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