Government asked to issue decree suporting antidrug campaign
Government asked to issue decree suporting antidrug campaign
JAKARTA (JP): An antidrug activist called on Thursday for the
government's full support in a nationwide campaign against drugs.
Deputy chairman of the People's Antidrug Movement (GERAM)
Brig. Gen. (ret) Antonius Tifaona urged the government to back up
its antidrug stance with legislation.
"The government should formally declare its support for a
national campaign against drugs in a presidential decree,"
Tifaona said at a seminar on narcotics organized by Trisakti
University in West Jakarta.
The former West Java deputy police chief said the government
should also issue a government regulation as operational and
practical guidelines for Law No. 5/1997 on Narcotics and Law No.
22/1997 on Psychotropic Substances.
"The government regulation should explicitly mention the death
sentence for drug traffickers," he said, citing the importance of
"shock therapy" measures in order to scare drug criminals.
He also asked the government to soon establish a national
coordinating agency for antidrug measures.
The seminar was held in conjunction with the signing of a
Trisakti University rectorial decree, which will ban drug use and
trafficking within the university's campus, and with the
launching of the university's internal antidrug movement.
In the last six months, the university's antidrug movement has
netted 130 students found using drugs on campus.
Trisakti University rector Thoby Mutis said the university
authority would impose the toughest sanctions possible in order
to create a drug-free campus.
"Students who are proven to be using or trafficking in drugs
will be dismissed," Thoby said.
"We'll conduct random urine tests on students in the near
future."
Awareness
The rector said the university's school of medicine would be
developed as a drug rehabilitation center and that all campus
infrastructure would be used for the university's antidrug
campaign.
The seminar also saw the signing of an agreement between the
university and the city police for a short-term training and
campaign awareness program on drugs at the university's campus.
"Two of our security personnel confessed that several drug
dealers had been operating on the campus.
"The dealers threatened, but also offered substantial sums of
cash to the two personnel if they were allowed to run their
business here," said Trisakti university lecturer Effendi
Simangunsong.
Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said mass
support was needed to curb drug abuse and trafficking in the
city. "But the movement should be coordinated with the police,"
he said.
In a related development, nearly 400 police patrol (Sabhara)
and Elite Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers departed on
Wednesday night from city police headquarters to conduct drug
raids in West Jakarta.
At least 10 police trucks were sent out to raid discotheques
and massage parlors in West Jakarta, including Raja Mas, Stadium,
Emeralda, Sydney 2000, Zinos and Libra.
Some 50 officers raided the Sydney 2000 discotheque, located
on the ninth floor of the Sydney 2000 building in West Jakarta,
about two minutes after arriving on the scene. The delay may have
been enough time for some of the patrons to dump illegal
substances.
Officers did not immediately inspect the toilets, but waited
for a song to finish. Personnel at the discotheque then switched
on the lights and politely announced to the clientele that a raid
would be conducted.
The West Jakarta raids led to the arrest on early Thursday
morning of 32 people. Police also confiscated 38 ecstasy pills,
12 "Happy Five" pills and 17 marijuana cigarettes. (01/ylt)