Ill-fated submarine

As a world citizen, it is only natural to be interested in news of the ill-fated Russian submarine, the Kursk. What puzzles me and, I believe, many others, however, is the inability of the Russian crew to stay clear of obstacles which theoretically could have been detected by radar, and thus avoided.

In the other technological area, Russian astronauts, as we know, have been sent on more dangerous missions in outer space and have returned home safely. The success of the Mir space station is beyond belief, so to speak. In space technology it seems Russia has an edge over the USA, until now. Supremacy in the sea, on the other hand, is the domain of the U.S. fleet and technology. So neither Gore and Bush have anything to worry about.

The Kursk could not have collided with a giant octopus for the Barents Sea is too cold for living creatures. A collision with another submarine on patrol has also been ruled out. So the most likely explanation for the accident is a nuclear explosion inside the ship, which was known to carry missiles.

What intrigues me most is the question of what the Russian navy ordered the submarine to accomplish, a missile shooting exercise or a spy mission under peaceful conditions. And why was the Kursk manned by so many marines?

This accident hopefully may serve as a warning to Indonesia's new defense minister, who is a civilian and professor with no military or submarine experience or nuclear weapon training. At any rate he should not attempt to equip Indonesian submarines with nuclear missiles and send them on spy missions in East Timorese or Australian waters.

Another lesson that we may draw from the tragic accident is that those supposed to be responsible for the accident immediately tended their resignations. Russian President Putin himself has apologized to the families of the victims of the crippled and doomed submarine.

Most of us think death is as far as the horizon. In fact it is as close as our shadows in the sunlight. My advice is, do not enter a submarine unless you can open the escape hatch and can cry loud enough to be heard by your neighbors.

Further advice is to pray every day that those engulfed in sorrow, wherever they are, be given new strength and hope to soldier on and bear the burden on their shoulders.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta