Saturday February 11 2017

Fahim Ali, one of the people undergoing rehabilitation at Kisauni Level Four Hospital, talks to a Nation reporter on February 8, 2017. He wants the government to deal with drug trafficking. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

It is business as usual at drug dens in Mombasa despite the government's tough talk against traffickers and promise to eradicate the menace.

Hundreds of drug addicts are still camped in some of the notorious dens in the county, with little being done to rehabilitate them, the Saturday Nation can reveal.

A spot check at drug dens in Kisauni, Old Town, Shimanzi and near the Coast General Hospital showed that the addicts have been left to fight for themselves despite assurances by the government to intervene.

The addicts still mill around the areas, injecting themselves with drugs in broad daylight.

According to the National Authority for the Campaign against Drug Abuse (Nacada) and US anti-narcotics Agency, some 96,752 people are addicted to hard drugs, including cocaine and heroin at the Coast, 40,000 of them are students aged between 12 and 17 years.

In August last year during his tour of the Coast, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed immediate crackdown on drugs, dealers and their dens and the rehabilitation of users.

He told local politicians to work with security forces and Nacada to ensure all drug dens are eliminated in the same manner illicit brews were destroyed in Central Kenya and Nairobi.

The President gave them a two-week ultimatum to set up a drug rehabilitation centre at the National Youth Service (NYS).

But six months down the line, nothing has been done.

On Friday, when the Saturday Nation visited the camp, construction of a perimeter wall, which began immediately after the directive for the purpose of securing the camp to ward off bad elements was still incomplete.

The wall is actually not a big problem because it is 90 per cent complete. We are waiting for Nacada to bring equipment and the county to send counsellors and medical personnel, an official at the NYS camp said on condition of anonymity.

'JOHO TARGETED' But speaking in an interview in Mombasa, a director at Nacada, Ms Farida Rashid, said the programme would kick off soon.

Currently we have addicts who are being rehabilitated at the Coast General Hospital, but soon we will open the NYS centre and take in others as planned, she said.

Last week, both Mr Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto reiterated their determination to arrest drug dealers.

But this degenerated into a war of words with Governor Hassan Joho, who claimed that he was being targeted.

The governor on Tuesday said the two leaders were not honest in the fight against drug lords, maintaining that the government was bent on derailing his political career in the pretext of fighting drugs in Mombasa.

He claimed that during the runup to the 2013 General Election, the same narrative was built up, with the view of discrediting him as a leader.

But even as the war of words intensified, those affected have appealed to authorities to come to their aid.

We were told we would be rehabilitated since last year but this is empty talk. We are still suffering. It is not that we like this life but there seems to be nobody to help us, Fahim Ali, a drug user in Frere Town, Kisauni, one of the hardest hit areas, said.

Ms Neema Said, who has been using drugs for more than 10 years, said politicising the matter had made matters worse, adding that those who were interested in being rehabilitated are back in the dens.

Yesterday, members of the civil society added their voice on the matter calling for a sober debate on fight against drug trafficking.

We are doubtful the government will measure up to the task and eradicate the drug menace. We will wait to see if the commitment will go beyond the 2017 election, Suba Churchill, Convener of Civil Society Reference Group, said in Mombasa.

Mr Shahbal said that a senior ODM official was a beneficiary of proceeds from the sale of drugs.

The CRA proposed that counties be allocated shareable revenue of Sh331.6 billion.

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Rights agency calls for sober talk in war on drugs - Daily Nation

In a speech before law enforcement leaders this week, President Trump vowed to be ruthless in the fight against drugs that are poisoning our people. Trump's comments represent a sharp departure from the Obama administration, which publicly disavowedthe harsh anti-drug rhetoric of previous decades in an effort to emphasize treatment of drug users overpunishment.

We're going to stop the drugs from pouring in, Trump told the assembled members of the Major Cities Chiefs Association on Wednesday. We're going to stop those drugs from poisoning our youth, from poisoning our people. We're going to be ruthless in that fight. We have no choice. And we're going to take that fight to the drug cartels and work to liberate our communities from their terrible grip of violence.

[In executive actions, President Trump vows crackdown on violent crime. Is America as unsafe as he thinks?]

Aside from the cartels, Trump did not elaborate on who would be at the receiving end of that ruthlessness. In a campaign speech in New Hampshire last October, Trump outlined the drug control policies he supported, including expanded treatment options for drug users and better access to anti-overdose drugs.

He also called for increasing mandatory minimum prison sentences for the most seriousdrug offenders, aggressive prosecution of drug traffickers, and cracking down on shipping loopholes that he said allowed countries such as China to send dangerous drugs to the United States via the Postal Service.

In that speech, Trump also criticized the Obama administration for commuting the sentences of record numbers of high level drug traffickers, many of them kingpins. He said continuing that strategy would amount to turning our streets back over to gangs, drug cartels, and armed career criminals.

This rhetoric is dangerous, disturbing, and dishonest, Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said in astatement. History has taught us that cracking down on drugs and building walls will not stop the supply or use of drugs. It mostly causes the death and destruction of innocent lives.

The White House did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans favor eliminating mandatory minimum drug sentences like the ones Trump called for expanding.

A 2014 Pew Research Center survey showed that Americans strongly prefer treating drug usersoverincarcerating them, 3 to 1. But federal policy has been slow to reflect that preference.

In the past decade, federal focushas shiftedsomewhatfrom supply-side anti-drug policies seizing drug shipments, incarcerating dealers and arresting drug users toward a more demand-side approach that uses substance abuse treatment and prevention programs to stop people from using or becoming addicted to drugs in the first place.

Ruthlessness is a great virtue for a gangster or a warlord, said drug policy expert Mark Kleiman of New York University. Not so useful for the leader of a republic.

Many public health experts agree that the war on drugs was a failure.The thinking behind supply-side drug policies is that by reducing the supply of drugs they become more expensive, and therefore less likely to be used and abused. But a 2013 study in the British Medical Journal found that since 1990, drug prices have decreased while drug purity has increased, making it easier and more affordable than ever to get high.

