Flights of Ecstasy

Flights of Ecstasy

From Media Indonesia

Once more Ecstasy is in the news. This time a Garuda pilot was nabbed by the Dutch police with 8,000 pills stashed in his vest.

The government has made it known through attorney general Singgih that the hearing should be held in Indonesia, which he says would mete out a stiffer sentence. We would like to make the following comments:

* The Attorney General's statement is hard to accept. We know that our present laws are far from effective.

* Similar cases, like the one that caused the death of Aldi and involved starlet Ria Irawan, or the case of the mysterious Zarima, who seems to have vanished into thin air, have not been solved yet. The public is thus justifiably doubtful that this case will ever be solved.

* Not to forget the case of Eddy Tansil who escaped from Cipinang prison and has not been recaptured. This case opened the eyes of world to the fact that justice is still a problem here. Maybe that's why drug barons see this region as a safe haven.

We should calm down and trust the Garuda pilot to the hands of Dutch justice; it might suffice to dispatch a legal counselor to help.

SOFWAN A.M.

Jakarta