Poor old 'Post'

What a disappointment Wednesday, May 19, 1999, must have been for you -- not one for your record books eh! No mass riots or demonstrations to make the "paper-selling" headlines, or shootings and rapes to keep harping back to for the next several years. A brave effort though -- you did manage to squeeze in the word "noisy" and devote most of your reports to the Golkar incident. Even the notorious, sensation-seeking CNN crew decided to treat that incident as a minor occurrence.

No mention though of the commendable way the people of Indonesia responded to the mass media's continued prophecy's of doom and destruction for Wednesday. No mention that the people of Indonesia went about their business in a responsible manner, even though learned gurus from near and far predicted mayhem. No congratulations to the Indonesian people for their steadfastness and courage, and probably no mention of this criticism either.

GARY SMITH

Jakarta