A conference of East Asian academics here next week will plonk

A conference of East Asian academics here next week will plonk Thailand in the middle of a fresh debate on the wisdom of 13 Asian countries converging in a new community. The discussions will show who continues to hold reservations about the idea, which evolved from Malaysia's initiative in the early 1990s to set up an East Asian economic caucus.

Thailand, officially, remains a fence-sitter, but its agreement to host the second annual conference of the Network of East Asian Think-Tanks, or NEAT, shows it is more than that.

Indonesia has been outspoken in its reservations about the proposed new community, seeing it as a potential threat to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which holds the primary role in the dialog with China, Japan and South Korea. Vietnam has been less clear about its doubts, likewise Singapore and Cambodia. But all the Northeast Asians are keen.

At the annual ASEAN meeting in Jakarta in early July, Malaysia returned the question to the regional agenda by proposing to host the first East Asian summit in 2005. China offered to do so in 2006. The United States, which fiercely opposed the East Asia Economic Caucus closely associated with the anti-West leaning of its champion, Malaysia's then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, remains a consideration.

The backing of China and Japan for an East Asian community suggests that they are unhappy with the ASEAN-plus-Three process, specifically with ASEAN's primary role in it. Can ASEAN make the adjustments necessary to move the process forward? Is there another way to avoid relegation to the past? The pro-community advocates also indicate frustration with U.S. domination of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Although there is room for ASEAN-Plus-Three and the proposed East Asian community to co-exist, the leadership problems looming over the latter are disturbing.

Huge differences in politics, economics and culture may enable only informal exchanges for some time yet, unless members of the proposed community agree to liberal use of the minus X formula.

In an ideal world, ASEAN and the proposed new forum would be mutually supportive. In reality, mutually destructive competition must be avoided. -- Bangkok Post

New hands for an old friendship

Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in on Thursday as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, in the "planned, orderly transition" that distinguishes the city-state, according to his predecessor Goh Chok Tong.

Although boosting the country's sagging birthrate and its ties with China are among Lee's priorities, it is to be hoped that he will also turn his attention towards strengthening links with Malaysia. Indeed, in welcoming his appointment, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi expressed the hope that it will bring about better relations between the two countries.

Certainly, there has been a marked improvement in the relationship in recent months. An acerbic war of words has been replaced by the warm rhetoric of concordance. Just last month, George Yeo, the new Foreign Minister, asserted that "there is strong political will to improve bilateral relations".

In the same month, Tony Tan, who has been retained as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Security and Defense in the new Singapore Cabinet, described two-way ties as "very good". Certainly in some areas, such declarations have been translated into tangible action.

Both countries have been co-operating more closely on anti- terror measures and maritime security, and have agreed to carry out joint international trade missions. Other positive developments include the purchase by Temasek Holdings of a five per cent stake in Telekom Malaysia in March and the proposed cross-trading link between Bursa Malaysia and the Singapore Exchange.

Nevertheless, despite the positive overtures and constructive approaches, there has not been any real movement on the "dead knot" issues of the supply of water, the status of railway land, and the use of airspace, as well as a new bridge across the Causeway, which have been the subject of quarrels in the past.

The changing of the guard in Singapore, therefore, presents an opportunity to throw away the dead weight of historical baggage which has plagued bilateral relations. It is time to take concrete steps to move things forward. The long-running disputes should not be allowed to remain thorns in ties between the two richest nations in Southeast Asia, which are connected to each other by deep cultural and economic bonds.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

Olympics in Athens

The most auspicious sporting event of the world returns to its birthplace today. One hundred and eight years ago, Olympics began its long journey from ancient Athens, and after touring almost the whole world returns home. It is not only a sentimental day for the Greeks, but also a day for the people around the world to feel proud of.

There have been many hiccups in the run-up to the event that at times spawned serious doubts as to whether the games would eventually take place or not. Factors, both internal and external, only fueled such skepticism. It is undoubtedly no child's play to manage such a gigantic sports event. Let us felicitate the new government for being able to quash all the doubts and skepticism about their capability arising out of a slow start in the preparatory work.

