Indonesia’s anti-drugs chief has supported implementing a bloody crackdown on traffickers like the war on crime in the Philippines that has left nearly 3,000 dead.
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He said he was sorry that even shipments of coal from Indonesia destined for Philippine power plants are being affected by piracy. Its executions of foreign nationals convicted on drug charges have attracted protests from the countries involved, with some of them recalling their ambassadors.
According to the BBC, the Indonesian anti-drug czar said that the life of a drug dealer is “meaningless because [he] carries out mass murder”, adding that he believed Indonesia should be aggressive like the Philippines in pursuing drug offenders.
Ahead of the visit, Waseso suggested Indonesia could follow a policy like that of the Philippines and revealed authorities were bolstering their resources to fight the drug trade.
Agency spokesman Slamet Pribadi sought Wednesday to play down the comments, saying a Philippines-style policy would only be followed “if our law makes it possible”, adding: “We can’t shoot criminals just like that, we have to follow the rules”. “Our punishments have to be in accordance with our law and with national and global standards”, said spokesman Slamet Pribadi.
Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Comr.
Thailand has also for years been tough on drugs but its soaring prison population has recently prompted a rethink and the downgrading of meth from a Category 1 drug to reduce numbers in jail.
Both countries have launched their war on the narcotics trade with the increase in executions of drug convicts in Indonesia, while thousands of bodies of drug suspects have piled up in the Philippines’ bloody crackdown on the illegal activity.
While President Duterte has earned both praise and criticism for his efforts, both the Philippines and Indonesia apparently share the same philosophy in the war against illegal drugs. The most recent Philippine National Police data shows that from July 1, when Duterte took office, to September 4, police killed an estimated 1,011 suspected “drug pushers and users.”
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“Can you believe it’s only been two months into the Duterte presidency?” the final page reads.
