Indonesia, Netherlands Organize Harm Reduction Talks at UNODC

Jakarta Globe, Natasia Christy, Mar 11, 2015

A casket carrying the body of Ang Kiem Soei, a Dutch national executed by
firing squad on Jan. 18, seen in an ambulance on the prison island of
 Nusakambangan, off Central Java. (EPA Photo/Bayu Nur)

Jakarta. As the Australia-Indonesia diplomatic rift over the pending executions of two drug convicts shows no signs of abating, ties with the Netherlands — which recalled its ambassador after one of its nationals was executed in January — seem to be on the mend.

On Tuesday, Indonesia and the Netherlands jointly organized a discussion on harm reduction on the sidelines of the 58th Commission on Narcotic Drugs session, at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna.

At the discussion, three experts, including Edo Agustian from the Indonesian Network of Drug Victims (PKNI), discussed ways to limit the spread of HIV as a consequence of drug use, a statement on the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s website said.

According to Edo, the Indonesian law enforcement system — with a primary focus on punishment instead of rehabilitation — has not been conducive in bringing down the number of infections.

Ambassador Rob Swartbol was called back to the Netherlands for consultations after the execution of Dutch national Ang Kiem Soei, on Jan.18. In a letter to the Dutch parliament, Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in early February that Swartbol had returned to Jakarta.

Koenders explained that the Netherlands opposes the death penalty in principle and that one of its government’s goals is to try and get Indonesia to abolish the punishment. The minister added, however, that it was important to be represented in Indonesia at the ambassadorial level.

“I would like to investigate the possibilities to cooperate with Indonesia to fight drug-related problems,” Koenders said in the letter.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry, in the statement posted on its website on Wednesday, said: “The cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands in handling drugs is not affected by the difference of opinion over the death penalty.”

According to data from the Indonesian Health Ministry, the number of people living with HIV and AIDS as a consequence of drug use grew from 186,000 in 2009 to 640,000 in 2013.

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