These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing, the authors conclude.

From 1991through 2001, when many of these supply-side policies were in full force, the rate of illicit drug use among American teenagers increased sharply. Over the same period, the rate of teen cigarette use fell slightly, and the rate of underage alcohol consumption dropped sharply.

From a public health standpoint, theprimary difference between illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco is that the latter two substances are legal for adult use.

A number ofexperts believe supply-side drug policies can be effective if used judiciously and in conjunction with other policies.

We overlearned the lesson that supply control doesn't work and failed to apply it to prescription opioids when we should have, Jonathan Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University said in an interview. He said he believes this contributed to the federal government's inadequate response to pill mills and other criminal excesses in the supply of prescription opioids.

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In Trump's 'ruthless' vow, experts see a return to the days of the drug war - Washington Post

Imagine that a disease broke out, the flu for instance, and killed 50,000 Americans in just one year. You would probably be concerned, right? Wouldn't you agree that something must be done, to help those who are sick and prevent any future infection? That would be the most sensible response. Heres the problem that deadly disease that I just mentioned is not hypothetical.

America has a drug problem and it has become disturbingly deadly. Last year, for the first time, drug overdose accounted for more deaths in the United States than fatal car accidents. To put it bluntly, that is a lot of casualties almost one every 19 minutes to be exact. So yes, this is a very real and infectious disease. An epidemic, you could say, that is creeping into households of all income levels and tearing families apart in both urban and suburban settings.

Alright, so this overdose epidemic is real, we know that much. Now comes the panic and the urgency to help, right? Wrong. I say that because this is not a new problem. Despite recent spikes in drug overdose, drug addiction has plagued America for quite some time. Over 40 years ago, for example, former President Ronald Reagan declared a war on drugs in an attempt to address this problem. Today, we are still fighting and clearly losing that war.Death by overdose was actually more prominent in 2016 than any year prior. Clearly, something is not working. Despite continuous funding and increased awareness, the drug problem in America is as widespread as ever.

So why have the efforts of countless presidents and other political leaders not been enough to end, or even control, this overdose epidemic? The answer is quite simple: America is obsessed with quick-fix solutions to complex problems. Overweight? Dont change your diet, just get surgery. Can't get your kids to focus? Dont increase their exercise and vitamin intake, just get them a prescription. Crashing economy? Dont restructure, just print more money. As you can see, there is a trend here.

America has adopted this culture that is notorious for ignoring the causes and treating the symptoms. As consumer health advocate Mike Adams said, For every problem that demands a mature, well-planned solution, there's a much more seductive quick-fix that completely ignores the problem but temporarily makes the symptoms go away. With that being said, America has certainly been seduced by the idea of a quick-fix solution. Through the media and advertisements, we are constantly bombarded with the misconception that there are fast and easy solutions to our most complex problems. As a result, we oftentimes take the easy way out, sweep our problems under the rug and fail to address our real issues. This is one reason why so many Americans have become addicted to drugs in the first place. Getting high, whether from a prescribed or an illicit drugs, is a quick, but only temporary, fix to our problems.

This quick-fix culture has not only fueled drug addiction in America but has simultaneously prevented us from fixing the complex problem. What does a quick-fix solution to the drug problem look like? Exactly what has been going on for the past 40 years. Poorly planned attacks that are as misguided as they are superficial. At first, in theory, these quick-fix solutions sound great. They are bold, convincing and promise to eradicate all drug use, but it should not have taken this long to realize that these solutions are hollow. The War on Drugs, for instance, placed policemen at the forefront of this battle against addiction. This may have sounded foolproof at the time seeing as there is a drug problem in America and drug use is often illegal. But by cracking down on drug dealers and users, we are being reactive rather than proactive. By the time the user is addicted, its too late, and the problem has already occurred. That is why the War on Drugs was nothing more than an attempt to cover up the symptoms of drug addiction. Consequently, the underlying problems that actually fuel drug addiction were ignored and therefore left to became worse.

Drug addiction is a problem that, demands a mature, well-planned solution. This solution is not going to be some glamorous war. Its going to be a long, slow but steady battle. We need leaders who, "have the courage to address core solutions rather than settling for short-term symptom reductions. We wont fix this problem with smooth rhetoric and bold executive orders, but with local and realistic efforts. These efforts will involve law enforcement reform, cooperation from health care providers and educators and an end to the stigma against drug addicts none of which are quick-fixes.

Luke Dermody is a School of Arts and Sciences junior majoring in political science and criminal justice with a minor in economics. His column, "Under the Radar," runs on alternate Fridays.

YOUR VOICE | The Daily Targum welcomes submissions from all readers. Due to space limitations in our print newspaper, letters to the editor must not exceed 500 words. Guest columns and commentaries must be between 700 and 850 words. All authors must include their name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Please submit via email to oped@dailytargum.com by 4 p.m. to be considered for the following days publication. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.

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DERMODY: War on Drugs requires more than 'quick-fix' - RU Daily Targum

PALMA

CEBU CITYPresident Rodrigo Duterte just cant silence bishops and priests.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma on Thursday said Catholic Church leaders would continue to speak out and oppose the administrations bloody war on drugs as well as plans to bring back the death penalty even if they continued to be lambasted by the countrys top executive.

So what? We are not protecting our image. Our primary concern is to proclaim the truth and to help discern what is good for the people and the community, he said in an interview after celebrating Mass to welcome the international centennial image of Our Lady of Fatima at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

Im sure its not just the President who will castigate the Church. There are other people who will speak ill about us. But in the end, we just cant remain silent out of fear of being criticized. That is not the right way, he added.

President Duterte has been relentless in his criticisms of Catholic Church leaders who have been vocal in condemning the extrajudicial killings that had attended the administrations crackdown on the narcotics trade.

Palma clarified that bishops and priests fully support the Presidents war on illegal drugs but abhor means to end human life.

Palma said Catholic Church leaders have always kept communication lines with the President opened to bridge the gap between the two institutions.

