Govt credibility in the balance

Govt credibility in the balance

The continuing problems in Aceh and Ambon are beginning to negatively affect the climate of hope and confidence that arose after Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, and Megawati Soekarnoputri came to power as President and Vice President, respectively. All the trust and goodwill which Gus Dur has won on his trips abroad will not be able to withstand the erosive tide that will certainly come unless the problems in Aceh and Maluku are resolved.

There was a time when problems could be easily localized because transportation, communication, telecommunications as well as social-political systems were limited in scope. But times have changed. Mobility of people is high and transportation and communications are fast. In line with the demands for democratization, this is a time of openness. It has become practically impossible to localize problems or events. This was what we experienced in the case of East Timor, and now the same is happening with Aceh and Ambon.

We do appreciate the President's hard work. However, so his efforts are not in vain, we do hope that Gus Dur, Megawati and the Cabinet ministers concerned will give top priority to finding solutions to the problems in Aceh and Ambon. These two cases are testing the leadership of the President and Vice President.

-- Kompas, Jakarta