Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna Rachmat Budiman made the statement while explaining Indonesias stand in the general debate of the 59th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna recently, the minister counselor of the Indonesian embassy/permanent representative office, Dody Kusumogegoro, told an ANTARA correspondent based in London on Wednesday.
Budiman said drug production, smuggling and abuse pose a serious threat in Indonesia and were having a negative impact on human health and lives as well as on economic and social life.
Drug dealers and syndicates have used Indonesia as a destination and their networks have spread to various parts of the country with the younger generations as their target, he said.
To deal with drug syndicates, the ambassador underscored the importance of upholding the criminal law firmly and properly as per the intensity of their crimes.
In Indonesias view, each country has the right and the responsibility to decide appropriate approaches to deal with drug crimes on its own, he said.
Besides imposing tougher measures on perpetrators, Indonesia also continues to evolve a new paradigm through a balanced approach undertaken by the law enforcement and rehabilitation programs for drug addicts, he said.
The move is aimed not only at curing drug addicts but also at providing them with expertise so that they are equipped with adequate knowledge to return to the mainstream, he said.
Realizing that drug abuse is a common problem, Indonesia, along with other ASEAN member states, has made every effort to make the region free from drug abuse, he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
