Indonesia remains perched on the upper part of the list of the

Indonesia remains perched on the upper part of the list of the
world's most corrupt countries.

According to the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI),
Indonesia is the sixth most corrupt country out of 133 countries
it has observed in 2003.

Due to widespread graft in the public sector and the judicial
system, it is no surprise that Indonesia ranks again as one of
the world's most corrupt nations.

Transparency International listed Indonesia near the same
level as Kenya but ahead of Myanmar, Angola, Cameroon, Paraguay,
Nigeria and Haiti.

It seems that we have run out of words to describe the
epidemic of corruption in our own country.

Various recommendations and regulations issued to eradicate
this terrible disease have ended in vain.

Following the collapse of the New Order government, we were
all elated, hoping that corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN)
would soon be wiped out, but in fact it even got worse.

In the reform government since the reign of presidents B.J.
Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and now Megawati Soekarnoputri, the
practice of KKN has remained the same.

The political corruption under President Megawati's current
term is even frighteningly worse than that during the time of
former dictator, Soeharto, who resigned in 1998.

Thus, it would be a big mistake for us to trust in the power
of the present government, in President Megawati, to combat
corruption.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta

The California recall results

This is not a bad movie. It's the reality of what happens when
a bland and unpopular governor meets a Hollywood action hero
promising to blow up a corrupt and aloof culture in Sacramento.

In the 1972 film, The Candidate, Robert Redford, playing
Senate candidate Bill McKay, delivered the memorable election-
night line, "What do we do now?"

Many Californians may be waking up this morning with a similar
blend of amazement and uncertainty about their new governor.
Schwarzenegger cloaked himself in generalities throughout the
campaign. He talked broadly about creating an administration more
receptive to business concerns -- as a way to keep jobs in the
state -- while fending off other special interests who are
draining the state budget. Much of his agenda remains a blank
slate.

While Schwarzenegger ran against the status quo, his
effectiveness as governor may depend on how well he can work with
legislators of both parties. He need look no further than the
history of another outsider-actor, Ronald Reagan, in mastering
Sacramento more than three decades ago.
-- San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco

A new newspaper

The launch (on Oct. 7) of a new daily newspaper in the South
African market is testament to the power of optimism. Without it,
there would be no media, newspapers or otherwise, anywhere, other
than organs created and financed by governments.

The Nigerian -- owned This Day bears all the hallmarks of the
passions that regularly drive journalists and rich men into each
other's arms -- a desire to do something better, to change the
world, even a little bit, or to be heard.

Indeed, contrary to conventional wisdom among the many
"experts" on the press, a newcomer is, if it is any good, more
likely to have a positive effect on existing newspapers than on
any other thing. So the Nigerian attempt is welcomed.

The Nigerians may or may not succeed with their newspaper --
only time will tell. But, yes, welcome aboard.
-- Business Day, Johannesburg, South Africa

Haifa suicide bombing

To render the invasion of Iraq acceptable to Europe and the
moderate Arab world, George W. Bush, solicited by Tony Blair and
a distressed Europe, promised us that regime change in Iraq would
make peace possible between Israelis and Arabs.

But in Palestine, here is the result of six months without
Saddam Hussein: Terrorism continues and the war has now spread
beyond Syria's borders.

Nobody believes in the Road Map anymore, assuming that someone
once took it seriously.

The ideologies that have convinced Bush to invade Iraq have
always warned that the root of the infection is in Iran and Saudi
Arabia ... as well as in Syria.

The calls are for an ever harder and more explicit
condemnation of the Syrian regime.

The accusations are predictably against Europe, which lets off
Arafat and does not cut the financial and political ties with
Hamas.

The reprimands are for everyone, Arabs, Europeans, the United
Nations -- everybody apart from American power that must be, in
blind faith, considered infallible.

-- La Repubblica, Rome

On Iraq aid

The diplomats squiring US$20.3 billion through Congress for
reconstruction in Iraq make a sobering case for the money:
Without dollars to get electricity flowing and factories open,
there will be more job riots. Without billions in oil-field
upgrades, oil earnings will fall short again next year. Without
the money to train Iraqi security forces, more Americans will
have to fight and die.

Now they have to try just as hard to retool the process of
spending that money, to avoid further cronyism and to reassure
Americans and others that their aid money will be spent
fairly. ... All contributors want to know that Iraqi aid doesn't
equate to the Halliburton Rescue Act. There's reason to believe
otherwise.

In July, Vice President Dick Cheney's old firm Halliburton
reported an 11 percent leap in quarterly revenues tied to
"government services work in the Middle East," an unbid $7
billion contract. It was one of several such deals that U.S.
officials say were premised on the need for pre-war secrecy and
post-war speed.

