Shoot drug traffickers if resist arrest saysIndonesia President

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has ordered the police to shoot drug traffickers who resist arrest in the latest effort to eradicate drug use in the country.

In a speech to one of Indonesia's political parties late Friday, Widodo urged law enforcers to crackdown on drug dealers in Indonesia.

"Be firm. Especially to foreign drug dealers who enter the country. If they resist even the slightest, just shoot them," Widodo said.

The Indonesian Narcotics Agency recorded there are 6 million drug users in the archipelago out of its 255 million people, a situation the president labelled "drug emergency".

But Widodo's remarks prompted criticism from human rights activists.

Andreas Harsono, Indonesia's researcher from Human Rights Watch condemned the order.

"A president statement like that can seem like a green light to shoot without the correct procedure," Harsono told AFP Sunday, adding that law enforcers should be cautious and follow the law.

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