On IMF economic reforms<\/p>\n
We hope the government will not give in totally to the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank pressure and
\ncompletely change its course.<\/p>\n
Our opposition to the macro economic policy framework that the
\nIMF and the World Bank are imposing on our country is not
\nnecessarily that its goal of stabilizing macro-economic variables
\nis wrong in itself. Our concern is that they prioritize
\nstabilization over all other considerations, and set ambitious
\ntargets on what seem to be global norms, on the assumption that
\nthese measures would appeal to foreign investors who would
\nrespond by significantly increasing foreign direct investment in
\nour economy. They may achieve something on most of their macro-
\neconomic targets, but massively underperform in the growth,
\nemployment creation and poverty reduction targets.<\/p>\n
It is clear that these policies simplistically assume that a
\nfew economic indicators -- inflation, money supply growth,
\ninterest rates, budget and trade deficits -- could serve as a
\nbasis for a set of policy recommendations. This approach has
\nclearly underestimated the trade-offs between the pursuit of
\nthese macro stability goals and other very important economic
\nobjectives.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that the recipes given to us by the IMF and
\nthe World Bank have failed. These recipes have caused severe
\npoverty in our country and should be ended.<\/p>\n
And something tangible has to be done to get our people out of
\nthis deepening poverty. There is need to seriously re-examine our
\neconomic policies.<\/p>\n
-- The Post, Lusaka, Zambia<\/p>\n
On the Bush presidency<\/p>\n
Like no president before him, he has exacerbated the American
\nfracture line. On the coasts and big cities, there is a rather
\nliberal political tradition, built out of tolerance in moral
\nmatters, where one isn't necessarily convinced that the country
\npersonifies The Truth and The Good. In the South and inland,
\nthere is a political culture increasingly marked by religion
\nwhere traditional family values are valued as highly as hyper-
\nnationalist patriotism, and the Bible and the Star Spangled
\nBanner stand as a manifesto. On one side, the democratic nation;
\non the other, the republican nation. And in between them, less
\nand less in common.<\/p>\n
-- Le Monde, Paris<\/p>\n
On screening foreign visitors to the United States<\/p>\n
Seconds. That's the amount of time it takes for foreign
\nvisitors to the United States to undergo tighter security
\nmeasures.<\/p>\n
Critics contend the tighter security will discourage
\nforeigners from visiting the United States or make them feel
\nunwelcome here. Hogwash.<\/p>\n
Seconds. It's no major inconvenience. It doesn't even remotely
\nsend out the message that America doesn't want law-abiding
\nvisitors from around the world to travel to the United States.<\/p>\n
Foreign visitors with nothing to hide won't mind the few
\nseconds it takes to undergo the security measures. Most, if not
\nall, of them will welcome it. After all, it will make the United
\nStates a safer place for them to visit, too.<\/p>\n
We Americans -- and the rest of the world -- must be resigned
\nto the fact that waiting lines at checkpoints and reasonable,
\nadded security measures are here to stay. They are aimed at
\nmaking us safer. We may be inconvenienced, but it's worth the
\nwait.
\n-- The Express-Times, Easton, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n
On America's beef supply<\/p>\n
America's beef supply should be the world's safest, and,
\nironically, it will be made safer because of the first U.S. case
\nof mad cow disease.<\/p>\n
As cattle producers, meatpackers and the U.S. Department of
\nAgriculture scramble to shore up consumer confidence at home and
\nabroad, the nation's mad-cow testing program is coming under the
\nmicroscope, and rightfully so.<\/p>\n
The startling news ... that a Holstein from a dairy farm near
\nYakima, Wash., had bovine spongiform encephalopathy was only
\neclipsed by the fact that the fatal disease was found by fluke,
\nand not because the animal was exhibiting symptoms of a mad cow.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease,
\nstricter rules seem inevitable. It will be expensive to expand
\nAmerica's cattle-testing program, and consumers should prepare to
\nhelp bear the cost.
