Pubdate: Sun, 09 Feb 2014
Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Copyright: The Jakarta Post
Contact:  http://www.thejakartapost.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/645
Author: Ina Parlina and Margareth S. Aritonang, The Jakarta Post

RI LOSING GROUND IN DRUG WAR

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is again under fire for going soft
on drug convicts following the decision to parole Schapelle Corby.

The Australian would have been eligible for parole after serving
two-thirds of her original sentence, in 2017, if not for a five-year
sentence reduction granted by Yudhoyono in 2012 and for 30 months of
remissions she received over the years.

The announcement of the parole came about two weeks after convicted
French drug trafficker Michael Loic Blanc was released after he was
granted parole in November.

Anti-Narcotics National Movement (Granat) chairman Henry Yosodiningrat
said Indonesia was sending the wrong message to drug traffickers with
Corby's release.

"This kind of policy should be reviewed to deter other smugglers from
entering Indonesia," he said as quoted by Antara news agency on Saturday.

Henry said the President should be more sensitive, as he had
previously promised to take stern action against drug smugglers. "The
President once said there would be no tolerance for drug crimes and
there would be no clemency for perpetrators."

In a speech for the 2006 International Day against Drug Abuse and
Illicit Trafficking in Jakarta, Yudhoyono said: "A lot of requests for
clemency in drug-related crimes have been submitted to me, but I
personally feel that I would prefer to ensure the safety of our
younger generation rather than grant pardons to those who are
destroying our nation's future."

However, in recent few years, Yudhoyono has granted clemency to drug
smugglers, including those on death row. In 2012, the President faced
a public outcry for commuting the death sentence of drug convict Deni
Setia Maharwan to life imprisonment.

Deni, who was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2000
for carrying 3.5 kilograms of heroin and 3 kilograms of cocaine, was
sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court in 2001.

Amid the controversy, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin
said the President had only approved sentence reductions for 19 drug
convicts and had rejected clemency requests from 109 drug convicts
between 2004 and 2011.

Amir, who is also a senior Democratic Party (PD) politician, declined
to disclose how many requests had been approved after Yudhoyono's 2006
speech.

The Golkar Party's Bambang Soesatyo also criticized the government.
"The SBY administration has been compromised in its fight against
global drug syndicates. This is insensitive to public concerns about
the rampant circulation of illegal drugs in Indonesia."

While presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha did not immediately
respond to The Jakarta Post's questions on Saturday, he previously
said Corby's parole should not be viewed as a political move, since
each country had its own mechanism for giving parole or remissions.

Amir's deputy, Denny Indrayana, said the decision had nothing to do
with politics, amid speculation Jakarta was doing Australia a favor by
releasing Corby after Australia extradited graft convict Adrian Kiki
Ariawan.

"We granted parole because Corby has met the requirements," Denny
said. "Adrian Kiki was also a matter of legal process [there]. The
extradition was not because the Australian government [said so], but
because the high court said yes."

"So this [Corby's parole] is only a legal matter. Don't link it to
politics," Denny added.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D