Special agency is a must on drug war, says Marzuki

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)