Crazy world

The Jakarta Post recently commissioned a survey of readers, and one of the questions was "how does the paper compare with other newspapers in terms of content?" My answer would be that it compares very favorably, as, in any single edition, it gives an unequaled exposure of the crazy world we live in. Take these examples from the June 25, 1996 edition:

1. Police comb exchange for a bomb. This article said the Jakarta Stock Exchange management "contacted the police after the third call." My advice to any yuppie spending his working hours at the JSX is: forget mutual funds and bonds, invest in your own life assurance (accidental death policy). You are not in safe hands. In most countries, the first warning of a bomb is sufficient to trigger responsible and professional action.

2. Next UN Secretary-General. In a letter, the writer states his opinion, as he is wholly entitled to, but completely fails to present a reasoned argument in support of his opinion, an opinion widely at variance with the thinking of the vast majority of the Free World, who believe that Boutros-Boutros Ghali is the worst thing that ever happened to the UN, and that under his stewardship, many lives have been lost among Peacekeepers because of his decision to adopt an offensive role for the UN in some of the world's worse conflicts, rather than continuing the traditional policing mandate. Yes, I agree with the writer that the U.S. has a lot to answer for, but it is not only its influence on this world body that should be cited -- far better to point out that the organization is near bankrupt primarily because the U.S. has not paid its dues.

3. Arabs close book on past feuds but hurt Israel. This headlined a report which, if substantially true, should be a matter of grave concern for all of us. The report quotes Netanyahu, brand new Prime Minister of Israel as saying "The Arabs are taking up threatening positions and holding the peace process hostage." This is the same ultra-right-wing individual who, in order to get elected, promised to renege completely on the Madrid summit agreement ("Land for Peace"), ruled out a Gaza Strip/West Bank Palestine State, will fully retain the Golan Heights, and allow no widening of the custodianship of the Holy City, Jerusalem.

This completely beggars belief, and his words must cause grave concern to Warren Christopher, and the U.S., who have diligently, and brilliantly, constructed a framework for a lasting peace in the Middle East. Israel's bombing of the UN camp in Lebanon, rightly termed a "genocidal" act, by any definition, set that peace process back, but even that horror was being put to one side, by the U.S. and the responsible Arab states, to try to keep the peace process on its track.

BILL GUERIN

Jakarta