by Rudhy Sinyo
Recently, Indonesia’s health services have begun to scale
up the implementation of harm reduction in Surabaya. From a positive
standpoint, government support for this program is improving,
though there are down sides as well.
[REPORT] Remembering an Innovative Rights Advocate
IKON protest, Wahyu is far left with raised arm. The banner reads “prison is not a
solution for drug addicts.” Photo courtesy IKON.
By Anton Muhajir
After three weeks of hospitalization, Bali
and Indonesia’s best-known drug user rights advocate I Gusti Ngurah Wahyunda
passed away in early March. Wahyu, 31 years old, was the founder of the
Indonesian Drug User Solidarity Association (IDUSA) and coordinator of Ikatan
Korban Napza (IKON), a network of drug victims in Bali.
I honor him as a
friend, activist, and an innovative fighter who built a movement to defend the
human rights of drug users.
In Memoriam: Ngr Wahyunda
April 1, 1978 – March 6, 2010
After being treated for three weeks, I Gusti Ngurah Wahyunda (or Wahyu) died on March
6 at Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar, Bali. Wahyu
was the founder and coordinator of IKON Bali, a group of victims of narcotics,
psychotropic and other addictive substances that fights for the human rights of
that community, and the program manager of Yakeba, a Balinese harm reduction
organization.
Wahyu was himself a former injecting drug user who had undergone rehabilitation at
Yakeba. His experiences as a former IDU and his connections with fellow
survivors at national and international meetings led him to organize IDUs in
Bali to found IKON. Working with Wahyu, IKON has done ground-breaking research,
advocacy, outreach and media work on the
problem of police abuse against IDU in Bali.
In August 2009, Asia Catalyst spent a
week assisting Wahyu and colleagues at IKON with strategic planning. We also
joined together to host a candlelit barbecue party on the beach in Bali for 100
Asian AIDS advocates and their supporters. Wahyu was an inspiring leader, and a
warm and humorous friend and colleague; it was a privilege to work alongside
him, even for a short time. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family in Indonesia.
For more about IKON, please visit www.ikonbali.org.
[REPORT] Indonesian Odyssey: A Drug User’s Quest for Treatment
By Ricky Gunawan
The story of Rose – the first drug user sentenced by Indonesian courts to rehabilitation instead
of prison – continued this month, with some dramatic twists and turns that
highlight obstacles to implementing Indonesia’s newly improved policy.
Rose was transferred from Pondok Bambu Detention Center to Cibubur Drug Dependence
Hospital (RSKO Cibubur),
on Monday, February 8, 2010. As
I wrote in December, it took months after her July sentence for the
corrupt detention system to actually move her to the hospital. During that
time, Rose suffered from withdrawal symptoms without any medication. But even
once the transfer was finally completed, it seemed the drama had only begun.
[COMMENTARY] End Overcrowding in Indonesian Prisons
By Ricky Gunawan
Up through 2009, Indonesia suffered a tremendous blow from the so-called
“judicial mafia”, the corrupt network that controls the criminal justice
system. Every sector of Indonesia’s legal system has been paralyzed by this
judicial mafia. It is made up of middlemen who, for a fee, can broker deals
between police, prosecutors and judges. In a late response to this dismal
situation, in late 2009 President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono established a task force to “eradicate the
judicial mafia in the first 100 days” of his administration.
Last week, the task force conducted a surprise visit to Pondok Bambu
Detention Facility, Jakarta. This visit revealed shocking – yet, to those in
the know, all too predictable — findings. Arthalyta Suryani, a high-class
criminal convicted of bribery, is imprisoned
in luxurious conditions. Her “cell” is an 8×8 meter room with a refrigerator,
flat TV with home theatre, air conditioner, and other facilities such as dining
tables, maids and a Blackberry.
