JP/6/E00

JP/6/E00

Laborers all over the world commemorated Labor Day, also called May Day, on Thursday, May 1. In Indonesia, the observance of the May Day was filled with street demonstrations in several big cities.

For Indonesian workers, Labor Day is still far from a grateful ceremony.

Since the reform movement in 1998 Indonesia has had three presidents, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri, who have had their own Cabinets and ministers with their own policies.

Unfortunately, the fate of laborers has remained the same despite the power of the reform movement, in which the workers got involved.

Worker-related problems are in fact very simple: Prosperity and welfare. But the simple thing is not always easy to deal with, because the welfare of workers very much depends on the national economy and the health of the companies they work for.

Since the Asian economic crisis hit five years ago, the Indonesian economy has not yet recovered. Many private companies have gone bankrupt or declined their production activities. The result is that many workers have been dismissed or laid off. This contributes to the increase in national unemployment from 38 million at the beginning of the economic crisis to the current figure of over 40 million.

Strangely, several neighboring countries have emerged from their economic downfall. Thailand and South Korea could be cited as the countries which revived their economies the soonest after the crisis.

In this context, corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) have become the main constraint to our economic recovery. KKN has apparently caused the high-cost economy. If the high-cost economy could be dealt with, the companies' operational cost would be smaller. The companies' financial health will bring welfare and prosperity to the workers.

-- Republika, Jakarta

Unite, Iraqi people!

Unite, all Iraqi people! Without strong union you will live a life similar to what you had under Saddam Hussein's regime.

It's time for you to unite and join hands so as to increase your bargaining power. Be confident that with adequate strength any parties would find it difficult to oppress you.

For Islamic countries, including Indonesia, union is a luxurious and expensive thing. It is probably because they have already lived with the experience of being divided.

It is clear that the invaders don't want an Islamic government in Iraq, and somebody like Jay Garner is prepared to become the ruler of (a new) Iraq. In the long run, Iraq could become a pilot project to rock the Middle East with U.S.-style democracy.

Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction has yet to be proved. However, the fact is not important for U.S. President George W. Bush. Iraq's abundant wealth is the intended target for exploitation. This is the mission of Jay Garner.

Things now depend on the Iraqi people. It is unnecessary to seek and attack the Kurds, as Saddam's regime did, for they have been oppressed since the end of World War I. The West -- victor in the war -- had divided up the Kurds' land in such a way that they have become nomads.

So, please accept the Kurds as brother Muslims. Subsequently, the Sunnis and Shias should also unite against the U.S.

Muslims will achieve success in their fight if they believe that Allah will protect them.

-- Republika, Jakarta

Iraq's future

Of course there will be problems and they will be big.

No one dares to believe that it will be easy to turn Iraq from 35 years of brutal dictatorship and several wars and put it on the road to a blooming and well-functioning democracy.

It is important to keep in mind that past and that very few of the many expected nightmares during the war may actually come to pass in the many months and years of work that lie ahead for the country.

-- Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen, Denmark

SARS prevention

The World Health Organization and many countries in the world are making a major effort to prevent the spread of SARS as a condition for controlling the epidemic, while at the same time trying to develop vaccines and medicines, a process that will take years. WHO announced on Monday that there are signs the spread of the disease has been halted in Toronto, Hong Kong and Singapore, three of four parts of the world where there is the danger of contracting SARS. Hong Kong and Singapore have taken drastic measures to control the epidemic. Thousands of people who came into contact with SARS patients were put in quarantine, patients were hospitalized in isolation and hospitals devoted their infrastructure to treating SARS patients.

The Israeli health system's reaction to the threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome has been slow and gradual, as indicated by WHO's instructions.

With a reasonable effort, the epidemic's spread to Israel can be prevented and it is critical to do so. Beyond the suffering and damage experienced by patients and their families, and the public anxiety if the disease spreads to here, the economic burden that has been caused to the affected countries is certainly not needed by the Israeli economy. Israel must aspire to be SARS-free.

-- Ha'aretz, Tel Aviv

North Korea's nuclear programs

The problem is how to stop North Korea from continuing to develop its nuclear capabilities beyond simply claiming possession of a few nukes as a negotiating tactic. The United States needs to loosen its stance of refusing to sit down at the negotiating table unless North Korea abandons all nuclear development. Pushing the country into a corner will have adverse effects. The United States needs to exhibit flexibility to establish an environment that would smooth the way toward North Korea accepting a compromise.