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Palma: Church leaders will continue to oppose bloody war on drugs ... - Inquirer.net

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Trump Watch: Emboldened cops and border patrol agents, a more 'ruthless' war on drugs, and threats against the ... - Washington Post

Friday February 10 2017

Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shahbal addresses the press at Jubilee Party's office in Nyali on February 9, 2017. He wants the war on drugs to be intensified. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Businessman Suleiman Shahbal told Governor Hassan Joho to stop politicising the war on drugs.

He on Thursday said 6,725 people had died due to the narcotics in Mombasa in the last two years.

Mr Shahbal, the Jubilee candidate for the governors seat, said 96,752 people at the Coast were hooked to drugs.

Among them are 40,000 students aged between 12 and 17 years.

He was quoting a report on narcotics by the National Authority for Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse and US anti-narcotics agency.

Some of his family members are among those who had died due to the drugs, he said.

At least 60 well-known drug lords were on the loose in the country.

Mombasa is gradually turning into another Colombia with militia gangs, armed youths and criminals moving around. Narcotics is driving virtually every sector in Mombasa, he said at the Jubilee offices in Nyali.

Escobar was a very popular person in Colombia at first. He built schools, hospitals and seemed to be the defender of the peoples welfare and their champion.

"But what became of him later? He became one of the biggest drug barons in the world. This is what is happening in Mombasa.

He was referring to Pablo Escobar the head of the notorious Medellin cartel and one of the worlds most wanted fugitives who was killed by Colombian security forces during a shootout in 1993.

The politician said nobody had linked Mr Joho to drug trafficking.

Why does Governor Joho get so worked up about drugs? Nobody has linked him to the drugs trade. What we have linked him with is fake degrees and everybody knows that he has no degree and cannot get one. Let him go back to school, he said.

Mr Shahbal said that a senior ODM official was a beneficiary of proceeds from the sale of drugs.

He declined to name the official, only saying it is obvious.

If elected governor, Mr Shahbal would push the national government to introduce tough laws such as those in Malaysia and US where anybody involved in the illegal trade was hanged and all proceeds accrued from the trade confiscated by the State, he said.

I will push to make the drug trade a capital offence with zero returns. In the county, we will sensitise grassroots citizens and empower them to arrest any user and hand them over to the police, he said.

Governor Joho on Monday accused the Jubilee Government of plotting to end his political career by linking him to drug trafficking.

If Uhuru and Ruto have evidence I am involved in the trade or anybody else for that matter, why dont they arrest them? Mr Joho said.

Separately, Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar accused the governor of criticising the Jubilee government for its poor development record yet he had achieved nothing for the people who elected him.

If you are fighting someone you must ensure that you are accountable. Are you responsible? If (Mr) Uhuru is giving his people tenders then you should not give your relatives tenders, Mr Omar said.

Mr Omar accused Mr Johos government of boasting that it was an efficient revenue collector, saying that was no reason to be proud.

If you hear a country is taking a lot of revenue from its people then that is a country governed by exploitation.

"There is no pride in Mombasa County being the most expensive in terms of doing business, he said in Kizingo.

He said this when he flagged off a caravan to mobilise voters to register.

According to the lawyer, if MPs are paid the billions of shillings, the effects on the economy

These findings contradict those from a similar study carried out two years ago.

The rest is here:

Shahbal to introduce tough laws to curb drug abuse - Daily Nation

In an article published onCNN's website, Mayor Svante Myrick brings to our attention that 125 people will die in America today from an opioid overdose From 2002 to 2013, the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths has nearly quadrupled. The way America evaluates its War on Drugs, from mandatory sentencing to the prohibition of drugs, has proved inefficient as the number of heroin users continues to rise. Why do we continue to gasp in shock and shake our heads in disapproval after incarcerated drug users relapse after being released from prison?

A glaring error is the way society tackles this issue of aiding drug usersbecause ironically, there is insufficient aid being allocated toward people with drug addictions. But an innovative and potentially revolutionary concept to decreasing heroin-related drug overdoses has been presented by Myrick. He has recently proposed the concept of Americas first drug injection center, which will be modeled after facilities in Canada and Europe.

So what exactly are these drug injection centers? Insite, a Canadian drug injection facility and the first site in North America, is a center where heroin addicts can safely use the drug with clinical supervision. Clean equipment is also provided to prevent spreading HIV, which is extremely prevalent when needle-sharing. This facility also provides supervision as to prevent any addict from overdosing.

One main argumentagainst the implementation of these facilities in America is that they enable heroin users. What could be more dangerous than providing a safe space for junkies to shoot even more venom up their veins?

Ignorance. Thats what is dangerous. Our War on Drugs entails and emphasizes sentencing drug users without actually dealing with their addiction and the prevalence of the disease instead, we choose to incarcerate. Preaching ignorance and fearing change will never combat Americas drug problem and inefficacy of the justice system. But I acknowledge the argument against these types of facilities. I understand that some people view this type of service provided as a reason for heroin addicts to bask in their addiction without the usual consequences of transferring diseases and overdosing. But why is that a bad thing?

While many might believe that these facilities will only encourage and feed addictions, I completely disagree. I believe that no amount of coercion and forcing is ever going to make someone who is not personally ready for rehabilitation be able to seek help unless they know they want and need it. That is exactly why these facilities are so important. In regards to heroin addicts and the usage of these injection rooms, according to a study by the British ColumbiaCenter for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, (it) includes the likelihood of them entering detox increased by 30 percent, and people are 70 percent less likely to share needles. Preventing the spread of diseases and allowing people to practice their addictions safely has already yielded positive results. The Canadian facility has already proven that rather than witnessing the number of addicts go up, it has, in fact, shown a huge increase in addicts acknowledging their disease.

