'Holland misunderstood on Ecstasy'

'Holland misunderstood on Ecstasy'

SERANG, West Java (JP): Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and
Sports E. Borst-Eilers says many Indonesians mistakenly cite
Holland as a manufacturing source of Ecstasy, the drug which has
become the cause of much concern in Indonesia.

Borst said here on Tuesday that Ecstasy is a dangerous drug
and that it is strictly forbidden to possess it or produce it in
the Netherlands.

She added that Dutch police are actively attempting to
apprehend local makers of Ecstasy, also known as MDMA.

"It's not allowed to process it in my country. It's an illegal
drug. It is also illegal to process the substances that you need
to make the pills," Borst told reporters after attending the
launching of the second national anti-polio drive.

Over the last two years, the Dutch government has closed 30
laboratories manufacturing Ecstasy, she said.

Nevertheless, she said, other laboratories still exist in the
Netherlands and other European countries.

Borst, visiting Indonesia from Sept. 8 to Sept. 12, suggested
that both countries cooperate in dealing with Ecstasy
trafficking.

"We think it's a very bad thing that some people export it
from Amsterdam airport, for instance, to Indonesia. So, the
customs of Holland and Indonesia are going to work better
together to prevent it," Borst said.

Recently, she said, her government has formed a national
Ecstasy team of police and customs officers working together
against Ecstasy trafficking. "We've made a serious effort, but
apparently it's not enough. So you have to hit harder," Borst
said.

She also denied Minister of Health Sujudi's recent comment
that the Netherlands used to allow its citizens to use Ecstasy in
small doses.

"He's mistaken. It's not allowed to have it or to take it. But
I know that some young people take it.

"When you buy a pill on the black market, only one small pill,
it will be difficult to prevent a girl or a boy from taking it,"
she said. "But, they know it's dangerous. We have a lot of
propaganda to tell young people that they should not take Ecstasy
because it can be very dangerous for their health."

In response to the recent arrest of several Dutch nationals
and Indonesians arriving from the Netherlands after they were
caught with the drugs, she said that "it's a terrible thing" and
that "they have to be punished some way".

Several Dutch nationals and Indonesians arriving from the
Netherlands have been caught in possession of the drug, most of
them at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

In the absence of a clear-cut law on the possession and
trafficking of Ecstasy, police have temporarily resorted to a
1949 law on dangerous drugs, a 1992 law on the distribution of
substandard drugs and Article 204 of the Criminal Code in their
fight to punish offenders.

Ecstasy is popular among young Indonesians and at rave
parties. The drug reportedly can be purchased at some
discotheques and nightclubs frequented by Jakarta's wealthy
teenagers. (31)