. The Indonesian law enforcers should cooperate with their Dutch
counterparts in the eradication of prohibited drug abuse. In MS's
case it is sufficient for our law enforcers to follow up the
findings in the Netherlands.

4. I suggest that the Indonesian press monitor the handling of
MS's case in the Netherlands and publish the proceedings to the
Indonesian public in a transparent way.

May the future of Indonesia's younger generation be safe!

M. IKHSAN

Jakarta