"If North Korea really already possesses nuclear weapons, we cannot let it produce more, and any existing ones must be destroyed. Needless to say, we have to make sure it will never use weapons of mass destruction. Any attempt at a military solution would devastate South Korea and also have an enormous impact on Japan. It is not an option. The only realistic course is to maintain the present defensive military deterrent and extract a compromise from North Korea through negotiations.

"North Korea's stance will fuel discussions at the United Nations about possible sanctions. Nuclear development leads to national self-destruction rather than revitalization.

"Initially it was a shock to hear North Korea has nuclear weapons. However, we should not let that cloud our judgment. Japan possesses the diplomatic carrot of economic aid. Japan should continue to attempt to convince North Korea that the only route toward normalization of relations is through abandoning nuclear programs.

-- Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo

North Korea's nuclear

When two partners engage in argument with the potential to bring mutual destruction, it helps if one keeps his sanity. In the battle that erupted Wednesday with a threat from North Korea to use nuclear weapons, the partner who must remain sane is the United States. We can't be sure about the North Koreans. ...

The U.S. is in a difficult position when bargaining with the North because submitting to nuclear blackmail sends the wrong message worldwide. But neither does it want to see nuclear weapons get into more irresponsible hands than those that already hold them. Furthermore, a nuclear attack of any kind would be devastating, not just to its victims but to hopes that the world will have the sense not to destroy itself.

That's why the United States has to be careful to stay sane and to avoid turning to bluster and retaliation when diplomacy still may lead to resolution. ...

Fortunately, there was another party present for cocktails and chitchat on Wednesday: China, the hosts. While China is the North's best friend (a term used loosely), its interests are much more closely aligned to our own. And the Chinese message has been the same as ours: the Korean peninsula must be nuclear-free.

-- Journal Star, Peoria, Illinois

The latest diplomatic move by France

The latest diplomatic move by France, presented as a supposed olive branch to the United States, in reality is a mere fig leaf for more cynicism of the kind for which France has become infamous.

Now that the tyrant Saddam Hussein, whom the French government and business interests effectively propped up for years, has been ousted from power, French President Jacques Chirac has finally agreed in part with a U.S. position. But only in part.

... On Tuesday, Mr. Chirac's ambassador to the United Nations, Jean Marc de la Sabliere called for relieving Iraq of the sanctions. But -- with the French, there's always a "but" -- the proposal by Mr. de la Sabliere allow not an actual end to sanctions, but merely the "suspension" of them. In conjunction with the "suspension," the French say, the United Nations should control all Iraqi oil revenues. And the permanent elimination of sanctions would be contingent on approval by the same gaggle of U.N. weapons inspectors who failed so spectacularly for a dozen years. ...

The transparent French aim, of course, is to keep control of the oil deals it made with Mr. Hussein, at the expense of the Iraqi people.

-- Mobile Register, Mobile, Alabama

The Republican Party's foreign policy split

Newt Gingrich's controversial speech last week, a scathing attack on Secretary of State Colin Powell and his subordinates, was more than just an example of the former House speaker using his mouth as a flame-thrower, or a noisy attempt by a Washington has-been to push his way back into the limelight. It also served to illuminate a basic split between Republicans on how to use America's military might in the world arena.

... The real difference is between conservatives who think that aggressively employing military power is the most reliable way to win friends and influence nations and those who think it's a formula for overextension and rampant anti-Americanism.

... Both sides have influence with the president, who will have to decide in each particular circumstance whether to rely on force or diplomacy or some mix of each. In Iraq, it was the former, and in North Korea, it has been the latter. Neither faction is likely to get its way every time. ...

-- Chicago Tribune, Chicago

, on the looting of Iraqi artifacts:

Military personnel and journalists were subjected to personal danger during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and many paid with their lives. It is disturbing to learn that others were caught trying to bring Iraqi art objects back to the United States.

To be sure, collection of "souvenirs" has long been a part of the chaos of war and its aftermath. Many World War II veterans have Japanese or Nazi flags and other items tucked away in their attics.

However, it appears that the Iraqi artworks, including paintings and historical objects, were pilfered specifically in hopes of selling them for a profit.

Bringing stability to this embattled country will not be easy, and Iraqis who have engaged in looting are not helping the process - but neither are those liberators who purloin that which is not theirs to take.

-- The Times-Reporter, Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio

The Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina, on war strategy:

... This war in Iraq will lack the finality of some major U.S. victories, in large part because the end of the war has become blurred with the enormous task of rebuilding a nation where the challenges of restoring power and supplying food pale compared to those of nurturing a sense of democracy.

... But as more thoughtful review of this war begins, it becomes undeniably clear that this was a stunning victory for the U.S. military.

... Among the factors, which also include exceptionally well- trained and dedicated American soldiers, are these:

The four branches of the armed services worked together with more effectiveness than ever demonstrated. ...

Air power was overwhelming and precise. ...

Unparalleled intelligence helped the military select potential targets and avoid civilian populations.

Special forces played an enormous role in this war (as in Afghanistan, too). ...

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has broken a good bit of china in the Pentagon, and the success of this war gives him the credibility to break even more in helping reshape the military and equip it for future threats that will involve the use of force.

GetAP 1.00 -- MAY 2, 2003 00:10:35 ;AP; ANPA ..r.. NA-GEN--Editorial Roundup By The Associated Press= JP/

By The Associated Press=

Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers in the United

[ The Guardian, London, on the U.S. military presence in Iraq:

Convincing Iraqis that U.S. soldiers are there to help them will be all the more difficult after the shocking events in Falluja, west of Baghdad. Preventing already widespread popular opposition to the American military presence turning into concerted armed resistance will also be increasingly problematic unless the U.S. army can explain why it was justified in opening fire on a crowd comprising a large number of children and teenagers, killing at least 13 and wounding 75. ...

Even though the war is over, U.S. soldiers continue to kill Iraqi civilians almost every day, for a variety of reasons. But Falluja's tragedy is of a different order of magnitude. To prevent more such disastrous incidents and stop the security situation deteriorating further, an inquiry must be urgently held, preferably with U.N. oversight and with reference to the Geneva conventions governing the conduct of occupying forces. For reasons of law, morality and self-interest, our relentlessly self-righteous government has a clear obligation to demand that its ally comply. Meanwhile, 82nd Airborne units should be withdrawn from Falluja. If necessary, they could be replaced by better-disciplined British troops. [ Business Day, Johannesburg, South Africa, on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's political future:

The political life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has often resembled that of the proverbial cat - with all its famed nine lives. But even she ... will know that she has plumbed to new depths of infamy with her recent troubles.

Madikizela-Mandela was convicted and sentenced last Friday to five years in prison for fraud and theft after she ... submitted fraudulent loan applications to Saambou Bank on behalf of supposed African National Congress Women's League employees. She is out on bail pending the outcome of her appeal against both her conviction and sentence. But is the "mother of the nation" finally out for the count?

... Even assuming that her appeal succeeds and she escapes serving jail time, she would still face financial ruin as she has now quit her 300,000 rand a year (US$ 42,000) parliamentary seat and all her other positions in the ANC.

Notwithstanding her contribution to SA's liberation ... to afford her a presidential pardon ... as some people are suggesting, would negate South Africa's claims to the moral high ground on a continent battling to overcome its image of being fatally riddled with corruption and poor governance. [ La Stampa, Turin, Italy, on the SARS virus:

Italy must not underestimate the importance of containing and preventing the spread of SARS. Airports must be rigorously checked and people should be encouraged to take a number of precautionary measures. But doesn't the image of our Health Minister on the scene at Milan's Malpensa airport give rise to the siege syndrome, spreading a sense of threat and panic?

One can understand the careful calculations of authorities to prevent the eventual accusations of complacency. Italy, unlike China, isn't an authoritarian country that hides impending dangers from its people. Quite the contrary, the first epidemic we face is social above all: terror in general, the fear of anything "Chinese," the nervousness of the siege.

It is essential to adopt intelligent and persuasive measures that take into account the actual statistics of the epidemic, which has seen only a few cases in this country. The same effective precautions as those taken by European governments against "mad cow disease" are a good example Past experience has shown that reasonable precautionary measures, which encourage a sense of perspective, are essential in confronting the worst of epidemics. [ MORE[

GetAP 1.00 -- MAY 2, 2003 00:10:27