Indonesian products
Indonesian products
The people have the chance to view the long-forgotten
Exhibition of Indonesian Products, which started on May 20 and
will end on May 29 at the Jakarta Fairground. The exhibition,
recently inaugurated by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, aims to
encourage the people to patronize Indonesian products.
Meanwhile, Indonesia continues to pride itself as one of the
countries on the frontline of trade liberalization, a position
that has boomeranged.
Imported products come to the country in different ways --
legally, at dumped price. Indonesian consumers are obviously
happy to have many choices at competitive prices. However, the
country's producers are unhappy to see increasing threats to
their markets.
Megawati's administration has begun to protect the domestic
market in facing the flow of foreign goods amid fears that more
enterprises might lay off their workers.
The key to winning the people's trust for certain goods and
services thus lies in the producers' ability to give the people
what they want.
Learn from Inul Daratista who has successfully 'beaten'
Britney Spears, or from the TV series Si Doel, which has
overtaken Sex and the City -- a very popular movie in the United
States. Look at the success of the bottled tea, Sosro, which in
no less popular than Coca Cola or at Wong Solo restaurant, which
is no less aggressive than McDonald's. -- Bisnis Indonesia,
Jakarta
The assault weapons ban
Assault weapons do not belong in a civilized society. It is as
simple as that. ...
President Bush says he knows this. He says he favors an
extension of the 1994 assault weapons ban which must be renewed
next year. But it's going to take some of his political muscle to
get it to the floor of the House of Representatives and get it
passed. If he refuses to do that, Majority Leader Tom DeLay says
the House will never vote on the extension.
The president should not be allowed to say he favors the ban -
as most Americans do - while winking at the National Rifle
Association and allowing DeLay to prevent it. ...
This much we do know: In the first eight months of 1995 -
following the ban - there were 18 percent fewer assault weapons
traced to crimes than in the first eight months of 1994. ...
No good can come from allowing the ban to lapse. But
presidential adviser Karl Rove said last week that's likely what
will happen. President Bush should prove him wrong.
-- The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York
Al-Qaeda and the U.S.
Besides dethroning the Saudi royal family, the ambition of al-
Qaeda seems to have been widened to fight all western influence
in the Arab world.
The number of deaths and ruins are increasing.
During the past weeks, international terrorism has, in an
easily comprehensible and blood-curdling way, shown that the
group is back.
The coordinated bomb attacks in Chechnya, Saudi Arabia's
capital of Riyadh and in Morocco's commercial center, Casablanca,
effectively refuted U.S. President George W. Bush's statement
recently in Little Rock, Arkansas, that the terrorists are on the
run and that half the leaders of the al-Qaeda network had been
caught or killed.
-- Goteborgs-Posten, Goteborg, Sweden
Postwar Iraq
The war in Iraq proved the superiority of the U.S. military.
But even before 3rd Division troops arrived in Baghdad, it was
painfully obvious too little thought and planning had been given
to what the United States and coalition partners would do once
their military objectives were achieved.
... Because of the strife, international aid workers couldn't
bring in food. Engineers couldn't restore electricity or running
water. Jay Garner and his staff of 200 workers, charged with
establishing an interim civil administration in Iraq, had to cool
their heels in Kuwait.
If the United States is to be the world's policeman - and
often it must - it has to have a cadre of cops to deploy as soon
as the battlefield is won. There are pros and cons as to whether
such a policing force should be assembled within the armed forces
- as an extension, say, of the Military Police - or as a separate
entity. ...
This nation needs to revise its military planning and build a
seamless apparatus that couples military capability with the
restoration of order, the delivery of humanitarian aid and nation
building.
-- The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana
President Bush and
"American justice"
Speaking of the terrorists who struck so savagely in Saudi
Arabia last week, President Bush said, "The United States will
find the killers, and they will learn the meaning of American
justice." ...
It's good to see the President referring to the meaning of
American justice, since the man he put in charge of the nation's
Department of Justice seems to have such a feeble grasp of the
concept. For John Ashcroft, battling terrorism means never having
to tell the Constitution he's sorry.
There's that word: Constitution. Traditionally, of course, the
meaning of American justice, as established in the glorious Bill
of Rights, has hinged on such concepts as due process, habeas
corpus, the presumption of innocence, trial by a jury of peers,
punishment that is neither cruel nor unusual, and a chance at
post-sentence rehabilitation. ...
This grand tradition lies at the heart of the American claim
that this nation, despite its flaws, can serve as a beacon to the
world. And it stands in stark contrast to the repressive,
authoritarian rule common in many of the Middle Eastern nations
that have been breeding grounds for terror.
So surely, that's what you meant, Mr. President, when you
talked about terrorists "learning the meaning of American
justice."
Isn't it?
-- The Philadelphia Inquirer
Saudi Arabia and
Morocco explosions
It was highly expected that war on Iraq and America's failure
to timely and adequately address the deadlock in the Middle East
peace process would have led to a recrudescence of terrorist
activities in Arab countries.
The brutality and deadly rage unleashed against tens of
innocent people exceeded the worst expectations.
These acts seem to indicate a solid organizational structure,
an intact and functioning chain of command and a high degree of
coordination and communication amongst operatives of the same
terror group.
The region's governments must show the same solid
organization, effective cooperation, seamless communication and
top-level coordination in their response to these terrorists.
The first step should be to make sure once and for all that
terrorism is looked at by all of society - from ultra-religious
to very secular segments, from easily impressionable adolescents
to disenchanted and disgruntled adults, from rich to poor.
Too many people, for too long, have been saying that there is
a fine line between terrorism and legitimate resistance. There is
not. The red, thick line that separates the two is clearly drawn
with the blood of innocent victims.
-- Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan
Mideast peace
Although disappointing, the failure of Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon
to resolve differences over setting into motion a U.S.-backed
'road map' peace plan came as no surprise. The Saturday meeting,
the first of its kind between the Palestinians and the Israelis,
was apparently held at Washington's behest, which is at pains to
whitewash its deeply dented image in the region.
Sharon, whose name conjures up in the Palestinian mind a long
catalog of horrors, had made it clear before meeting Abbas that
he would not accept the 'road map' scheme as it stands.
Optimists pinned their hopes on a meeting, which was
originally scheduled for Tuesday between Sharon and U.S.
President George W. Bush in Washington, to improve the fortunes
of the plan. Still, the Israeli premier used Sunday's double
bombing in Jerusalem to cancel his trip. Even if he had gone to
Washington, Sharon would not have relented on buying the peace
plan in its present shape, which the Palestinians have already
accepted. Bush will most likely think twice before putting
pressure on his intransigent ally for fear of offending pro-
Israeli lobbyists and compromising his chances for re-election.
-- Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, Egypt