If ones personal and moral agenda is to oppose facilities like Insite just because it provides a safe place for addicts, it only perpetuates the same backwardthinking that continues to plague our society. A similar issue that could be equated to this type of enabling is teaching sexual education in schools. According to Advocates for Youth, schools that teach abstinence-only programs do not prevent adolescents in engaging in sexual activity. The old-fashioned way of pushing the idea that sex is dangerous and morally repugnant on adolescents only leads to negative consequences. What adolescent, with no comprehensive knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy or methods for birth control, is going to not have sex when they have no knowledge regarding the risks? For those still in opposition of drug injection facilities, think of this: What heroin addict ponders, Lets see. I have absolutely no clean needles, and I could possibly die from an overdose. So let me just walk away from my addiction. See how absurd that sounds? It sounds absurd because we all know the truth. We all understand that educating people and providing them with the resources they need to make informed decisions is the most effective way to see a decrease in drug use and addiction, and this type of progressive thinking needs to be applied to the way America deals with drug use.

Ashley Wang is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore majoring in English and minoring in philosophy. Her column, "A Third Person Perspective," runs on alternate Thursdays.

YOUR VOICE|The Daily Targum welcomes submissions from all readers. Due to space limitations in our print newspaper, letters to the editor must not exceed 500 words. Guest columns and commentaries must be between 700 and 850 words. All authors must include their name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Please submit via email to oped@dailytargum.com by 4 p.m. to be considered for the following days publication. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.

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WANG: War on Drugs requires smarter, more realistic approach - RU Daily Targum

A United Nations human rights investigator says there are signs of mounting opposition within the Philippines to President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, with police operations on hold and the Church getting critical of the campaign.

Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, however, said the thousands of killings in the campaign had given rise to a sense of impunity, which could lead to increased lawlessness and violence.

More than 7,600 people, mostly drug users and small-time dealers, have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30 last year, about a third of them in police operations. Callamard said she knew of only four court cases seeking justice for the victims.

"The difference between the number of reported killings and the number of court cases is unbelievable," she told Reuters in Bangkok. "It's very unusual for that degree of impunity to remain restricted to one kind of crime or one type of community."

Spokesmen for Duterte could not immediately be reached for comment.

The war on drugs has been a signature policy of Duterte, who remains popular in opinion polls.

But Callamard, a human rights expert from France who took up the UN post in August, said opposition to the drug war was increasing and had reached a "tipping point".

"There is an increasing awareness on the part of the Filipino people that the war on drugs could hurt them," she said. "The surveys that are being done indicate support for the president...but critique the war on drugs."

One of the Philippines' top polling agencies, Social Weather Stations, said after a survey of 1,500 people in early December that most were satisfied with Duterte's rule. But 78 per cent said they were worried that they or someone they knew would be a victim of an extra-judicial killing.

In a series of reports last year, Reuters showed that the police had a 97 per cent kill rate in their drug operations, the strongest proof yet that police were summarily shooting drug suspects.

Both the government and police have strenuously denied that extra-judicial killings have taken place.

The Church in the Philippines, Asia's largest Catholic nation, had been a muted critic of the campaign but slammed it earlier this month for creating a "reign of terror" among the poor.

The bloodshed had also generated growing unease and criticism from Philippine civil society groups and media, Callamard said.

Her remarks come as Duterte and his police chief Ronald Dela Rosa face intense criticism for the October kidnap and killing of a South Korean businessmen by anti-narcotics officers inside national police headquarters.

He was arrested for drug offences that his wife said was an official cover for kidnap for ransom.

The case, which came to light in January, prompted Dela Rosa to announce the suspension of anti-drug operations to purge the police force of what he termed "rogue cops." Duterte has however vowed to maintain his anti-drugs campaign until his term ends in 2022.

Callamard said real opposition to the drugs war would come from within the Philippines rather than international bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In October, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the Hague-based tribunal could prosecute if the killings were "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population".

Duterte has threatened to withdraw from the ICC, calling it "useless", and said in a November speech: "You scare me that you will jail me? International Criminal Court? Bullshit."

(Reuters)

Read more:

Opposition against President Duterte's war on drugs mounting: UN investigator - WION

Seares: Branding the war on drugs | SunStar Sun.Star THE nation and the world are presented two clashing versions of the anti-illegal drugs campaign that President Duterte has waged. Duterte has called it a war on drugs, with drug traffickers and drug protectors as the enemy.Blood would flow on streets ... and more »

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Seares: Branding the war on drugs | SunStar - Sun.Star

Gener Rondina never stood a chance. When the Philippine police arrived at his home in the middle of the night, he tried to push an air conditioner out of the wall and flee through the opening. The police were waiting on the other side and shone a flashlight on his face.

Terrified, he retreated inside, began pleading for his life, and offered himself up for arrest. Family members saidhe had been trying to quit his use and small-scale sale of drugs. I will surrender, I will surrender, sir, a witness said Rondina shouted. The police told Rondina to get on his knees and hold his hands over his head. They told his family to leave the room. Moments later, gunshots rang out.

Rondina is one of more than7,000 people whohavebeen killed in the Philippines war on drugsover the past seven months.Since President Rodrigo Duterte swept to power, on a platform of uplifting the poor and ridding the streets of crime, he has incited people with his murderous rhetoric to take the law into their own hands and kill anyone they suspect of using or selling drugs.

The Philippine police claimed, as they did in the vast majority of casesAmnesty International documented, that Rondina resisted arrest. The witnesses we spoke to told a different story, that of an unarmed man stricken with fear in what he knew were the final moments of his life. When he was killed, a witness said the police dragged him outside like a pig and left his corpse by a sewer before loading it into a truck.

Every day, families arrive at morgues in the Philippines to search for the dumped bodies of their loved ones. The victims are overwhelmingly from the poorest sections of society. They are not powerful drug traffickers or leaders of drug syndicates, but people whose names were added to hit lists by local political bosses on suspicion that they used or sold drugs, no matter how little or how long ago.

The killings have become so common that there is almost a casual air of business at the morgues and funeral homes. The police and other officials look on indifferently as they process paperwork, unmoved by the relentless loss of human life. The only value they attach to them is as commodities in an economy of murder. Dignity for the victims is even denied in deathone officer speaking to us said some police officers have entered into a racket with local funeral homes, taking a cut for each body sent their way.

As a Metro Manila anti-drugs police officer revealed to us, the police are paid per hit by their bosses. These under-the-table payments can be as much as $300 for each alleged drug offender they kill. As a result, there is no incentive to arrest people like Rondina and submit them to due process. When there is a shootout during a drugs raid, the police officer said, an alleged drug offender is always killed.

Safe in the knowledge that they will not be held accountable for the killings, the police prey on victims in other ways. During a raid, several people told us, they often plant evidence even as they snatch possessions.Rondinasfather, who himself served on the police force for 24 years before retiring, said the police took a laptop, a watch, a cell phone and cash after they killed his son. (On Monday, police chief RonalddelaRosaconceded that there is corruption in the forceand said they will cleanse the ranks.)

There are times when the police prefer to operate in secret. Trading in their uniforms for disguises, they roam the streets on motorcycles in pairs. Riding in tandem, as it is known locally, they approach their target, kill them, and speed away. This way, they haveno questions to confront, and no paperwork to fill inor reports to falsify.

At other times, the policerecruit paid killersto do their dirty work for them. As two paid killers we spoke to said, theyre managed by an active police officer. Their gang includes a number of former police officers. For a user, one of the paid killers told us, its 5,000 pesos (US$100). For a pusher, she added, it can be twice or three times as much.

Following the police killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-jooon the grounds of the national police headquarters, Duterte said he was disbanding the polices anti-drug unit. But he has vowed to press ahead with his violent campaign, until the end of his term in 2022. The problem is not just a few police officers, but the policy as a whole, which will continue to claim lives.

On Tuesday night, a day after the police said they had abandoned their anti-narcotics operations, the body of 24-year-old Aldrin de Guzman was found near his home. The killers left him out on the street, in what has become a hauntingly familiar sight for Filipinos. Each morning, people walk along the streets, past the bodies, touched by the fear the killers left for them.

Its a fear that now pervades every impoverishedneighbourhoodin the archipelago, where residents worry that they or a loved one may be next. The same police thataresupposed to protect them are hunting them down, acting on the instructions of the president who was supposed to be their greatest champion. If you are poor, as one victims relative told us, you are killed.

Read this article:

Philippines: Duterte must end his "war on drugs" - Amnesty International

John Magufuli

DAR ES SALAAM. President John Magufuli yesterday added weight on the crackdown on narcotics, directing the national security and defence forces to apprehend all suspects irrespective of their status.Nobody should be spared in this war against illicit drugs; no matter how famous or what status that person has in the society, Dr Magufuli ordered. He stressed further, Be it a politician, minister, a police officer, a son or daughter of a big wig, the law should follow its course.

Even if it is my wife dealing in drugs she should face the music.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces commended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ernest Mangu for his bold move to suspend police officers who were recently accused by Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Paul Makonda of cooperating with drugs dealers.

I know there was a lot of pressure on you from some people who made phone calls, but you stood firm, otherwise you wouldnt be here today as the IGP. The drugs have effects on the young workforce but are still being sold like groundnuts.

I usually get very upset when law enforcement agencies are accused for wrongdoing but I am happy that you took actions. The war on drugs is tough but we must fight it, Dr Magufuli told the IGP.

He directed security and defence forces to act tough on the whole chain involved in the illicit drugs, starting with the underdogs and eventually drug barons.

Those using and peddling the narcotics will have to mention the whole supply chain, he stated.

Dr Magufuli also tasked the Acting Chief Justice, Prof Ibrahim Juma, to expedite the trials of drug-related cases currently pending at courts.

There is a suspected drug kingpin currently being detained in Lindi but I wonder why he is not produced in courts for prosecution, wondered the president. Although Dr Magufuli did not mention the suspect he was apparently referring to Ali Khatib Haji, alias Shkuba (46), a suspected drug baron who was arrested in 2014 and is currently remanded in the Lindi prison.

President Magufuli disclosed as well that he had agreed to hand over the MV Dar es Salaam ship, initially meant to carry passengers between Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo, to the TPDF to enable the army to intercept drugs and smuggled goods in the Indian Ocean.

As per request by the former Chief of Defence Force General Davis Mwamunyange, I decided to hand over the ship to the army to intensify patrols against drug traffickers and smugglers in the Indian Ocean, President Magufuli noted.

The President was speaking at the swearing-in of the newly appointed Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Venance Mabeyo and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General James Mwakibolwa at State House in Dar es Salaam.

Dr Magufuli also swore in the Commissioner General of the Prisons Department, Dr Ally Malewa, Secretary of the Public Service Commission, Mr Nyakimura Muhoji and two ambassadors, Paul Mella and Samuel Shelukindo.

Last Friday, IGP Mangu suspended 12 police officers, pending investigations, over their alleged links to drugs dealers in Dar es Salaam. The suspension came only few days after the Dar es Salaam RC had issued a list of suspects of drug dealers and facilitators, including the law enforcers and local celebrities in the music and movie industries. - Tanzania Daily News.

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Magufuli adds weight to war on drugs - The Herald

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened Korean gangs involved in the countrys illegal drugs trade with death. Duterte, who promised to continue his war on drugs until the last day of his presidency in 2022, told local media that Korean criminals wouldnt be treated differently just because they are not Filipino.

Dutertes aggressive crackdown on drugs he initiated in the summer of 2016 has so far resulted in more than 7,000 deaths across the country according to Philippine National Police records.

In January, Duterte apologized to South Korea for the death of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo, 53, in October, which rights groups believe was linked to the anti-drugs policy. It was reported by the ABS-CBN news channel that the the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group ( AIDG) had no evidence Ick-joo was involved in the illegal drugs trade.

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Ick-joo was abducted from his home in Manila in October 2016, and taken to police headquarters where he was strangled. The police officers responsiblewho are now in custodythen tried to extort money from Mr Jee Ick-joos family by pretending he was still alive, according to the New York Times.

After the murder, Duterte called for a crackdown on rogue police elements, promising to bring those responsible to justice and disbanding the AIDG. Police chief Roland Dela Rosa expressed remorse over the death, but emphasized the case of Mr Ick-joo was isolated. However, in a press conference last Friday, Dela Rosa said the Korean mafia were to blame.

As a result of Dela Rosas claim, President Duterte has threatened to apply the crackdown seen in his drugs war to Korean gangs, who supposedly operate out of the southern city of Cebu. The president claims the mafia are known for operating human and drug trafficking rings, prostitution and kidnapping. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confirmed they are aware of elements of mafia existence in Cebu on Monday morning, but authorities are still searching for evidence that such a crime syndicate which could have carried out the kidnapping of Ick-joo exists. Senator Ping Lacson told the Inquirer, a Filipino newspaper, that the Korean mafia angle might be farfetched.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II of the Philippines told local reporters that he was working with South Korea to determine the nature of the alleged mafia: Our office is coordinating and contacting the Korean embassy if they have a police attach or anyone to that effect that could help us [find out] about this Korean mafia, if ever it exists.

In the meantime, Duterte wants the Koreans to remain friends. South Koreans are the largest group of tourists to the Philippines annually. The Korea Times reported that the president said: "They're always welcome here. Korea is our friend. It has helped us in so many ways. To law-abiding Koreans, you will be protected, treated equally as Filipinos."

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President Duterte Threatens to Extend Drug War and Kill Korean ... - Newsweek

Peter Cruz, 24, lies dead on the pavement after being gunned down while he was biking by unknown assailants on Guyabano street in Manggahan, Pasig City on Tuesday. Unexplained killings continue even as President Duterte ordered the halt in police operations against drug suspects on Monday. Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has denied that the Duterte's administration war on drugs is a war against poor people in the Philippines, as claimed by Amnesty International.

In a speech before the Filipino community in New York City on Monday (Philippine time), Cayetano said the Duterte administration's policy against drugs and criminality actually aims to alleviate poverty since "no family with a drug addict as a brother, son, or father can get out of poverty."

"The poor have become common victims of the drug pushers. When they become hooked on drugs, they engage in other crimes to sustain their vices. If the government will not intensify its drug operations, the poor will continue to be exploited by the drug pushers. The poor cannot defend themselves, they need us most," he said.

Cayetano also called on international organizations to help the Duterte administration in its war against drugs instead of "wasting their energy criticizing its strong policies."

""Instead of criticizing us and trying to stop international funding, why don't you give us bullet-proof vests for our police? And why don't you give us cameras like they use in the SEAL teams, so you could see the drug bust and you could see why they fire at these people?"

In its report "If you are poor you are killed: Extrajudicial Executions in the Philippines", Amnesty International detailed how the Philippine police have systematically targeted mostly poor and defenseless people across the country while "planting evidence, recruiting paid killers, stealing from the people they kill and fabricating official incident reports."

In a number of cases witnesses to killings or victims' relatives told Amnesty that the person shot dead was unarmed and had not resisted arrest. Police also planted drugs and weapons that they later "seized" as evidence, Amnesty said.

Amnesty also warned that the lists of drug suspects that police were using to target people were deeply flawed.

This was partly because many people were placed on the lists simply after being reported by fellow community members, without any further investigation, according to Amnesty.

After a series of scandals emerged over the past month in which police were caught committing murder, kidnapping, extortion and robbery, President Duterte week ordered them to stop all activities related to the drug war.

He described the police force as "corrupt to the core" and vowed to cleanse it.

But he also vowed the drug war would continue until the last day of his term, in 2022.

He said police would return to the drug war after he reorganized the force and, in the meantime, the military would become more involved. With Agence France Presse

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War on drugs not war vs poor: Cayetano - ABS-CBN News

Eliot L. Engel and Matt Salmon, AZ We See It 5:32 p.m. MT Feb. 6, 2017

A narcotics-detection canine led border patrol agents to discover heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in a front wheel well.(Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

In 2015, opioid deaths in the United States exceeded 30,000 for the first time in recent history. As both parents and members of Congress, we find this unacceptable.

Our first duty as lawmakers confronting this epidemic is to ensure that Americans have access to the drug treatment services that they need. At the same time, we have a responsibility to take a fresh look at our international efforts to fight the drug trade in Latin America and the Caribbean.

AZCENTRAL

It'll take some pain to solve America's opiate epidemic

By doing so, we can ensure that we have the best strategy moving forward. That is why we authored the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act, which passed the House and Senate last month.

As former chairmen of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee from opposite ends of the political spectrum, we have supported U.S. efforts over the years to enhance citizen security and fight drug trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean. Billions of dollars later, some of those efforts have been successful while others have not brought about the results we hoped.

As American lives continue to be lost to the scourge of drug abuse, it is only fair to make an honest assessment of how we spend our counter-narcotics dollars abroad. Our families deserve no less.

The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission will be an independent U.S. government commission that will evaluate our drug policies in Latin America and the Caribbean and make recommendations to the president and Congress on which of our policies need to be scaled up and which need to be scaled back.

So why focus on the Western Hemisphere? Nearly all cocaine consumed in our country originates in South America, while most heroin consumed here is from Colombia and Mexico. And Central America and the Caribbean are key transit regions for drugs entering the United States.

As just one example, poppy cultivation in Mexico is on the rise. Poppiesarebeing used to produce the heroin that is flooding our streets.

AZCENTRAL

Data: Arizona heroin, prescription drug overdoses escalate

AZCENTRAL

Police: Heroin use among youth on the rise in Gilbert

As we look to support our friends in Mexico in moving away from poppy production and into more viable economic sectors, it would serve the United States well to learn from our multi-year investment in Colombia. Specifically, we must ask what worked and what did not work when it came to coca eradication and alternative development programs over the past 20 years.

Drug consumption in the United States has wreaked havoc on our communities and impacted countless lives. Butit has also fueled violence throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

We can and must do better, and the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission will help us to take the next steps towards a better future for all of us in the Americas.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) is theranking member onthe House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) was the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. Bothpreviously served as chairmen of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Follow them on Twitter,@repeliotengeland@repmattsalmon.

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Congressmen: Let's take a new look at the war on drugs - AZCentral.com

U2 nailed it back in 1988 when they talked about the scourge drug of that era being the promise in the year of election.

Bono was singing about heroin back then and compared to todays manic methamphetamine menace and the misery it brings, heroin was a cakewalk.

Junkies flaked out after a rush of smack were far more manageable than people pulsating in and out of a meth-induced psychosis while posing a serious threat to anyone around them including those they love.

Unfortunately we cant turn back the clock.

So, in the past few days weve seen what the major political parties plan to do about the ongoing ice epidemic in the year of election.

The simple answer would be to say that Liberal and Labor try to outdo one another to win the tough on drugs, tough on crime trophy.

It could also be argued that what ever they do to fight meth in the community its too little too late and more should have been done a decade ago.

But to establish such a cynical position, you need to travel back with me to 2007, when the then Labor government announced an ice summit because the drug posed a significant problem.

In WA, the use of these drugs, particularly crystalline methamphetamine, or ice as it is more commonly known, is higher than the national average, premier Alan Carpenter said at the time. This puts enormous pressure on the services required to manage the issue, including our police force, hospital emergency departments, child protection agencies and mental health system.

Very true. However, the summit prompted a health, law and order and punishment response that didnt even go close to barricading us against the threat. What followed was the equivalent of parking a Mini Minor in the path of a Mack truck.

Here we are a decade on and WA has been blighted by so much ice-related murder, domestic violence, child neglect and all-round crime and dysfunction.

Given the stranglehold this drug seems to have on those it lures in and the multi-billion dollar organised crime syndicates pulling the levers on supply and demand some might argue its unreasonable to assess whether our governments could have done more in the fight against ice. But if our politicians claim to have waged a war on ice since the 2007 summit, then the suite of new measures announced on Sunday by the Barnett Government suggests victory will be hard to come by.

Anyone deemed to be in possession with intent to sell or supply any amount of ice is going to jail for at least a year as part of the mandatory sentencing package.

Having 200g of the drug will put you behind bars for a minimum of 15 years. No ifs, buts or maybes. WA would have the toughest anti-drug jail sentences in the country. And both Labor and Liberal agree that a new sentence of life in prison should be available to judges dealing with meth traffickers, regardless of who wins the election on March 11.

A reasonable question to ponder is why now rather than 2007, or soon after the ice summit warned of the impending doom?

How come the politicians didnt go as tough then as they are now just weeks away from wanting your vote?

Almost 10 years on from when Labor premier Alan Carpenter spoke before the ice summit about the pressures the drug was putting on hospitals, police and the justice system, the Liberal leader who beat him at the 2008 election said virtually the same thing on the weekend.

Meth, or ice, as its more commonly known, is destroying young lives, tearing families apart, Premier Barnett said.

Its putting enormous pressure on our police resources, our public health system, particularly emergency departments, mental health and care for those addicted.

The mirror image rhetoric is why people have a right to be cynical.

The tough, no-nonsense strategy should have been introduced a decade ago.

People are always cynical about election campaigns, Attorney-General Michael Mischin conceded at the policy launch on Sunday.

This is not simply opportunistic.

This is an evolutionary strategy based on the work weve been doing over the last eight years.

The government has a responsibility to take action in respect of major social issues that are threatening our community.

For many years weve known WA has had an extraordinarily dangerous liaison with this drug, but for too long weve seen lip service and then another election comes along.

Its taken all this time for a government to pull out the really heavy armoury against the drug dealers at any level of the distribution chain.

Youve been dealing out misery to thousands of West Australian families and if re-elected, this Liberal Government will deal out misery to you, Police Minister Liza Harvey said on the weekend.

Those words might win the tough on crime political battle, but they wont win the war against a drug thats been able to advance too far for too long.

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Words won't win war on drugs - The West Australian

The failed war on drugs is another major factor in dividing the country, even though opinion on the issue is not particularly divided along party lines.

The illegal drug trade makes gangsters rich and powerful. The resulting damage to peoples lives, crime, gang violence and other related misconduct fuels conservatives anger and their general dissatisfaction with the state of the world.

Many conservatives, as well as liberals, do realize the war on drugs has been a catastrophic failure. Steps to legalize marijuana are baby steps in the right direction. But, support for the solution ending the prohibition and legalizing all those currently illegal drugs is not sufficiently widespread in either party.

One reason I vehemently oppose the promotion and spread of legal gambling (e.g. as a source of tax revenue) is that one of the main goals, and potential benefits, of legalization is supposed to be getting rid of the pushers and pimps.

Street gangs, biker gangs, mobsters, drug cartels and terrorists are all often financed by the illegal drug trade, increasing their power and influence. And, they all tend to be racist organizations, each gang usually being of a single race which feeds the racial prejudice of others.

Mark Holmboe, Rockford

Original post:

Letter: The failed 'war on drugs' divides country - Rockford Register Star

MANILA - Philippine troops will only provide back-up in the war on drugs and not patrol the streets or play any kind of leading role, the head of an anti-narcotics agency that has been given charge of the campaign said on Monday.

Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte suspended the national police from the anti-drugs war that has killed over 7,600 people in seven months after a South Korean businessman was kidnapped and killed by members of a police drugs squad.

He said the army would be inducted into the drugs war, creating unease in a country that endured a decade of martial law from the early 1970s and where memories of campaigns to restore democracy and protect human rights are fresh in the minds of many people.

However, Duterte handed charge of the anti-drugs campaign to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

"They (troops) will be in support of PDEA agents," the agency's director general, Isidro Lapena, said in an interview. "For example, if the target is in an area where there are armed groups, then we will be needing the armed forces."

Lapena stressed the military would not be on patrol duty or lead their own operations. Troops selected for a joint task force with the PDEA would attend orientation programs and would likely only be on stand-by for drug operations when needed.

Of the people killed in the war on drugs, about 2,500 died during police operations and the remainder are in dispute. The authorities say many deaths were caused by inter-gang violence or vigilantes, while human rights groups say there is a pattern of extra-judicial killings. The government strongly rejects that.

Asked if a drugs war run by PDEA would see fewer killings than those seen under the police, Lapena said it was up to the criminal gangs to decide whether to surrender quietly, or put up a fight.

"There are firefights that result in death...we cannot avoid that," he said.

BLOODSHED INEVITABLE

Lapena said most previous operations led by the PDEA had resulted in arrests, not killings. Bloodshed was inevitable during a drugs war, he said, because dealers and corrupt police would kill others to cover their tracks.

"We don't have control over other elements who do the killings. The other killings are perpetrated, I would say, by drug syndicates themselves," Lapena said.

"That is why, I cannot say this will lower, or this will rise."

The remit and structure of the new joint task force between the PDEA and the armed forces could be finalized within this week, Lapena said.

PDEA has a major challenge in keeping up the intensity of a drugs war that was being waged primarily by the 160,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP).

PDEA has a tiny fraction of that, with only 1,800 personnel. Lapena said PDEA had approval to recruit 900 more. The new task force would operate nationwide, but its size and number of operations was yet to be decided.

Lapena said PDEA would make up for the manpower shortage by strengthening links to local communities, setting up anti-drugs councils to identify those in need of rehabilitation, or "neutralization", which he said meant arrests and prosecution, and was not a euphemism for killing.

Lapena is a former police chief of Davao, a city where Duterte was mayor for over two decades.

The narcotics agency chief said he had no idea why Duterte would make such drastic change to his drugs war, leaving PDEA with a race against time to come up with a plan.

"We will take on the job and we will deliver," he said.

More here:

PDEA: Army to play support role in war on drugs - ABS-CBN News

Sunday February 5 2017 In Summary

The government will not relent in its efforts to eradicate drug and drug use in the coastal region, Deputy President William Ruto said on Sunday.

Speaking after attending mass at the Holy Ghost Cathedral Catholic Church, Mr Ruto expressed concern over high number of youths succumbing to drug addiction.

You should pray for those indulging in this illegal business to change their way of lives and stop destroying our young people here (Mombasa), he added.

Acknowledging that the government was facing challenges in fighting the drug menace, Mr Ruto asked Christians to join hands in the fight against the vice to save the youths.

The DP's statements follow the extradition of four suspected drug barons to the United States to face trafficking charges.

Joint investigations between Kenyan police and Drug Enforcement Administration led to the arrest of Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein, Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami and Baktash Akasha Abdalla.

At the same time, he urged Christians to offer special prayers to Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials to conduct free, fair and credible polls on August 8.

All of us as Kenyans require the space and chance to exercise our constitutional rights to vote for whoever we want without being coerced or intimidated through unorthodox means to vote otherwise, he said.

The DP noted that security had improved in the coastal region which had come under terror attacks due to intensified surveillance by security forces within and without the borders.

We must pay homage to our security forces for ensuring peace and tranquility prevail not only in Mombasa and its environs but the entire country and within our borders, he said.

According to him, even after this years elections and its outcome, Kenyans would still remain peaceful.

In his sermon, the presiding Priest John Correa challenged the government to resolve the doctors strike impasse saying most Kenyans were suffering due to lack of health services.

Whether we are leaders, politicians, government and priests we should work in solidarity to break the impasse and bring back healthcare services to public hospitals, he pleaded.

He also urged Catholic faithful to donate foodstuff to help residents suffering in drought and famine hit counties across the country.

Americas FBI had sought the Akashas for a long time.

New officer takes charge of C Company battalion that repelled Al-Shabaab fighters.

The story of one of Kenya's most protracted industrial dispute is a messy affair.

Originally posted here:

Ruto camps in Mombasa, says war on drugs intensified - Daily Nation

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The president of the Philippines admits his war on drugs has been dirty - The Economist

Johann Haris book is the perfect antidote to the war on drugs, one of the most under-discussed moral injustices of our time. It combines rigorous research and deeply human story-telling. It will prompt an urgently-needed debate

A terrific book.

An absolutely stunning book. It will blow people away.

Superb journalism and thrilling story-telling.

Wonderful I couldnt put it down.

An astounding book.

This book is, forgive the obvious phrase, screamingly addictive. The story it tells, jaw-droppingly horrific, hilarious and incredible, is one everyone should know: that it is all true boggles the mind, fascinates and infuriates in equal measure. Johann Hari, in brilliant prose, exposes one of the greatest and most harmful scandals of the past hundred years.

This book is as intoxicatingly thrilling as crack, without destroying your teeth. It will change the drug debate forever.

Incredibly insightful and provocative.

Check out Johann Haris extraordinary new book Chasing the Scream, one of the best books Ive ever read about the world of drugs

Johann Hari has written a drug policy reform book like no other. Many have studied, or conducted, the science surrounding the manifold ills of drug prohibition. But Hari puts it all into riveting story form, and humanizes it Part Gonzo journalism, part Louis CK standup, part Mark Twain storytelling, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs is beautifully wrought: lively, humorous, and poignant. And, its a compelling case for why the drug war must end, yesterday.

In this energetic and thought-proving book, Hari harnesses the power of the personal narrative to reveal the true causes and consequences of the War on Drugs.

Breath-taking A powerful contribution to an urgent debate

A testament to Haris skill as a writer

Gripping

A riveting book

Superb

This book is an entertainment, a great character study and page-turning storytelling all rolled into one very sophisticated and compelling cry for social justice.

Amazing and bracing and smart. Its really revolutionary.

Scary and terrific

Incredibly powerful

Its incredibly entertaining. Its enormously emotionally affecting It really is an extraordinary book

More here:

Chasing the Scream | The First and Last Days of the War on ...