GOVERNMENT ASKED TO ISSUE DECREE SUPORTING ANTIDRUG CAMPAIGN

JAKARTA (JP): An antidrug activist called on Thursday for the government's
full support in a nationwide campaign against drugs.

Deputy chairman of the People's Antidrug Movement (GERAM) Brig. Gen. (ret)
Antonius Tifaona urged the government to back up its antidrug stance with
legislation.

"The government should formally declare its support for a national campaign
against drugs in a presidential decree," Tifaona said at a seminar on
narcotics organized by Trisakti University in West Jakarta.

The former West Java deputy police chief said the government should also
issue a government regulation as operational and practical guidelines for
Law No. 5/1997 on Narcotics and Law No. 22/1997 on Psychotropic Substances.
"The government regulation should explicitly mention the death sentence for
drug traffickers," he said, citing the importance of "shock therapy"
measures in order to scare drug criminals.

He also asked the government to soon establish a national coordinating
agency for antidrug measures.

The seminar was held in conjunction with the signing of a Trisakti
University rectorial decree, which will ban drug use and trafficking within
the university's campus, and with the launching of the university's
internal antidrug movement.

In the last six months, the university's antidrug movement has netted 130
students found using drugs on campus.

Trisakti University rector Thoby Mutis said the university authority would
impose the toughest sanctions possible in order to create a drug-free campus.

"Students who are proven to be using or trafficking in drugs will be
dismissed," Thoby said.

"We'll conduct random urine tests on students in the near future."

Awareness

The rector said the university's school of medicine would be developed as a
drug rehabilitation center and that all campus infrastructure would be used
for the university's antidrug campaign.

The seminar also saw the signing of an agreement between the university and
the city police for a short-term training and campaign awareness program on
drugs at the university's campus.

"Two of our security personnel confessed that several drug dealers had been
operating on the campus.

"The dealers threatened, but also offered substantial sums of cash to the
two personnel if they were allowed to run their business here," said
Trisakti university lecturer Effendi Simangunsong.

Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said mass support was
needed to curb drug abuse and trafficking in the city. "But the movement
should be coordinated with the police," he said.

In a related development, nearly 400 police patrol (Sabhara) and Elite
Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers departed on Wednesday night from
city police headquarters to conduct drug raids in West Jakarta.

At least 10 police trucks were sent out to raid discotheques and massage
parlors in West Jakarta, including Raja Mas, Stadium, Emeralda, Sydney
2000, Zinos and Libra.

Some 50 officers raided the Sydney 2000 discotheque, located on the ninth
floor of the Sydney 2000 building in West Jakarta, about two minutes after
arriving on the scene. The delay may have been enough time for some of the
patrons to dump illegal substances.

Officers did not immediately inspect the toilets, but waited for a song to
finish. Personnel at the discotheque then switched on the lights and
politely announced to the clientele that a raid would be conducted.

The West Jakarta raids led to the arrest on early Thursday morning of 32
people. Police also confiscated 38 ecstasy pills, 12 "Happy Five" pills and
17 marijuana cigarettes.