Bombings and the Jamaah Islamiyah

Bombings and the Jamaah Islamiyah

Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) is made the scapegoat whenever there is
a terrorist bombing in Indonesia.

After being accused in the Bali bombing tragedy in October
last year, the JI is once against suspected of being behind the
bombing of the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.

However, not all people are easily convinced by the police,
who make the accusations in haste and without any reliable
evidence.

As such, the controversy surrounding the terrorist bombings
link to the JI, has overshadowed the real problem.

Ironically, high-ranking security officials have a different
opinion on the true perpetrators of the Marriott Hotel bombing.

The Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, remains unsure whether the Marriott
bombers belong to the JI, while former chairman of the team that
investigated the Bali bombing, I Made Mangku Pastika, is certain
the JI was indeed the culprit of the bombing.

Based on this controversy, prominent Islamic figure, Muslimin
Nasution, said the implication of the JI in a series of bombings
in Indonesia, including the one at the Marriott Hotel, is an
exaggeration intended to blame Islam.

-- Republika, Jakarta

The euro referendum next month

The media have been too eager to portray the campaign as a
fight between the yes side and the no side, as if you were voting
for two teams. There has been talk about the yes side's overly
generous promises and the no side's hidden agenda. Even though
both these arguments are interesting one must try to ignore them
when deciding on the euro issue.

The euro referendum is about what conditions Swedish companies
should face. The euro referendum is about Swedish consumers'
rights to competitive prices and about workers' rights to
maintain their purchasing power. The euro referendum is about
Sweden's ability to make its voice heard in the European
cooperation.

It is taking a stance on an important issue. Moreover, a very
important issue, a crossroads. Vote yes!

-- Dagens Industri, Stockholm, Sweden

California's recall election

It may well be that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, if elected,
will be a far better governor than the present and apparently
impossible Democrat Gray Davis.

But even if the Terminator should turn out to be a savior in
Californian politics, it doesn't change the fact that the present
political circus out west is an embarrassment to the state. ...

There are many reasons why things have gone so wrong in
California. One of them, undoubtedly, is the strengthened access
and use of elections which exists there.

It's the Californian preference for direct democracy that now
puts Gray Davis in danger of losing power after less than a year
as governor.

Direct democracy with many elections may appear attractive,
but in reality, it removes from the elected politicians the
responsibility of society's welfare.

The result can be seen in California where the present
politicians have been incapable of taking the needed decisions to
save the state's ruined economy. Instead, we now get an election
circus where millions of dollars are burned in a recall campaign
that makes most of the United States shake its head in disbelief.

There will be, no doubt, something to clean up for the
Terminator, if he gets elected.

-- Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen, Denmark

The U.S. use of nuclear weapons

Some 200 nuclear scientists and U.S. Defense Department
officials have met in Nebraska to talk about adapting the U.S.
nuclear arsenal to the post-Cold War era.

The United States' idea is to sharpen the nuclear deterrent by
building what it calls "more useful" weapons where people are not
the primary target. Instead, they want to go after targets like
stockpiled weapons of mass destruction with bunker-busting bombs.

U.S. President George W. Bush has asked Congress to continue
funding "bunker buster" nuclear bombs, some of which will have 10
times the destructive force of the atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima in 1945. ...

To blur the line between ordinary and nuclear weapons does not
make the post-Cold War world any safer. If nuclear weapons become
commonplace, they will be attractive to decision-makers around
the world.

-- Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki, Finland

Terrorism does exist in Indonesia

The recent JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta which killed
12 people, and forced more than 150 others to be hospitalized for
injuries, proved that terrorism does exist here.

The terror leaves the public in fear and prolonged
uncertainty. Before JW Marriott, terrorists had bombed Sari Club
and Paddy's Pub in Kuta, Bali, leaving 202 people dead and more
than 400 others injured. Other bombings had also occurred at
several other places.

The Coordinating Minister for Political and Security, Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, recently emphasized the fact that terrorism
exists in Indonesia. And thus the people continue to speculate on
the matter.

According to Yudhoyono, the most important thing is how to
deal with terrorism.

But in a democratic environment debate and freedom of speech
is all very well, provided that the debate is fair. Everybody
should be able to talk and express their ideas, but talk without
action is pointless.

In regard to the JW Marriott bombing and its aftermath, it is
imperative that we find ways and policies -- including laws and
rulings -- which are stronger, to prevent terrorism.

-- Kompas, Jakarta