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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Justification of Death Penalty for Drug Offenders in Post-militarist Indonesia?

By: Asfa Widiyanto

This particular paper is written in response to Andre Vltchek’s interesting and provoking article entitled “Genocidal Indonesia Executing Drug Convicts” (CounterPunch, April 27, 2015).  Vltchek’s article questions the notion of justice and morality which surround the issue of executing drug convicts.

I understand that in some points people vary in categorizing things as just. For instance we observe pros and contras pertaining to the death penalty for drug offenders, in international world as well as in Indonesia. As we know, nowadays, most notably after 1999, the people in Indonesian enjoy more freedom of opinion.

The arguments of the opponents of death penalty are demonstrated for instance in the article of Vltchek.  They maintain that life is one of the basic rights of human being, and death penalty is a punishment which humiliates the dignity of human being.  They propose that imprisonment could serve as one of the best solutions for drug offenders.

The proponents of death penalty for drug convicts argue that the justice in death penalty for drug dealers is justified in some religious traditions and psychosocial situations. It will serve as shock therapy for those who commit the same criminality. They contend the arguments of the opponents of death penalty, by underlining that drug related criminals are big crimes which disgrace human beings, since it not only takes the life of one person but also life of many people.

I comprehend Vltchek’s arguments that there are also things to be considered like corrupt bureaucrats who support drug business as well as elites who consume drugs. On the other hand, I understand the position of government which tries to eliminate drugs by executing drug convicts.
It seems to me that the position of government fits to a principle “things which cannot be done completely, should not be abandoned entirely”.  Punishing drug dealers (regardless of their nation of origin, be it Indonesian or foreigner) is a good start in terms of law enforcement, nevertheless it should be followed by punishing the bureaucrats who support drug smuggling  as well as the officers of penitentiary who are bribed to be silent to the cases of drug business.

Vltchek also points to the cases of mass killing in East Timor and Papua, which took place most notably during the New Order Indonesia (1966-1998).  He seems to argue that Indonesian government should prioritize the punishment military elites who were responsible for the genocides in East Timor and Papua, rather than showing to the international world that it could execute drug offenders.

I can understand Vltchek’s arguments, nonetheless I was wondering whether the country such as Indonesia, with its military past and accordingly its history was filled by mass killings in the name of national stability, does not have any opportunity to advance itself and to punish the drug dealers which are considered to endanger  the future generation of the country.  


I myself acknowledge that Indonesia still have problems with corruption. Nevertheless we cannot deny the efforts of eradicating corruption which have been undertaken by Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and civil society organizations. Indonesia’s presidential election in 2014 also witnessed the commitment of Indonesian people to disassociate with militarist violent pasts of the country, and accordingly the people preferred the civil personage Joko Widodo instead of Prabowo Subianto (former general who was allegedly responsible for some human rights violations) in the election. Civil society organizations are considered to play a significant role in influencing the people during the election.

 

 

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