Such arrangements are too cozy for comfort or credibility. The
Bush administration must bar its cronies at the door.

-- The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

The Israeli attack on Syria

Amidst widespread condemnation of the Israeli air raid on
Syria, Israel continues to defend its attack as a form of
legitimate self-defense. Israel claims that the camp that it
attacked is a training ground for Islamic Jihad.

Israel is therefore once again pinned against the entire
international community but hopes to escape condemnation by
having Washington veto the Syrian-sponsored resolution condemning
the attack and calling on Israel to cease and desist from
perpetrating acts of aggression against Syria.

What is needed now is de-escalation and not escalation in the
area. The declaration of emergency in the Palestinian territories
by President Yasser Arafat could be the start of a more
determined Palestinian effort to reign in Palestinian militants,
who continue to take the law into their hands and compromise the
supreme Palestinian National interests.

The Palestinian militants need to be controlled and brought
under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. It
is the only way to give peace a chance on condition that Israel
will reciprocate this Palestinian determination to bring order to
its ranks with a similar move to de-escalate the spiral of
violence raging in the area.

-- The Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan

The leaking of a CIA
operative's identity

It is not an exaggeration to suggest that lives were
endangered when someone told a newspaper columnist the name of a
woman who was a covert employee of the Central Intelligence
Agency.

... The FBI launched a probe of the incident several days into
a controversy over accusations by the woman's husband, Joseph C.
Wilson, that a White House official provided classified
information about his wife to reporters.

Wilson believes the leak may have been retaliation for his
role in embarrassing the Bush administration. Wilson, a former
ambassador, undermined a claim made by the President during the
state of the union address that Iraq had attempted to obtain
weapons-grade uranium from the African nation of Niger.

... There is little chance an investigation -- either by the
FBI or by a special counsel -- will be able to prove who leaked
the information. Presidential administrations have, over the
decades, perfected the art of the undetected leak. ... But an
investigation is appropriate. And Ashcroft's Justice Department
should be given the chance to prove itself before an independent
counsel is called. Most of all, the Bush administration should
examine its own house.

If this was an innocent slip of the tongue regarding an open
secret ... we need to know that. If, however, it was inspired by
political retaliation, it is in the president's best interests to
find out who is responsible and let the legal system work. That's
the only way to preserve what credibility his administration has
left.

-- The Morning News, Springdale, Arkansas

California recall

You shouldn't mock Arnold Schwarzenegger; what California
invents, America adopts and Europe ends up imitating.

You can laugh at the Terminator, running for governor of
America's most populous state, stomping through his speeches with
the strongest teutonic accent since Henry Kissinger.

You can denounce the populist wave (that supported)
Schwarzenegger's candidacy as an example of a democracy gone mad.
But this is the same kind of groundswell that made Ronald Reagan
the first actor to be elected governor of California, and then
president.

Celebrity isn't Schwarzenegger's only asset. He's in tune with
a changing political map ... voters from Latin America ...
represent 30 million Hispanic citizens nationwide.

Yet California can't just be reduced to the glitter of
Hollywood; for the weak, the poor and blacks, it's a tough place
to live. Schwarzenegger must not forget this truth: Like all
promised lands, California is also a place of hardship.
-- Le Figaro, Paris

Le Monde, Paris, on the California recall:

They have chosen. It's "Schwarzy." That's just the way it
goes, in California. Politics has become about credits. After
Reagan the cowboy, now we have Schwarzenegger the terror, huge
ivory smile, "Terminator" armed with broom to sweep away the
dreadful politicians that have ruined "the golden State."

... The casting is wicked. Just think about it. Take a film
poster, and change it to an electoral poster. Beware your choice
of hero. One does not become "calife" of California by producing
Diane Keaton on a platform, as did the deposed Gray Davis. The
bloody and brisk are needed, biceps instead of brains. Simple
words, and especially not too many.

...We will wait and see whether he is competent. Modestly, he
compares himself to Mandela who, similarly, "never has done any
politics." With Arnold, his supporters believe, there is nothing
more to worry about. Arnold, "as good as gold," Arnold, their
God.

---

---
The Times, London, on the elections in Chechnya:

There was never any doubt that Akhmad Kadyrov, the former
anti-Russian rebel, would win the presidential election in
Chechnya. With all credible rivals already disqualified or forced
to withdraw, the man accused of using his 7,000-strong private
militia to intimidate any opposition could hardly fail. What is
more, he had the endorsement of (Russian) President Vladimir
Putin, who ordered a military alert in the turbulent Caucasus
region to guard the polling stations, close markets and ban from
the roads all lorries that could harbor suicide bombers. ...

