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Indonesian President Orders Officers To Shoot Traffickers

Echoes of the bloody anti-drugs campaign in the Philippines as Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, instructs police to shoot traffickers. The South-east Asian country is struggling … Continue reading Indonesian President Orders Officers To Shoot Traffickers


Echoes of the bloody anti-drugs campaign in the Philippines as Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, instructs police to shoot traffickers.

The South-east Asian country is struggling to contain a narcotics crisis.

The new order has drawn comparisons between Widodo and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte who launched a fierce crackdown about a year ago, leading to the deaths of thousands of alleged drug dealers and users.

Widodo hasn’t ordered extra-judicial killings like the ones taking place in the Philippines, but he is urging cops to kill traffickers who enter Indonesia and resist arrest.

The president has faced international criticism for supporting the execution of drug convicts, including two Australian men, who were among a number of foreign traffickers killed in recent years.

Governments and activists have called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty, but the country’s police chief has echoed Widodo’s message, saying he’s ordered officers not to hesitate when it comes to using lethal force.