Special agency is a must on drug war, says Marzuki

JAKARTA (JP): The government urgently needs to establish a national board which would function as a policy maker to minimize drug abuse and trafficking in the country, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Sunday.

According to Marzuki, the existing 1997 Law on Narcotics is not enough in handling drug cases due to the lack of serious efforts in imposing the laws.

"Narcotics abuse has become this country's main threat, so we need greater and firmer efforts to reduce it," he said during a national meeting of a non-governmental organization on the efforts to stop drug abuse.

Marzuki said that President Abdurrahman Wahid had expressed his agreement to review the narcotics law and to regulate more severe sanctions and punishment for drug syndicates, including those who are found guilty of assisting the drug rings.

"The revised law will be imposed on everyone without exception," Marzuki reaffirmed, referring to the fact that several military and police personnel had been involved in and even backed up the illegal business.

Over the last five years, narcotics cases have inflicted a heavy social and economic burden on the country. Many criminal cases here are committed by drug abusers.

In Jakarta alone, according to data of the Fatmawati Drug Addiction Hospital (RSKO), there are 130,000 drug addicts, with the youngest victims aged 12 years old.

Marzuki's idea was shared by many participants of the meeting, including lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, a retired two-star police general Koesparmono Irsan and anti-drug activist Henry Yosodiningrat.

They agreed to name the body Dewan Narkotika Nasional, or the National Drugs Board.

Adnan Buyung said the agency, similar to DEA (the Drugs Enforcement Agency) of the United States, will be designed to provide guidelines for police and prosecutors to cooperate effectively in combating drug trafficking.

"For example, and I think it is a must, the agency should order the police to destroy seized drugs and it should be witnessed by the public. Only a small amount of it should be taken to the prosecutor's office as evidence," he proposed.

Such efforts, he said, were needed to avoid the seized drugs from being taken back again by members of the syndicates.

He added that the board could only be effective under the strong support of a well-established law, the law enforcement system and human resources.

"This will be a tough job for us," he said.

Organized by the Anti-Narcotics National Movement organization (GRANAT) led by Henry, the meeting on Sunday was also attended by a number of former teenage drug addicts.

In his speech, Henry, whose son was once a drug addict, said: "This country is only a small part of drug trafficking's international web. We are aware we can't eradicate it, but we surely can minimize its presence here." (01)