Aceh is on the boil again. The peace deal between the

Aceh is on the boil again. The peace deal between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed in Geneva has failed to stop or reduce the tension. The five-month- old peace agreement is apparently not worth the paper its written on.

As usual, the Indonesian government has once again missed the opportunity of doing the right thing. Worse still, the Joint Security Committee (JSC) has failed to function properly as expected.

GAM has told residents living in rural areas that the peace deal is a step toward independence, while government bureaucrats consider the peace deal as being the end of the line.

Aceh is a story about misery, injustice and long-running pain. Therefore, even without the Geneva peace deal, the government should be aware that improving the well-being of the Acehnese is a must. The government should have made brave and significant moves in this direction.

The special autonomy that has been granted to Aceh will mean nothing unless concrete policies and steps are taken to improve the welfare of the Acehnese.

The central government and the Aceh provincial administration could have launched rural improvement programs.

We were shocked to hear that President Megawati Soekarnoputri has asked the military to be ready in case the peace deal doesn't work.

Peace is still far from being the reality in Aceh, but deploying military force in Aceh is a another way of shooting oneself in the foot.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta

Beware of dengue fever

The number of dengue fever cases being treated in Jakarta hospitals has been increasing recently.

Actually, there is a period every year when the number of such cases increases. The end of the rainy season is usually the normal time for outbreaks of the deadly disease.

In 2001, 20 out of 4,162 dengue patients died, but from January to August 2002 dengue fever killed 40 people in Jakarta and its surrounding areas.

Jakarta is obviously prone to dengue fever. The environment and Jakartans' poor awareness of the viral disease are the main factors in its spread. Dengue fever is transmitted via the Aedes aegepti mosquito.

Now that the disease has killed many people, there is no choice for residents but to get regular checkups at their local public health centers. Most victims are too late in seeking medical attention after the symptoms appear.

We should all be more alert, especially given the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta

Does Iraq really have chemical weapons?

The Iraq war has been taking place for more than 19 days, and the U.S.-led troops are very close to controlling the capital of Baghdad, but there has been no sign that Iraq has used or will use weapons of mass destruction.

Yet, the U.S. and Great Britain accused Iraq of developing and possessing such hazardous weapons and used such an accusation to legitimize their attack on Iraq.

The war is still going on, and thus, suspicion that Iraq will use its lethal weapons, including the biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, is still relevant.

But, as the war is nearing 'completion', Iraq has yet to use weapons of mass destruction. Meaning that the U.S. and UK worries were misguided -- at least that is what it seems like so far.

We could conclude - for the time being - that there has been no concrete evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. The war has been going on for more than 19 days, but the U.S. and UK have shown no proof that such an attack was legal.

The attack on Iraq is a blatant form of despotism. The unjustifiable war becomes more and more unjust as more and more Iraqis get killed, and material losses are also mounting.

If the U.S. and UK had listened to the United Nations (UN) and the international protests, the tragedy in Iraq would not have happened.

-- Kompas, Jakarta

The progress of war

In many ways, the war in Iraq is continuing more smoothly and with fewer dramatic consequences than some had predicted.

Many horrible scenarios, which war opponents lined up a few weeks ago, have not happened.

Before the war, there were worries of massive civilian losses in Iraq. Despite examples of alleged mistakes in bombings and civilian casualties, the precision of the attacks on Iraq has been impressive.

Before the war, some said it would cause a permanent rift between France and Germany and Britain and the United States. Disagreement between the two sides remains, but already there are signs the countries are moving to repair the damage.

Before the war, many said terrorist attacks on western targets would increase. Iraq has apparently started a new tactic with suicide attacks against British and U.S. soldiers, but there's been no wave of terror in the United States and Europe.

No one should think it will be easy to topple Saddam and disarm Iraq, but a lot of those worst-case scenarios have remained just that.

That's worth remembering in the middle of the war.

--Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen, Denmark

The expensive war

The war in Iraq is becoming harder and longer than expected, and much more expensive than planned.

This is tragic considering the increasing number of casualties and also has consequences for the world economy. The longer the war goes on, the longer we will have to wait for the longed-for upturn.

Since it would seem there will be no spike in oil prices, the economic effects of the Gulf War should be limited.

But it is certainly an illusion to believe that, after a short war in Iraq, the dynamism of the 'new economy' era will return. At best, we can hope for a temporary stimulus for growth.

Weighing much more heavily is the fact that the world's big economies are still having to struggle with the effects of the transition to the information age - along with the accompanying wave of speculation on the stock exchange and gigantic over- investment by companies in the 1990s.