Rising drug abuse worries Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday he was concerned by the steady growth of drug addiction despite international efforts to curb drug abuse and trafficking.

He pledged that the government would keep fighting drug abuse and try to rehabilitate addicts.

"Traffickers mainly target young people because they are the most lucrative market," Soeharto said in a speech, read by Minister of Social Services Endang Kusuma Inten Suweno, to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

A private foundation for drug rehabilitation released a statement Tuesday which said that none of Jakarta's junior or senior high schools were drug free.

The Bersama foundation's chairman, Putera Astaman, issued the statement after meeting President Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential office.

The statement contained the findings of surveys which said drug abuse had reached alarming proportions.

"Several surveys show that there are no junior or senior high schools in big cities, especially Jakarta, which are free of drug abuse problems," said Putera, a retired police major general.

He said drugs and alcohol might be part of the reason for the recent riots because people became violent under their influence. He was referring to the widespread election riots which claimed more than a hundred lives.

"Recent cases indicate that drug abuse has spread widely in society," Putera said.

In an international appeal, the United Nations Secretary- General Kofi A. Annan said yesterday: "Our first priority must be to reduce the exposure of young people to drug abuse.

"It is alarming that many individuals are beginning to experiment with drugs at a very young age," Annan said. "The problems are enormous, but I am convinced that individuals, communities and governments, acting together, can make a difference." (06)