A mention must be made of the terror threat that loomed large on the whole event. In fact it had a negative impact on the image of the games. In the present global context of security concerns, none of the countries was in a position to take it lightly.

Extraordinary security measures were taken by the U.S., Britain and other high-profile countries participating in the games. We wish nothing untoward would take place during the two weeks of the games. Not only for the sake of those taking part in the Olympics and those who will go there to watch the spectacle, but also for the sanctity and glory of this historical event which brings the whole world together. We are saddened by the fact that only fifty percent of the tickets have been sold till now. Greece's tourism industry upon which a large segment of population is dependent, has not seen the much expected rush either mainly in fear of terror attacks. Let the terrorists not get even a whiff of opportunity to ruin all the fun and excitement the Olympics promise. We join the world in cheering the participants in their campaign for bettering previous games records. -- The Daily Star, Dhaka

Kenya on AIDS drugs

The lives of more than 40,000 people in East Africa hang in the balance, following removal of three generic antiretrovirals from the World Health Organization's list of drugs.

This decision will have far-reaching implications for the control of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the continent that bears the brunt of this scourge.

While many will appreciate the need for antiretrovirals to conform to internationally accepted standards, it is equally important that HIV/AIDS patients should access these life- prolonging drug at reasonable cost.

The inclusion of nevirapine, the drug of choice for stopping mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, is particularly disturbing, given the important role it plays in protecting children born of HIV-infected mothers.

In essence, it means countries that will benefit from the Bush funds have to put their AIDS patients on branded drugs, which are four times more expensive than the generics. -- Daily Nation, Nairobi

Sex and the Olympics

The contraceptive company, Durex, has ... found that what goads sports people on in the track and field is what tugs them towards the sexual arena too. What makes practical and, er, aesthetic sense is the world's best bodies meeting every four years in an enclosed space (Olympic Village), and meeting quite in the literally classical sense.

Ever since Nazi Germany made the business of eugenics -- the science of controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable characteristics in a population -- taboo, it is quite understandable that the world's fittest bodies have stopped thinking of having sex for procreation. But as any undergraduate evolutionary biologist will tell you, the cause may have changed, but the effect remains the same.

So it is no surprise that the Olympics are one hormonal hotbed for the top sports men and women of the world. This ritual seems to be confirmed every four years by the consumption of contraceptives by sports people. If nothing else, Indian sports persons may get an incentive to perform better if the sex-sports link is firmed up strongly by the likes of Durex. What kind of performance, you ask? -- Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Islamic terrorism

If only foreigners completely kept out of Iraqi, or Middle East, affairs, there would be no more terrorism in the region.

That is what some people might think in the light of the daily news of kidnappings and beheadings, threatened and carried out, in Iraq or Saudi Arabia.

There is certainly some room for criticism of American policy in the Middle East, particularly as regards Iraq and Israel.

But the kidnapping and killing of Muslim workers in Iraq shows that Western intervention or political mistakes merely serve as a pretext for some terrorists.

They don't like the policies practiced by Muslims from Morocco to Indonesia. They have exclusive ideas of an "Islamic policy" with a claim to infallibility.

All others are "renegades and traitors" who must be "punished." And if they cannot be got hold of, then it has to be their substitutes, in the form of innocent truck drivers. -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt, Germany

Sudan's humanitarian crisis

How much longer is the West going to stand by and look on while a humanitarian crisis involving hundreds of thousands of people unfolds in Darfur in Western Sudan?

To date, some 50,000 African villagers are thought to have died and up to a million displaced by the activities of Government-backed Janjaweed Arab fighters. As the rains now threaten, and disease and starvation take hold, a real humanitarian crisis is in the making. Yet what is our response in the West?

A total of three helicopters provided by the Dutch and a few hundred French soldiers from France's military contingent in Chad diverted to ... the refugee camps. That, and the millions in donations given by ordinary people to the aid agencies, seems to be the total response of the rich to the poor.

