Soeharto orders closure of Ecstasy venues

Soeharto orders closure of Ecstasy venues

JAKARTA (JP): In response to growing public concern, President
Soeharto ordered yesterday that entertainment spots doubling as
marketplaces for drugs be closed down.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas relayed
Soeharto's message to the press after meeting with the President
yesterday. "Impose sanctions against entertainment spots which
abuse their permits. If necessary, close them down," Soeharto was
quoted by Azwar as saying.

During the meeting, Azwar informed Soeharto of the widening
circulation of the drug Ecstasy, locally known as "Satan pills",
in places such as discotheques located in big cities and small
towns as well.

"The government is deeply concerned about the wide
availability of the drug, which endangers our younger
generation," Azwar said. "This is why the President has
instructed all local and provincial governments to monitor
entertainment centers."

President Soeharto signed on July 15 the bill on psychotropic
drugs, which will soon be submitted for deliberation to the House
of Representatives. If passed, the draft law would amend the 1976
Anti-Narcotics Law, considered to be outdated because it has no
provision on newly invented drugs such as Ecstasy.

After the law is ratified, "users and traffickers will be
harshly dealt with," Azwar promised.

In a related development yesterday, National Police Chief Lt.
Gen. Dibyo Widodo pointed to the existence of "political
interests" behind the increasing number of Ecstasy traffickers
and users.

"It's possible that there are parties which use Ecstasy and
target teenagers to further their political interests," the
three-star general told a seminar on drugs attended by around 300
people from various professions, such as students, teachers,
parents, doctors and police officers.

Later, most of the teenagers would then become addicts and
unable to quit using drugs, said Dibyo.

"Their futures will be destroyed and this, in turn, will
threaten the future and life of our country," he said.

Dibyo said that police have to anticipate any possibilities
that could be detected behind the increasing use and trafficking
of Ecstasy pills in the country.

"We know that there's pure business considerations behind the
trafficking, but there might be other possibilities behind that,"
he said after opening the one-day seminar. He did not elaborate,
however.

Ecstasy, the street name of a designer substance brewed by
illegal factories, generally comprises MDMA or MDA, which can
have a great physical impact on the brain's neuron cells. It
generally circulates in discotheques frequented by youths and
executives.

Frequent use of Ecstasy is harmful, because the body exerts
too much energy, which can cause both physical and mental
exhaustion.

Thus far, there is no law to prosecute traffickers and users
of Ecstasy. Police have been hampered in their fight against
Ecstasy because the 1976 Anti-narcotics Law does not classify the
drug as a narcotic. The law confines narcotics to marijuana,
cocaine and morphine.

The police have resorted to using a 1949 Law on Dangerous
Drugs, the 1992 Health Law No. 23 and Article 204 of the Criminal
Code, which deals with the supply of dangerous drugs. People
breaking these laws are subject to between seven years and life
in prison or a fine ranging from Rp 140 million to Rp 300
million.

The long-awaited bill on psychotropic drugs rules that
violators can be punished with up to 15 years in prison or fined
up to Rp 140 million. (swe/bsr)