Mr. Kadyrov is an unsavory character. Renouncing his decision
to join the jihad against Russia in 1994, he has since used his
support for the Kremlin not to curb the excesses of Russia's
undisciplined troops or to push for more aid to bombed-out
Chechen civilians, but to build up his own power, his private
army and the wealth amassed by extortion. ...

Nevertheless, his flawed election is extremely important to
President Putin. Chechnya brought the Russian leader to power;
but it hobbles his dealings with the outside world and his
efforts to push reform at home. ...

Yesterday's election will help to stabilize Chechnya only if
it is followed by a real change in the Kremlin. First, Mr. Putin
must get a grip on the Army, enforcing discipline, stamping out
corruption and arms trading, and punishing human rights
violators. Secondly, he must ensure that some of the money
earmarked for reconstruction is paid out and used as intended,
instead of disappearing into warlords' accounts. Finally, he must
force the new president to administer the ruined rump of his
country fairly and according to the law. As long as Chechnya
remains a wasteland, abandoned to criminals and terrorists, there
will never be peace for the Chechens or for Russia.
---
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, Sweden, on Israel's strike against Syria:

If the Israeli raid can make Syria close the terrorists'
battlefields Israel will have paid a small price for the
international criticism which has been presented in the Security
Council and other places (with the fight against global terrorism
temporarily forgotten).

Unfortunately, however, the reaction is more likely to come in
the shape of further Hizbollah attacks from the Lebanese side of
the border.

The fact that Israel for the first time since the defensive
Yom Kippur War in 1973 is carrying out military actions inside
Syria means that a dangerous line has been crossed. Israel should
have first put forward its opinion and proof of Syria's guilt to
the United Nations. Not only because it would have affected the
world's understanding of an attack, but also because it would
have increased the international pressure on a militarily and
economically weakened Syria to take the narrow road.

After the war in Iraq the fight against terrorism goes hand in
hand with an aspiration for increased freedom in the Arab world.
This is also at stake if the conflict between Israel and Syria
escalates.
---
Dagbladet, Oslo, Norway, on the elections in Chechnya:

The winner is clear: Akhmad Kadyrov. He supposedly got about
85 percent of the votes. His closest challenger got about 6.6
percent. According to Chechen authorities the voter turnout was
over 80 percent. But no independent source could confirm the
numbers. Nor were there any Western election observers. The
reason was that they did not want to lend legitimacy to the
election with their presence.

Among foreign commentators and independent Russian experts,
the election was described as a farce. The three candidates who
could have threatened Kadyrov all withdrew in recent months and
the voter turnout and the result bring associations of the
"elections" in the Soviet Union, rather than of democracy.

But as always, when it comes to abuses is Chenchya, the West
keeps its lips sealed.
---

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt, Germany, on the
elections in Chechnya:

Chechnya has a president again. He is elected, but still not
the president of his people.

Whether the election results and participation were falsified
or not barely plays a role -- because once it became clear that
Akhmad Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed governor, would have had no
chance to win halfway free elections, the Kremlin took the three
candidates with the best chances out of the running.

Putin himself decided that Kadyrov had to stay in power. ...

What the Chechens want is an end to the killing and
insecurity.

They no longer want former president (Aslan) Maskhadov, whom
they hold responsible for the chaotic years when radical Muslims
were in charge.

But neither do they want Kadyrov, who has brought them nothing
good.

This year alone, more than 300 people have disappeared in
Chechnya. All sides are waging this war with the methods of
terror. Kadyrov's people are also involved, and many Chechens
have sworn revenge.

It is difficult to find a solution for Chechnya.

But the Kremlin's way, which ignores the will of the Chechens,
leads to a dead end.

It would be right, not only for the sake of the Chechens, but
also in the interest of Russia, if the West put the subject back
on its agenda.
---
Haaretz, Tel Aviv, on Haifa restaurant bombing:

A Palestinian training camp in Syrian territory, close to
Damascus, was chosen as the target for the Israel Defense Forces'
response. ... It appears, however, that its principal purpose was
not to bring death and destruction, but rather to steer Syrian
President Bashar Assad away from supporting actions against
Israel.

Israel has the right to move against the facilities, activists
and leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and other
organizations anywhere and at any time; but this does not testify
to the wisdom of such moves.

The slope on which Syria and Israel could slide down into a
conflict between them -- whether it be in their own territories,
or in Lebanon -- is a steep and slippery one. There is a need for
tight control to prevent a move planned as minimalist from
leading to a major escalation.
--- MORE[

GetAP 1.00 -- OCT 10, 2003 00:40:38