Blood thirst – at best an opportune alibi – cannot win the war against
drugs
It is tough to heal when the
State – the guarantor of civil safety turns murderer. If Indonesia is serious in
wiping out the drugs scourge, then it will do well to investigate with the help
of the reprieved convict Mary Jane Veloso to net the traffickers who pushed her
to be a courier. Mary Jane’s handlers in Manila pricked by their conscience
surrendered to police quite literally at the eleventh hour. Executing her too
will destroy the remaining goodwill and legitimacy of Indonesian Government’s
war against drugs.
Indonesia is not alone in the war
against drugs. The unseen enemy is most tough to get. It is only the
unfortunate, impoverished, abused, insecure, unemployed people who resort to
drugs to overcome these socio economic maladies. Broken homes lead to victims
of emotional sexual and physical abuse who are preyed by drug lords. Poverty
rides pillion. No State can ever remedy these ills.
Having said that, international
drug mafia cannot operate in isolation, they are in connivance with corrupt
elements. There are obviously glaring loopholes in border check-posts, customs
counters and failure of intelligence; smokescreens of budget / backpacking
hotels in havens like Kuta in Bali should be the starting point of robust anti-drug
offensives.
There was an allegation earlier
this year that the Judges in the trial of the Bali Nine sought bribes for a
lesser sentence. This needs to be investigated by international agencies for
Indonesia to come clean on its judicial credibility.
Plugging these loopholes in Indonesian
archipelago with 17408 Islands is all the more challenging. But sealing these
loopholes is the long term corrective measure, till then blood thirst like this
morning’s summary mass execution will only serve to further animosity and lead
to a more unequal world order.
Indonesia can collaborate with ASEAN
and SAARC countries and seek the help of Interpol to stymie the bud of drugs
trafficking. In comparison blood lust of executions was not just barking up the
wrong tree, but was cruel, unnecessary and serves no purpose at all. Death sentence has not been a deterrent to any
of the ills of the New World Order post IInd World War.
One cannot help wondering would
this have been the outcome if there was, god forbid an Israeli or an American
citizen (none should be subjected to capital punishment) amongst the convicted
foreigners? The fact that a French citizen - one of the convicted prisoners - got
EU warning issued to Government of Indonesia if executed is not lost to
observers.
For the alleged Bali Nine Ring
leaders the thrill and euphoria of cheating the customs officials was not only
monetarily lucrative (possibly) but also maybe emotionally. They have paid a
dear price for such frivolous immaturity. But the tragedy was that reforming
did not help them. Worse, for Indonesia, the State has lost the best advocates
against drug wars, the best source of intelligence to combat drug lordism.
Surely those who connived – possibly police or Customs officials in Bali are
relieved that their secrets have been covered by the lids of satin covered
coffins. Whether or not these socio economic and political issues are sorted
the uncompromising rulers have to answer many questions to the electorate and
to their Makers.
If such blood thirst instincts of
the firing squads are fed upon by repeated executions, pray what might be the fate
of any endangered wildlife in the second most biodiverse nation on Planet Earth?
Kuta district in Bali Denpasar is
a drug Mafia haven. Respectable tourists are shy of visiting Kuta with its
discos, bars, and budget hotels where puffing is neither a crime nor can be traced.
The smokescreen that the puffers created has made it both a fad and fantasy
detested by the sober, respectable tourists. The causes that trigger drug
addiction are far more challenging to overcome. Blood thirst – at best an
opportune alibi - will only make matters worse.
Malini Shankar
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