Pubdate: Mon, 23 Feb 2015
Source: Mercury, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2015 Davies Brothers Ltd
Contact:  http://www.themercury.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/193
Author: Greg Barns
Note: Lawyer Greg Barns was an adviser to NSW premier Nick Greiner 
and the Howard government. He was disendorsed as the Liberal 
candidate for the seat of Denison in 2002, and later joined the 
Australian Democrats. In 2013, he was the Wikileaks Party campaign 
adviser for the federal election.

JOKOWI SPILLING BLOOD WILL DO NOTHING TO HINDER THE DRUG TRADE

Despite Prohibition and Tough Penalties, the World Is Losing the War 
on Drugs Writes Greg Barns

INDONESIA'S President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo leads a developing world country.

And like many developing world countries in Asia, Africa and Latin 
America illicit drugs are part of daily life.

Where President Jokowi differs from some developing world leaders is, 
he naively thinks imposing draconian penalties like the death penalty 
will send a message to those who grow, manufacture and sell drugs 
that they ought to avoid Indonesia.

That President Jokowi is hopelessly naive is evident when one 
considers the statements of other developing world leaders in recent 
years. In late September 2013 two of those leaders used the platform 
of the United Nations to tell the world that the war on drugs, based 
on prohibition and tough penalties, were an abject failure.

Columbia's President Juan Manuel Santos said this of the absurd 
policy of drug prohibition: "Right here, in this same headquarters, 
52 years ago, the [UN] Convention that gave the birth certificate to 
the war on drugs was approved. Today, we must acknowledge, that war 
has not been won. And I say this as the president of the country 
which has suffered more deaths, more blood and more sacrifices in this war."

President Santos was joined by Guatemala's President Otto Perez 
Molina and the presidents of Costa Rica and Uruguay. In these 
countries the use of the death penalty and life imprisonment has had 
zero impact on drug trafficking and drug use.

Why isn't Indonesia's newly minted President, who in campaign 
material sought to evoke the "hope", images that helped US President 
Barack Obama to office in 2008, taking heed of his experienced 
colleagues in the developing world?

If President Jokowi thinks for a nano second that the proposed 
state-sanctioned murder of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran 
Sukumaran will prove any form of deterrence to those in the drug game 
then he is, as President Santos and others would tell him, simply 
shedding blood for nothing.

That this is the case is evident from the latest data on the drug 
trade in Indonesia.

The death penalty for drug trafficking has been on the statute books 
in Indonesia for many years. But the drug trade has been a very 
lucrative business over the same period, a fact acknowledged by 
President Jokowi himself.

According to the Bali Times of December 15 last year: "Indonesia is 
in a state of emergency with regard to drug abuse, the president 
pointed out, adding that the number of drug users had reached 4.5 
million, with 1.2 million of them beyond the point of rehabilitation 
because of the extreme natures of their cases."

Earlier this month Troels Vester the Country Manager of the United 
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Indonesia said "it is fair to 
say that Indonesia has become a

major hub for drug trafficking with large volumes of drugs being 
trafficked to Indonesia by transnational organised crime groups in an 
effort to meet current or possible demand of a large young population 
and a correspondingly large market for drugs."

International drug syndicates are among the most profitable 
businesses in the world because the high risk involved in dealing in 
an illegal product is reflected in the inflated price.

A country like Indonesia, with its thousands of islands and 
waterways, along with its transport hubs in Jakarta and Bali, makes 
for it to be one of the easiest conduits for drug trafficking. It has 
always been so, and always will be. The death penalty is as about 
effective a punishment as a smack on the wrist.

Why aren't Australians sending that message to President Jokowi? 
Because our society is signed up to the same ridiculous policies. We 
think drugs are evil. That the moment anyone ingests a drug like 
heroin, cocaine or smokes cannabis their lives are ruined. This is 
utter rubbish.

Instead of pleading with President Jokowi to spare the lives these 
young Australians and then, if we are successful or tragically not, 
forgetting about the drug trade in Indonesia we ought to be 
diplomatically pointing out there is a better way to deal with this issue.

Why aren't Australians asking Australian Federal Police to apologise 
for its disgraceful conduct in this case? In 2005 it knowingly 
allowed the Bali Nine to be arrested in Indonesia. The AFP knew that 
might result in a death penalty. If there are executions, the AFP 
will have blood on its hands. The AFP should pressure Jakarta.

Perhaps it ought threaten withholding co-operation on drug issues. Is 
this too much to ask considering its role?
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom