Last Friday, one of Bali's most prominent anti-drug activists, I Gusti Ngurah Wahyunda, died at Sanglah Hospital, leaving much work for his activist friends at Bali's Victims of Drugs (IKON) organization.
Wahyunda was renowned as a former drug user, who was active in campaigning against drug use, implementing HIV/AIDS education and awareness programs, and promoting human rights for drug victims.
Wahyunda founded IKON because he believed the rights of drug users were constantly abused by the police, authorities and the community.
"We have become soft targets for the police and the authorities. We have often been caught and tortured by the police and the authorities without any legal rights and assistance to defend our lives," said Wahyunda, as remembered by his colleagues both at IKON, Yakeba, and the Bali Health Foundation.
The late Wahyunda was active in raising awareness about programs to rehabilitate drug users at drug rehabilitation centers instead of sending them to jail.
The programs also included activities to raise awareness the of drug addicts about their human rights.
Wahyunda was also active in harm reduction programs designed to ease the suffering of drug users.
"He helped other people who were addicted to various drug-related illnesses," recalled one friend.
The harm reduction program was mainly intended for injecting drug users (IDUs), who are vulnerable to diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
Around 71 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in Bali were IDUs.
The harm reduction program was also aimed at decreasing the number of HIV/AIDS patients among IDUs.
Up to November 2009, only 23 percent, or 730 people of the total 3181 HIV/AIDS patients were IDUs.
There are three institutions in Bali, including the Hati Hati Foundation, the Mata Hati Foundation and the Bali Health Foundation (Yakeba) that run such programs.
Until now, most institutions dealing with harm reduction programs in Indonesia, including in Bali, focus only on the physical and mental health of the victims.
Kadek Adi Mantara, director and coordinator of IKON Bali, admitted that many drug users suffered nightmarish torture and violations of their basic human rights when they were arrested by the authorities.
"What can they do against such violations except be silent and accept the police's notorious actions? They are often hit, slapped and forced to endure other violent actions," Mantara said.
IKON and other institutions in Bali are now aggressively promoting four education and advocacy programs, public campaigns on the importance of respecting people's human rights, documenting human rights violations among IDUs and policy advocacy among legislative and executive bodies.
A large number of drug users have been treated as criminals and sent to jail for consuming drugs.
The Supreme Court issued a special decree referring to the 1997 Psychotropic Drugs Law and the l997 Narcotics Law saying that judges were obliged to send drug users to rehabilitation centers instead of sending them to jail.
The National Narcotics Agency has also developed a number of rehabilitation centers to treat drug addicts.
"The reality is still far from above the legal umbrella. Many drug addicts are still viewed as criminals," Mantara said.
The late Wahyunda was subject to violent actions by the police before he became an anti-drug activist and human rights advocate.
Last Friday night, Wahyunda took his last breath. The island's young activists are ready to take over the torch. Good bye Wahyunda.
