Eek
According to an article in today's online Jakarta Post, a newspaper in Australia printed an article saying that Balinese police will start taking random urine samples of foreign tourists at nightclubs in order to test for drugs. A few dozen Australians are currently awaiting trial for drug possession/smuggling into Indonesia.
I don't normally have a problem with random drug testing. As a non-user of anything harder than Advil or the occasional margarita, I guess I feel as if I don't have anything to hide. Plus, I don't really frequent nightclubs. Still, I have issues with this.
First of all, Indonesian police are notoriously corrupt. Accepting bribes is not just an occasional thing-it's expected. Practically everyone from mundane traffic cops to high-ranking officials will take a bribe. It's so common here that it isn't even hidden so much anymore-in fact, it's almost a joke. Foreigners in particular are subject to having to pay "fees" for this and that. It's widely known in the expatriate community that if your house is broken into and robbed, you'd better have at least a couple million Rupiah around to pay the police to even pretend like they're investigating anything.
Knowing this, how can anyone expect this "random drug testing" to be free of any dishonesty or corruption? I've never used illegal drugs in my life, but am I to believe this means anything at all should I be subjected to a random drug test here in Indonesia? No. There's no reason whatsoever to believe this drug testing system would be fair and honest. Of course, I could avoid nightclubs, which wouldn't be a problem for me. But what about the thousands of young, hip tourists who flock to Bali each year to surf all day and dance all night? Of course some of them will be toting drugs. Kuta's spring break-like atmosphere is a perfect breeding ground for that kind of activity, but this doesn't mean that every person partakes in illegal substances. For those who don't, who simply want to go out and dance and have a good time, how can we be sure such a famously corrupt system will treat them fairly? We can't. Not to mention the potentially disastrous effect this could have on Bali's tourism industry, which has already taken a few hits over the last five years.
Moreover, Indonesia's policy in dealing with drug traffickers seems fair enough at first, until compared with the country's recent sentencing of convicted terrorists. Individuals convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing, which killed more than 200 people, received a few years in prison. A mere slap on the wrist.
"Bad terrorists! Naughty! We don't kill people! No, no! Now if we let you out in a few years, do you promise not to blow up any more buildings? Pinkie-swear? OK, good enough."
Severe sentencing for drug traffickers is fine, but this country needs to make sure that it keeps things in perspective. If Indonesia is so concerned over its image to the rest of the world, and wants other countries to know that it is serious about stopping terrorism and extremism, then it needs to make a serious effort to give the rest of the world a reason to believe its claims.
At nearly every shopping mall and fancy hotel, armed guards with bomb sniffers check every car. Purses, backpacks and other bags are scanned at the door. Would this make me rest assured that I was safe? Sure, if I didn't know for a fact that absolutely anyone could waltz into any place with any sort of weapon, explosive or God knows what other kind of destructive device if the right amount of money changed hands. Given this knowledge, are we to believe that any sort of random drug testing, particularly when there are foreigners involved, will be fair, accurate and free of corruption?
I don't normally have a problem with random drug testing. As a non-user of anything harder than Advil or the occasional margarita, I guess I feel as if I don't have anything to hide. Plus, I don't really frequent nightclubs. Still, I have issues with this.
First of all, Indonesian police are notoriously corrupt. Accepting bribes is not just an occasional thing-it's expected. Practically everyone from mundane traffic cops to high-ranking officials will take a bribe. It's so common here that it isn't even hidden so much anymore-in fact, it's almost a joke. Foreigners in particular are subject to having to pay "fees" for this and that. It's widely known in the expatriate community that if your house is broken into and robbed, you'd better have at least a couple million Rupiah around to pay the police to even pretend like they're investigating anything.
Knowing this, how can anyone expect this "random drug testing" to be free of any dishonesty or corruption? I've never used illegal drugs in my life, but am I to believe this means anything at all should I be subjected to a random drug test here in Indonesia? No. There's no reason whatsoever to believe this drug testing system would be fair and honest. Of course, I could avoid nightclubs, which wouldn't be a problem for me. But what about the thousands of young, hip tourists who flock to Bali each year to surf all day and dance all night? Of course some of them will be toting drugs. Kuta's spring break-like atmosphere is a perfect breeding ground for that kind of activity, but this doesn't mean that every person partakes in illegal substances. For those who don't, who simply want to go out and dance and have a good time, how can we be sure such a famously corrupt system will treat them fairly? We can't. Not to mention the potentially disastrous effect this could have on Bali's tourism industry, which has already taken a few hits over the last five years.
Moreover, Indonesia's policy in dealing with drug traffickers seems fair enough at first, until compared with the country's recent sentencing of convicted terrorists. Individuals convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing, which killed more than 200 people, received a few years in prison. A mere slap on the wrist.
"Bad terrorists! Naughty! We don't kill people! No, no! Now if we let you out in a few years, do you promise not to blow up any more buildings? Pinkie-swear? OK, good enough."
Severe sentencing for drug traffickers is fine, but this country needs to make sure that it keeps things in perspective. If Indonesia is so concerned over its image to the rest of the world, and wants other countries to know that it is serious about stopping terrorism and extremism, then it needs to make a serious effort to give the rest of the world a reason to believe its claims.
At nearly every shopping mall and fancy hotel, armed guards with bomb sniffers check every car. Purses, backpacks and other bags are scanned at the door. Would this make me rest assured that I was safe? Sure, if I didn't know for a fact that absolutely anyone could waltz into any place with any sort of weapon, explosive or God knows what other kind of destructive device if the right amount of money changed hands. Given this knowledge, are we to believe that any sort of random drug testing, particularly when there are foreigners involved, will be fair, accurate and free of corruption?
posted by Erin @ 8:21 PM
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