\n-- The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<\/p>\n
---<\/p>\n
Corriere della Sera, Milan, Italy, on British Prime Minister
\nTony Blair's recent visit to Iraq.<\/p>\n
The British Prime Minister returned to Basra, in Iraq, for the
\nsecond time in a few months, and brought the British nation's
\nsympathy to the troops deployed there.<\/p>\n
He defended the motives for acting against Saddam, gave the
\nsoldiers a reason to stay, a cause for feeling useful to their
\ncountry, and the certainty that they are not being abandoned.<\/p>\n
In order to make this trip to Basra, Blair faced many a risk
\nto his safety. He evidently assessed that personal risk is not a
\nplausible argument for keeping a statesman at home, especially
\nwhen the troops run daily risks on the battlefield. A statesman
\ncannot allow himself the luxury of fearing for his own life.<\/p>\n
One particular event during the Prime Minister's trip deserves
\nto be mentioned above others: Blair did not meet exclusively with
\nhis own troops, like Bush did on Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n
Blair shook hands with representatives from other coalition
\nstates.<\/p>\n
If the term Europe has any real meaning ... yesterday Blair
\nspoke not only as a British Prime Minister, but as a European
\nleader in the full meaning of the term.<\/p>\n
One can only hope that Blair's example will be followed by
\nother statesmen.
\n---
\nHelsingin Sanomat, Helsinki, Finland, on Indian-Pakistani relations:<\/p>\n
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's short meeting
\nwith Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad
\ncannot yet be considered to be a breakthrough. The leaders
\npreviously held talks in Agra, India, in the summer of 2001, and
\na few months later these two southern Asian nuclear states came
\nto the brink of war. This time the signs seem better, however.
\nThe will for detente seems increasingly sincere on both sides.<\/p>\n
The most poisonous issue between the two countries -- the
\nquestion of Kashmir -- does not seem closer to a solution. The
\nhopes for detente, indeed, are based more on the realization that
\nthey can reach a solution no more through diplomatic means than
\nthrough war, and that one has to learn to live with the status
\nquo. Bilateral relations have been improved bit by bit since the
\nspring, and the cease-fire on the Kashmir border achieved in
\nNovember has, more or less, held.
\n----
\nThe Decatur Daily, Decatur, Alabama, on Mars landing:<\/p>\n
Nearly two-thirds of the attempts to land on Mars were
\nfailures. Only one in the three last attempts succeeded.<\/p>\n
Bucking those odds, NASA scored a major victory in space
\nexploration Saturday night when golf cart-size Spirit bounced to
\na safe landing as a prelude to major exploration on the Red
\nPlanet. ...<\/p>\n
The accuracy with which Spirit landed is a boost to NASA's
\nprestige after the last shuttle tragedy. While Spirit is
\nunmanned, it is a much more difficult mission than getting humans
\ninto and out of Earth orbit safely. The consequences of failure,
\nhowever, are not comparable.<\/p>\n
Still, NASA is on an incredible mission, and one that will
\ngrow even more exciting if and when the companion rover,
\nOpportunity, touches down Jan. 24 on the opposite side of the
\nplanet.
\n---
\nThe Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York, on the CIA leak and John Ashcroft:<\/p>\n
Attorney General John Ashcroft last week recused himself from
\nthe ongoing investigation into who leaked the name of a CIA
\nundercover operations officer to political columnist Robert
\nNovak. Belated though it was, the decision was correct.<\/p>\n
Ashcroft has been under pressure for months to name an outside
\ncounsel to oversee the investigation and, while he didn't go that
\nfar, his choice has been met with general approval from critics.
\nThe probe will be led by newly appointed Deputy Attorney General
\nJames Comey, who has handed the case to Patrick Fitzgerald, a
\nfriend and respected federal prosecutor from Chicago.<\/p>\n
It's not the same as an independent counsel, whose activities
\nare beyond the control of the Justice Department, but as Kenneth
\nStarr proved in his agonizing Whitewater\/sex\/perjury\/sex\/kitchen
\nsink\/sex investigation, independent counsels may not always serve
\nthe national interest. ...<\/p>\n
This is the first such significant investigation since the
\nWhitewater embarrassment, and it is important for it to be
\nhandled professionally and properly. That means Ashcroft must
\nleave Comey to his work, and Comey must do the same for
\nFitzgerald. The investigation must be allowed to lead where it
\nleads -- even in an election year.