There are some promising developments. The African Union has promised to send 2000 troops to help secure the border for the refugees. Libya next week will be opening a humanitarian corridor to move aid by land from the Libyan ports to the camps in Chad. The Sudanese Government is displaying some signs at least of withdrawing from confrontation with the UN The next step is up to the U.S. and Europe. They have the logistical capacity as well as the resources. Let them now employ them. -- The New Zealand Herald, Auckland, New Zealand

On creating a national intelligence director

First of all, let's stop calling it a czar.

Wrong country. Wrong connotation.

But let's do call the proposed new position a Cabinet member.

Probably the most important suggestion from the bipartisan 9/11 Commission's exhaustive and unanimously endorsed study of anti-terrorism efforts was that we need one person in charge of America's 15 intelligence-gathering agencies.

One person to coordinate the spy efforts of the CIA, the FBI and the Defense Department, which controls the majority of the intelligence budget. One woman or man who can sift through the mountains of information collected, make sure the various agencies are sharing and cooperating, and find the terrorist needles in the haystack before they find their targets.

He or she would be in charge of the CIA, the FBI and various other agencies -- or at least the intelligence aspects of their budgets. That person would have budgetary control, the ability to hire and fire certain directors. In other words, the juice to get things done.

What good is a national intelligence director who doesn't have the power to make turf-guarding bureaucrats work together? Isn't that what we already had with Richard Clarke?

President Bush should open up his Cabinet, rearrange some of the canned goods, and make room for an intel chief. -- York Daily Record, York, Pennsylvania

;AP; ANPA ..r.. Editorial Roundup UNDATED: you ask? JP/

UNDATED: you ask? ---

--- On the Net: http://ydr.com/news/main/ --- Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, New York, on political hecklers:

Teresa Heinz Kerry may not have reacted ideally to hecklers along the campaign trail, but it's the hecklers who ought to be apologizing. Heinz Kerry, the billionaire wife of Democratic presidential John Kerry, was speaking at a rally recently, when pro-Bush spectators began interrupting her with shouts, "Four more years," to which she responded: "Four more years of hell." For that, she is being reviled by Republicans and excoriated by some in the media.

It's hard to see why she should be either reviled or excoriated. She isn't the one who started the row. She simply replied to it in candid fashion.

Each year, the campaign trail becomes littered more and more with examples of impoliteness and unabashedly rude behavior. The hecklers who shouted "Four more years" were interrupting a woman invited to deliver a message to an audience. How many people, talking face to face with someone, would drown out the conversation by chanting over the other person's observations? That is plainly beyond tolerable. ...

Whether Heinz Kerry will define for America once and for all the kind of person who will be the archetype of the presidential spouse will await history. But, surely, neither she nor any other candidate's wife should have to abide such rudeness when stating her opinion. --- On the Net: http://www.pressrepublican.com/editorial.htm --- The Denver Post, Denver, Colorado, on terror "chatter" intensifying:

A string of raids and arrests across the world may signify welcome progress in the war on terrorism -- and simultaneously indicate the ongoing nature of terrorist preparations. ...

Americans and their allies can also hope that the arrests demonstrate improved cooperation and communication among intelligence operatives -- a key recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission's report.

The report emphasized the need for intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share information and coordinate efforts. The failures before Sept. 11 are now well documented. Prior to that, cooperation wasn't a priority for the agencies -- but "the attacks of 9/11 changed everything," the report noted.

Anti-terror units should be applauded for their recent actions, for it is an ominous time and the arrests underscore worldwide dangers. With the Olympics beginning this month and the U.S. elections growing closer, the public has reason to be vigilant even as law enforcement personnel are making progress. --- On the Net: http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36417~2316885,00.html ---

The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina, on appointing an intelligence czar:

Election-year politics are fueling plans to install a new terror czar to oversee the nation's intelligence operations. But the hasty efforts to overhaul the way intelligence agencies confront terrorism may produce results the nation comes to regret. ...

We think that, contrary to the call for immediate action, the nation should take some time to critically review the commission's proposals and consider which would actually improve our ability to counter the terrorist threat. And while the commission report outlines glaring failures on the part of our intelligence agencies, we aren't convinced that a complete overhaul and a new bureaucracy are the answer. ...

We do not mean to belittle the importance of dealing with the threat of terrorism or the work of the 9-11 commission. In fact, we think Congress should empower the commission to remain intact and continue working in an advisory capacity as reforms are debated. ...

