Jakarta - Indonesia believes that the case of the Garuda pilot who is now under the Dutch police custody for allegedly smuggling thousands of ecstasy pills is being politicized, Ambassador to the Netherlands Sudarmanto Kadarisman said.

"There are certain parties that do not like Indonesia," he told the press here Thursday after a meeting with President Soeharto at his Jalan Cendana residence.

He said it has been apparent that certain parties in the Dutch government are taking the advantage of the case to smear the image of Indonesia.

He expressed the hope that the Dutch government will take measures against those groups, who have also been trying to "systematically" smear Indonesia at international forums.

Kadarisman also said that the Indonesian embassy's appeals to the Dutch government have been simply aimed at giving MS a humane treatment while under their custody.

MS, a senior pilot of Garuda Indonesia, was arrested by Dutch anti-narcotics police at the Schiphol airport on Sept 29 last year for carrying at least 6,448 ecstasy pills in his vest pocket.

He will be tried again in April.

Asked on efforts aimed at discrediting Indonesia, Kadarisman said that following MS's arrest, the Dutch daily "De Telegraaf" reported that a military officer at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague was believed to be involved in the case.

The report also hinted the illegal use of diplomatic pouches, he added.

"It is really too much," he said.

[Rumors circulating Jakarta at the moment suggest that one of the reasons the police have been unable to break the Ectasy smuggling, production and distribution racket in Jakarta and other major Indonesian cities is that the racket is controlled by Suharto's grandson Sigit - James Balowski]