Crazy world
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