SPECIAL AGENCY IS A MUST ON DRUG WAR, SAYS MARZUKI

JAKARTA - 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."