\n---<\/p>\n
GetAP 1.00 -- JAN 9, 2004 00:42:10
\n;AP;
\nANPA ..r..
\nNA-GEN--Editorial Roundup
\nBy The Associated Press=
\nJP\/<\/p>\n
By The Associated Press=
\nA selection of excerpts from editorials in newspapers worldwide:
\n---<\/p>\n
---
\nJordan Times, Amman, Jordan, on talks between India and Pakistan:<\/p>\n
Certainly Asia, if not the rest of the world, breathed a great
\nsigh of relief over the news that the leaders of Pakistan and
\nIndia sat down for a one-hour talk on Monday.<\/p>\n
These two countries have had their share of dangerously
\nsparring with each other over the past five decades. But during
\nthat period also, domestic woes have increasingly afflicted these
\ntwo nuclear powers.<\/p>\n
Their neighborhood has been plagued with threats by various
\nterrorist organizations, militant infiltration, tribal conflicts
\nand assassinations, not to speak of socio-economic ills
\ncompounded by burgeoning populations in the face of huge defense
\nspending.<\/p>\n
The talks between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and
\nIndian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been described as
\na breakthrough.<\/p>\n
We in the Arab world are accustomed to 'breakthrough' talks
\nwhich all too often breakdown. The same holds true for the
\nIndian-Pakistani conflict. From experience, we can recommend that
\ntalks of this sort be maintained at all costs.<\/p>\n
The science of conflict resolution requires courage in
\ndefining the problem, willingness to offer confidence-building
\nmeasures and acceptance of compromise. The key is to keep talking
\nand understand that each side to the conflict will reach times of
\napparent impasse.
\n---
\nAsahi Shimbun, Tokyo, on Afghanistan's new constitution:<\/p>\n
The 2001 Bonn accord, backed by the United Nations, called for
\nsetting up an interim government composed of representatives of
\nethnic groups, establishing a new Constitution by the end of 2003
\nand holding elections in June 2004. The political process up to
\nthe halfway point -- enacting a new Constitution -- more or less
\nis on schedule.<\/p>\n
Yet, the content of the new Constitution is far from what the
\ninternational community had sought. Under the new Constitution,
\nthe country is henceforth to be called the Islamic Republic of
\nAfghanistan. It says all laws must conform to the teachings of
\nIslam.<\/p>\n
Basic human rights, such as freedom of thought and beliefs,
\nare guaranteed, but only within the framework of Islamic
\nteachings and legislation. This provision is heavily imbued with
\nthe ideas of the old guard. There is a real danger that freedom
\nof political activities and religious beliefs could be
\nconstrained by this provision.<\/p>\n
While a roadmap for reconstruction of Afghanistan has been
\nmade, the country still faces a bumpy road ahead. ... For
\nAfghanistan to move to the next stage of its reconstruction, with
\nthe promise of elections, it is essential that it benefits from
\nthe firm support offered by the international community.
\n---
\nThe Guardian, London, on British troops in Iraq:<\/p>\n
British troops in Iraq may feel encouraged by the prime
\nminister's lightning visit to Basra yesterday. But perhaps it is
\nTony Blair's morale that is more in need of a boost.<\/p>\n
The armed forces are doing a fine job in Iraq. Nobody doubts
\nit. The same cannot be said with confidence of Mr. Blair's past
\nand present performance on this issue. ...<\/p>\n
Although the war was a success in purely military terms, Mr.
