Megawati launches month-long national antidrug campaign

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Alarmed by the rising incidence of drug abuse, President Megawati Soekarnoputri launched on Wednesday a month-long national antidrug campaign, and urged judges to hand down the death sentence to drug traffickers.

"To mark the beginning of the national campaign, I would like to invite the public to turn their vehicles' lights on from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. from June 27 until July 26," Megawati said at a ceremony marking International Antidrug Day at the State Palace on Wednesday.

Megawati did not spell out the government's antidrug program for the next one month in detail, raising doubts that the government was serious about going after drug traffickers.

Earlier this year, she dissolved the National Narcotics Coordination Board (BKNN), which was considered to be ineffectual in fighting against drug trafficking, and replaced it with the National Narcotics Board (BNN).

Although the BNN is vested with the power to raid and investigate suspected drug traffickers, it has yet to deliver anything substantial.

Courts in Tangerang, Batam, and Bali have sentenced 14 drug traffickers to death, including seven foreigners, but none of them have been executed thus far.

This contrasts with China and Myanmar, which celebrated International Antidrug Day by executing at least 50 drug criminals and burning narcotics worth more than a billion dollars on Wednesday.

The number of drug users in Indonesia has continued to soar. According to the BNN, the ranks of drug abusers have swelled from around two million people in 1999 to around four million in 2002.

Megawati urged judges not to hesitate in passing the death sentence on drug traffickers, and ordered the law enforcement authorities to step up the war on drugs.

"Life sentences and other prison sentences are no longer sufficient. We need stricter punishments, like the death sentence, for drug traffickers," Megawati said in an off-the-cuff statement.

She also expressed her gratitude to those in the legal system who had devoted themselves to the fight against drugs.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said Indonesia was now considered as a psychotropic substance producer, and a prominent narcotics distribution center area in Asia, with 1.2 percent of the country's 210 million population recorded as drug abusers.

The President has also ordered urine tests for all government officials as part of the antidrug campaign. So far, such tests have been held in Medan and Tangerang.

The BNN chief, Insp. Gen. Nurfaizi, said after the ceremony that his organization planned to bust all international drug traffickers operating in Indonesia by 2007.

"Our operation will focus on major dealers and distributors. We also will track down the use of the profits made from drug trading," Nurfaizi said.

He also expressed his appreciation to the non-governmental organizations that had supported the government's effort, especially through the establishment of rehabilitation centers for drug abusers.

During the ceremony, Megawati bestowed awards on four people considered as heroes in the war on drugs: Sandro Calvani from the United Nations Drugs Control Program (UNDCP), Jeane Mandagi from the BNN, Judge Primharyadi, and well-known poet Taufik Ismail.

The modest ceremony was also marked by the presence of several movie stars, including Arie Wibowo, and noted presenter Farhan. The BNN's deputy chief, Insp. Gen. Togar Sianipar, even took time out to be photographed with Arie Wibowo.