We fear that a wholesale intelligence shake-up conducted in the heat of a presidential campaign could do more harm than good. --- On the Net: http://www.heraldonline.com/opinions/story/3726624p-3334324c.html ---

Los Angeles Times, on the nomination of Rep. Porter J. Goss as CIA director:

Congressional Democrats complain that Rep. Porter J. Goss, whom President Bush nominated Tuesday to head the CIA, isn't a good choice because he's been sniping at presidential candidate John F. Kerry. They're wrong. The chief problem with Goss, a Florida Republican, isn't that he's too partisan. It's that Goss has been a patsy for the agency he's now supposed to rebuild.

Goss has glittering credentials. The Yale-graduate-turned-CIA- operative amassed considerable experience in covert operations during the 1960s. But the nostalgic haze through which he views the days of the good old boys at the CIA distorted his work with the agency in Congress. As head of the House Intelligence Committee, Goss was responsible for congressional oversight of the CIA before Sept. 11, or, more precisely, the lack of it. He's been a tenacious defender of the CIA's perks and privileges and shielded it from any real scrutiny. ...

Goss' passivity suits Bush perfectly. He won't challenge the president. He won't fire any senior staff. Most likely, he won't do much of anything. Goss, who has lobbied furiously for the job, including carrying water for the administration by attacking Kerry, would be happy simply to get the post.

If Bush had more self-confidence, he would have selected someone who would start reforming the CIA, which would mean on occasion challenging the president. ...

In nominating his fellow Yalie, Bush declared that Goss knows the agency "inside and out." Indeed he does. Unfortunately, Goss loves the CIA not wisely but too well. --- --- The Daily Telegraph, London, on Pakistan's role in the war on terror:

Information from terrorist suspects arrested by the Pakistanis in recent weeks has provoked dramatic counter-measures in America and Britain. Potential targets in New York, Washington and Newark have been subjected to their highest level of security since September 11, 2001. ...

On the basis of these arrests, President Pervaiz Musharraf can claim to be playing a key role in the fight against global terror. ...

The fact that Gen. Musharraf was the object of two assassination attempts last December, and that his prime minister-designate, Shaukat Aziz, was targeted only last week, indicates that the terrorists consider the government a formidable obstacle to their goals.

Yet the president's claim of success is, surely, premature. Significant arrests may have been made, but Pakistan remains a hotbed of Islamic radicalism, stoked notably by the madrasas, or religious schools, whose power the general has singularly failed to curb. ...

As a Western ally, Pakistan is in many ways comparable to Saudi Arabia. The two countries have given substantial support to Islamic radicals, the first in Afghanistan and Kashmir, the second across the globe. Now, they are threatened by the militancy that they have done so much to underwrite.

The problem for the West is that the overthrow of the House of Saud or the murder of Gen. Musharraf could open the door to forces far more hostile to its interests. That fear, however, should not blind it to the shortcomings of those currently in power. In the war on terror, the Saudi royal family and the general are gravely compromised by the past. --- On the Net: www.telegraph.co.uk

Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the approaching Afghan elections:

Defying the threats posed by the militants, 90 percent of Afghans have registered to vote in the crucial upcoming elections to be held in the country. ... The good news here is that nine million Afghans turned up to register their names for the polls, openly turning their backs on militants.

This is remarkable, considering the spurt of violence in recent months. ... This collective, united stand that the Afghan people have taken is something of a new experiment for us and for the world at large. It is, therefore, necessary for the Hamid Karzai government to hold the presidential elections on October 9, and the parliamentary polls in April. There can be no further delay, as already, the elections were well overdue. ... Any kind of further postponement will only serve to send a bad signal to donor nations who will not make any more donations unless elections are held on schedule, as promised. ...

They should go about dismantling the network of all warlords and not just go after one particular warlord, leaving out all the others. ... Only the Taliban have been dismantled. ... There are enough warlords provoking ordinary Afghans to do their bidding for their own selfish reasons and goals.

GetAP 1.00 -- AUG 13, 2004 00:47:58