Professional complainer

I have the feeling that St. John is paid by The Jakarta Post to write letters to you. You can fill up your paper by printing more cartoons, which are certainly more entertaining than letters from St. John.

Definitely he is a professional complainer, as are many others among the Americans living in Indonesia. For example, the other American is Van Hoboken, who complained about the visa regulations in Indonesia (The Jakarta Post, June 6, 1994).

Ask Van Hoboken how long an ordinary Indonesian national can stay in the U.S. Can an Indonesian national visit the U.S. at all without a visa? The American can visit Indonesia without a visa for two months. Is that not enough?

Why do these Americans always want exceptions?

Now back to St. John. When your government prohibits certain movies from being shown (out of religious reasons, or any other reasons), then it is entirely the business of your government.

I feel very comfortable in your country and have no reason to complain. Every year I visit your country several times and always stay for a few weeks. I travel to all major cities in Java and feel at home. I have known Indonesia for eight years and I can see improvements on every visit. I am sure that seeing the U.S. that often would only show the decline of that country. In fact, there is for professional complainers a lot to complain about in America.

PETER B. DOERING

Jakarta