\nBlair still refuses to face up to the central contention of its
\nnumerous opponents: that he led Britain into battle on what Sir
\nMenzies Campbell calls a "flawed prospectus." The fact is, the
\nprincipal, official justification that Saddam's weapons of mass
\ndestruction posed a threat to the region and to Britain itself
\nwas just plain wrong. There were no such weapons. ...<\/p>\n
It is simply no good for Mr. Blair to persist in claiming, as
\nhe did before Christmas, that "massive evidence" of illegal Iraqi
\nweapons activity has been uncovered. This assertion was flatly
\nrejected at the time by the senior US official in Iraq, Paul
\nBremer. It is not borne out by the Iraq Survey Group's findings
\nto date. Even the Bush administration no longer wants to talk
\nabout it. In short, few believe it any more. As Robin Cook says:
\n"It really is time that the prime minister accepted that himself.
\nIt is undignified to continue to insist he was right when
\neveryone can see he was wrong."
\n---
\nFrankfurter Allgemeine, Frankfurt, Germany, on the Afghan constitution:<\/p>\n
Afghanistan is a state -- but it remains to be seen whether a
\nnation can be made of it.<\/p>\n
The delegates of the constitutional convention took an
\nimportant step in that direction Sunday. It was clear until the
\nlast minute how difficult it was for them to agree on a new
\nconstitution.<\/p>\n
As late as Saturday, failure appeared probable. But
\nrepresentatives of the United Nations and the United States, both
\nof which had an immediate interest in an agreement, finally
\nmanaged to talk the holdouts round.<\/p>\n
However, that is one of the weak points of the accord.<\/p>\n
After the end of their meeting, the delegates will return to
\ntheir regions, and there they will be exposed to other
\ninfluences.<\/p>\n
It is not clear whether all those who showed willingness to
\ncompromise in the capital will have the strength to stand by
\ntheir votes.<\/p>\n
A piece of paper alone, however great the ceremony with which
\nit was approved, cannot bring peace to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Even if one ignores the increasingly active Taliban, there is
\nstill plenty of fuel for conflict in the country. There is great
\ndistrust between the various ethnic groups and their leaders.
\n---
\nKuwait Times, Kuwait, on the danger of ignoring the Taliban:<\/p>\n
The Bush Administration will make a big mistake if it, in its
\npresent difficulties in Iraq or its enthusiasm to win the 2004
\npresidential election, reduces American military presence in
\nAfghanistan, transfers its role there to a regional ally, or
\nhandles the Taliban issue softly. ...<\/p>\n
Today, after two years of forcing the Taliban out of Kabul by
\na successful American-Northern Alliance-led military operation,
\nTaliban forces are making a determined comeback. Their increasing
\nattacks on foreign and local troops since early October, and
\ntheir daily threats against the important cities of south and
\nsoutheastern Afghanistan indicate they have risen from the ashes
\nlike the legendary phoenix and that they are determined to regain
\npower in Kabul. ...<\/p>\n
In spite of the above facts, the US shows no concerns,
\nrefusing to take a decisive action against Islamabad or even
\ncriticize the Musharraf regime. Washington still maintains that
\nthe latter is doing everything it can to fight terrorism. ...
\n---
\nThe Hindustan Times, Delhi, India, on the Mars rover:<\/p>\n
Butterscotch-colored Mars has just become more exciting,
\nthanks to a mechanical geologist that goes by the name of
\nSpirit. ...<\/p>\n
Spirit's copybook landing breaks what has been a jinx with
\nMars-bound spacecraft. Hopefully this will become a bad memory
\nonce Opportunity its sister probe sets down on the opposite side
\nof the planet later this month. ...<\/p>\n
Thanks to these missions, we may soon have enough knowledge
\nabout Mars' dynamic weather systems and be able to develop
\nmineralogical maps that will be even better than those of the
\nEarth! Add to this the possibility of tracking down those elusive
\nfrozen swimming pools and its easy to see why scientists are so
\nexcited.<\/p>\n
For the presence of so much water could serve as a source of
\nfuel, drinking water and oxygen for manned Mars missions and
\ncould help the very landscaping of the Martian surface for future
\nhuman settlements. ...<\/p>\n
One thing is certain: the question of whether there is or ever
\nwas life on Mars will be settled by the end of this decade.
\n---
\nMORE[<\/p>\n
GetAP 1.00 -- JAN 9, 2004 00:41:53<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/on-imf-economic-reforms-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }