Sad story from female Indonesian workers
Sad story from female Indonesian workers
Female Indonesian workers who have tried to improve their lot
by making ends meet abroad have become sitting ducks for
extortion done by irresponsible people.
Worse still, the workers have not only been victimized by
extortionists during their stay abroad and their arrival back
home but have also been beaten, jailed and even raped by their
employers.
The number of successful Indonesian women working overseas
however is not small. They have undoubtedly earned not only for
themselves but also for recruitment agencies and the government.
It would thus be unwise to stop sending Indonesian contract
workers to other countries permanently. The decision to stop
exporting manpower should be temporary, until the best solution
to problems these workers often face is found.
It is really ironic that the Indonesian workers the government
has considered as a source of state income for years, are not
protected by adequate legal documents. They only carry a letter
from the Manpower Ministry when they leave the country.
We thus hope that the government, the House of
Representatives, the Ministry of Manpower and Resettlement, and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would formulate a bill on the
sending and protection of workers abroad. We also hope that they
would be able to forge an agreement with the workers' destination
countries over the latter's welfare.
The government should likewise increase the workers'
knowledge, to prevent them from being sexually abused by their
employers.
-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta
Attacks on U.S. troops
These last three weeks, we have seen an increase, rather that
a decrease, of attacks on American troops: half a dozen a day
these last thirty.
Undoubtedly Iraqi Kurdistan is calm and the predominantly
Shiite areas are on the road to normalization. But it's around
Baghdad and the heart of the capital itself that the United
States is being challenged.
The United States is being challenged by a terrorist enemy
devoid of all scruples, as the attack on the Red Cross has shown.
An enemy that targets the Iraqi population -- most of the 43 who
died since Monday were Iraqi -- as well as the American troops.
An enemy whose simultaneity of attacks show an aptitude for
coordination. And finally, a two-pronged enemy: supporters of
Saddam Hussein, still on the run -- and Islamic militants that
have entered Iraq in the hundreds since the American occupation.
It's the latter group that recruit candidates to be suicide-
bombers.
And this is not the only paradox of this battle waged in the
name of the war against terrorism. With the motive of finding
weapons of mass destruction that remain unfound, the war was
launched against a regime guilty of crimes against humanity but
one that offered no support base for Islamic radicalism. Six
months later, Iraq is one of the major theaters of operation of
terrorism. -- Le Monde, Paris
Israel's nuclear weapons
Although it has neither denied nor confirmed suspicions about
its unlawful activities, Israel is widely believed to have 200 to
300 nuclear warheads. The Jewish state has not ratified the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Likewise, it adamantly refuses
to open its nuclear installations to international inspections.
Nonetheless, no tough warning has been made to Israel to come
clean on its nuclear program. The United States, which is
spearheading a high-profile drive for global denuclearisation,
has yet to pressure its protege to fall into line. Nor has the
International Atomic Energy Agency, which has apparently done
Washington's bidding over Tehran, been so firm with Israel.
Allowing Israel to keep the lid on its highly suspicious
nuclear program and spurn bids to uncover it confirms the rife
notion in the Middle East that the Jewish state is a law unto
itself. The Arabs, who more than a year ago declared readiness to
forge normal ties with Israel in return for the handover of
occupied territories, must capitalize on the U.S.-led pressure on
Tehran to demand that similar attention be accorded to the Jewish
state's nuclear misbehavior.
-- Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, Egypt
, on Iraq:
From the beginning it has been said that the United States
must use a broad arsenal in which diplomatic, police, political
and military efforts work together.
However, one problem from an American viewpoint is that the
humility and willingness to cooperate that existed immediately
after the terror attacks in New York and Washington was
conspicuous by its absence during the diplomatic prelude to the
Iraq war. Then the tone was significantly more self-confident
than it is today.
It does not do any good, however, to dwell on all that has
happened.
The outside world -- including the United States -- must act
according to the reality which exists. And the reality is that an
Iraq where terror is allowed to win becomes a bigger threat
against international peace and security than Saddam Hussein's
oppressive regime was.
-- Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, Sweden
Retirement of Mahathir YG INI AGAK KEPANJANGAN
It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that today (OCT 31)'s
retirement of Mahathir Mohamad after 22 years as Malaysia's prime
minister should be accompanied by controversy. In a recent
speech, Dr Mahathir asserted that Jews "rule the world by proxy".
After his remarks were widely condemned in the west as anti-
semitic, he complained of double standards. It was acceptable, he
said, to criticise Muslims but not Jews, which proved his point
that the west was "under the thumb of the Jews". Dr Mahathir's
claims may appeal, sadly, to many Muslims who are daily enraged
by Israel's treatment of Palestinians or by a perceived anti-
Islamic bias in Washington. But his thesis is as absurd as it is
offensive (and depressingly familiar). It is not the proper
business of statesmen to pander to such prejudices but, rather,
to work to banish them. The fact that most of Dr Mahathir's
speech was a critique of the Muslim world's own failings does not
excuse encouragement of racial hatred.
Dr Mahathir's career has been punctuated by such
controversies. The common thread was his desire to stand up for
Malays, Malaysia, Muslims and developing countries in general;
and to combat forces such as globalisation, the colonialist
mentality and unequal, western-dictated financial and market
structures. In this there is much that is laudable. Malaysia
under Dr Mahathir became an economic success story. It is now
among the world's top 20 trading nations; poverty levels have
been dramatically reduced. The Mahathir era showed how a multi-
faith country with a Muslim majority, a Malay- Chinese-Indian
ethnic divide, and a history of communist insurgency and racial
tension could build relatively harmonious social structures. Dr
Mahathir also showed that it was possible for a poor country to
progress without sacrificing its identity and cultural values.
His sense of mission was strong; in many ways, he worked wonders.
Yet his achievements were often diminished by his methods and
overshadowed by his robustly provocative views, views that were
interpreted, sometimes too simply, as anti-western. There was
usually an element of cool, domestic political calculation in
what Dr Mahathir said. But his outspokenness also revealed the
abiding resentments of a post-colonial parvenu. His
authoritarianism, his reliance on party cronyism, his failure to
curb corruption and the abuse of judicial and human rights, most
infamously in the case of Anwar Ibrahim, have also tarnished his
legacy. Ever a complex man, Dr. Mahathir's energy and vision, but
not his prejudices, will be missed.
-- The Guardian, London
Facing the truth of Sept. 11
The commission investigating the government's failures before
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is in danger of becoming a study
in recalcitrance by the Bush administration. The independent
commission's mandate is to supply a definitive account of the
government's handling of the terrorist plot that killed almost
3,000 people. But the White House continues to fence with
requests for classified documents crucial to the inquiry.
The commission chairman, former Governor Thomas Kean of New
Jersey, a Republican, is threatening to subpoena the
administration for documents that officials should forthrightly
turn over. Among the key questions is the nature of an
intelligence report to President Bush a month before the attacks
-- only sketchily confirmed thus far by the White House -- that
al-Qaeda might try to hijack passenger airplanes.
The commission is up to the task of scrutinizing the failures
of intelligence and other government agencies, and classified
secrets can be adequately safeguarded. Congress should prepare to
extend the commission's 18-month timetable beyond next May, the
deadline.
How can an unstinting investigation of the truth of Sept. 11
not be of paramount concern to any official sworn to protect the
public? The approaching presidential election makes the
administration's evasions even more suspect. Failure to document
and face the truth will only feed conspiracy theories and
undermine the nation's chances of weathering future threats.
-- The New York Times
INI JUGA KEPANJANGAN, KALAU GAK KEPAKSA TUNDA DULU
Nuclear for food
There is hope for multilateral negotiations on North Korea's
nuclear weapons program with Pyongyang reversing its rejection of
Washington's offer of a written security guarantee. Pyongyang now
says it is considering the offer, which would require it to
dismantle its weapons program in a verifiable manner, in return
for a promise that North Korea will not be attacked.
The offer itself is a shift from Washington's earlier stance
that Pyongyang shut down its nuclear program before anything else
can be put on the table. The part-acceptance, part-rejection by
Pyongyang implies that it would like the talks to go on, but may
hold out for better terms that would mark an improvement on the
"agreed framework", the 1994 deal concluded with the Clinton
administration. The secret of President Bush's newfound
flexibility is that the military option is singularly
unattractive here as Pyongyang is capable of a devastating
response which would lay waste Seoul and perhaps, Tokyo.
It is quite possible that Pyongyang is willing to parley its
nuclear weapons for a security guarantee, plus food, energy and
other forms of aid it desperately needs to prop up a failing
economy. Such a propensity ought to be encouraged if the non-
proliferation regime is not to fall apart altogether --
Pyongyang's weapons could tempt Seoul and Tokyo to follow suit
and there is no doubt that both have the necessary technical
proficiency.
But even if the best possible deal within grasp works out --
Pyongyang accepts Washington's offer and everyone, including
Pyongyang's neighbors, is happy -- some subtle challenges will be
posed to world order as it exists today. What will prevent poor
nations that have no food or exportable items, from following
Pyongyang's example and throwing everything they have into the
development of nuclear weapons, expecting the world, particularly
America, to come up with the economic aid as recompense? It must
be remembered that in the current international order where there
is little either of aid or trading concessions available to poor
nations unless they serve "strategic" needs. The message is not
reassuring.
-- The Statesman, Calcutta
O Estado de S. Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Iraq:
Billboards set up in Iraq's capital claim "Baghdad is getting
better." Reality doesn't confirm this, and the intensification of
armed resistance in Iraq is being felt in Washington. State
Secretary Colin Powell acknowledged he didn't expect the conflict
to be "so intense and to last so long." Paul Bremer, the U.S.
civil administration chief in Iraq, concedes that the enemy
"looks ever more organized." .
There is no easy way out of the Iraqi labyrinth. And if there
is, it will require a "demilitarization" of U.S. foreign
policy... something unimaginable with the Bush administration.
Because of that, and for other reasons, the United States could
end up with a new president in 2005.
---
Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway, on the closure of Zimbabwe's only
independent newspaper:
As President Robert Mugabe and his power system cracks down of
"the fourth estate," they are also making a mockery of the third
estate, the judicial system.
The conflict is over The Daily News newspaper, which was
closed six weeks ago, then hit the streets again just before the
weekend after a court ruled the closing illegal. One edition was
published ... then police raided the newspaper offices again,
arresting journalists and staff.
Formally, the dispute is over whether or not The Daily News
has a (government-required) license to publish. But the whole
license system is just an excuse from Mugabe's side to smother
free and troublesome voices in society.
---
Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki, Finland, on Iraq:
A new dimension has entered the terror (in Iraq). The
International Red Cross is normally accepted as a neutral organ
which helps anyone in need. The strike against its headquarters,
which must be totally condemned, proved that the aim of the
perpetrators of the destruction is to create the greatest
possible havoc.
One of the targets of the rocket attack on the Al-Rashid Hotel
was also a chief architect of the war against Iraq, U.S. Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The American administration has
continually given assurances that the security situation is
getting better all the while and that the media are giving a
wrong picture by exaggerating the difficulties. Wolfowitz
experienced firsthand that the opponents of the occupation are
able to strike the city's most guarded sites.
The bombs are certainly not the only concern of the occupation
force. Opinion polls indicate that a growing number of Iraqis
oppose the occupation. As time passes, it is becoming
increasingly clear that a turn for the better won't happen
without cooperation from local Iraqi leaders who enjoy the
people's support.
----
The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, on progress in Iraq:
Donald Rumsfeld, it turns out, was right. In his now famous
memo, which came to light a week ago, he pointed out to his
Defense Department aides that the war on terrorism wasn't going
as well as it might be. This had not been the line of the Bush
administration, which at the time was busily trying to sell the
idea that conditions in Iraq were just getting better and better,
despite what you might read in the papers or see on
television.
A new wave of attacks began yesterday morning, and by the time
they were through 34 people had been killed.
President Bush said yesterday that the attacks were a measure
of the desperation of those opposed to the U.S. occupation of the
country. That's probably true, in a sense, but you could argue
that Sept. 11 was a measure of the desperation of al-Qaida.
What's more important is that these attacks are a measure of the
expertise of those inflicting them.
It would seem that the best way to combat this sort of
guerrilla warfare, which threatens to turn ordinary people
against the occupiers, would not be to send out patrols kicking
down doors, especially during Ramadan. Gathering sound
intelligence -- doing good police work, in other words -- would
seem like a much better option.
---
The Tribune Chronicle, Warren, Ohio, on Nathaniel Heatwole and
airline security:
Nathaniel Heatwole certainly could have used better judgment
in his effort to alert Transportation Security Administration
officials to glaring holes in airline security. But he hardly
deserves prison for smuggling box cutters and other possible
weapons onto aircraft and telling the Transportation Security
Administration via email that he'd done it.
TSA bureaucrats and federal prosecutors instead are treating
the case as though Heatwole actually had sought to harm airline
passengers.
Prosecutors should keep in mind that Heatwole is the air
travel equivalent of the canary in a coal mine. By exposing
security breaches, he may well have saved lives. That's hardly an
offense that should yield the 10 years in prison threatened by
embarrassed bureaucrats.
GetAP 1.00 -- OCT 31, 2003 01:15:50
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ANPA ..r..
NA-GEN--Editorial Roundup
By The Associated Press=
JP/
By The Associated Press=
A selection of excerpts from editorials in newspapers worldwide:
---
Corriere della Sera, Milan, Italy, on the Iraq bombings:
George Bush has repeated what the military in Baghdad told
him: that Islamic extremists and Saddam nostalgics are behind the
attacks in Iraq. But the truth is, as officers in the field
acknowledge, they don't know who their enemy is.
The Americans have not yet succeeded in responding to a
fundamental question: are the cells operating independently or is
there some kind of control?
The key, as always, is intelligence.
The guerrillas have good intelligence, since they are on home
ground. The Americans had to start from scratch.
To respond to the threat the Pentagon could be tempted by the
Israeli model: intelligence ... suppression, incursions,
punishments for those who harbor rebels. You take the initiative,
but you risk alienating further a population that is tired of
death.
If you adopt a wait-and-see policy you inevitably favor those
who attack you.
The best answer would be to guarantee calm, but this is
impossible, because Saddam's partisans and the terrorists will do
everything to avoid it.
---
This Day, Johannesburg, South Africa, on support for the
Zimbabwean newspaper Daily News:
It is impossible not to feel a strong sense of deja vu as
reports of the latest outrage filter out of Zimbabwe.
We know what it is like: newspapers shutting down, journalists
detained for doing their jobs, the public deprived of
information.
We know what it is like and we remember it.
On October 19 this year, reporters and editors stopped to
recall the closure of The World and two other publications by the
apartheid government in 1977.
South Africa then was a country under the jackboot of a
heinous, undemocratic government -- a pariah in the national
community.
There is little to differentiate the actions of the Zimbabwean
government against the press from those of the apartheid
government, as this weekend's events demonstrate.
At the weekend, Zimbabwean police occupied the Daily News
building in Harare and held a former judge and the newspaper
boss's niece hostage. They demanded that the newspaper's owner
and board members hand themselves over or else they would keep
the hostages.
These events occurred after The Daily News, the only
independent daily in Zimbabwe, had been shut down on the
flimsiest of pretexts.
The house of Zimbabwe is now well and truly fallen. Mugabe
must curb his out-of-control state machinery or he will soon find
himself under attack from his own frustrated people.
---
---
Der Bund, Bern, Switzerland, on Russian tycoon Mikhail
Khodorkovsky:
The billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been in a Moscow
prison since Saturday, is no little innocent. In the '90s, as
fantastic fortunes were being made overnight in Russia,
Khodorkovsky was one of the most dangerous sharks in waters where
only a few fish swam anyway.
But unlike other Russian tycoons, Khodorkovsky finally began
to reform his business, Yukos, to meet Western standards and is,
in Russian terms, pretty much an exemplary taxpayer. Before the
campaign against Yukos and Khodorkovsky by the general
prosecutor's office -- independent in name only -- and the
domestic secret service, Yukos was one of the few showpiece firms
in Russia.
The campaign against Yukos undoubtedly results from a direct
order from Russian President Vladimir Putin. His declared goal is
to build up Russia's economy, but of course that's only good as
long as the Kremlin's monopoly on power is not affected. In this
case, Putin is forcing real or imagined enemies to their knees --
even if, as in this case, that makes frightened investors flee
and the Russian stock exchange lose billions in a few days.
The Khodorkovsky case is probably only at the start. But it
should serve to put right those optimists who believe that Russia
under Putin has fundamentally changed for the better.
---
The Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan, on international donations
for reconstruction in Iraq:
The two-day donors' conference in Madrid for the
reconstruction of Iraq ended with modest offers for assisting
that war-torn country.
Some 70 countries attended the conference sponsored by the
World Bank and the United Nations, but only a handful made
sizable donations.
Many countries did not pledge more aid to Baghdad because of
their continued reservations about the U.S.-led war on Iraq and
the fact that the country still lacks security and stability.
Still, some US$35 billion were committed, to be spent over a
number of years as either direct grants or loans.
Still, no matter how vehemently opposed many countries were to
the war, there is now a new reality that requires a determined
international effort to transform Iraq from a bedrock of
instability and insecurity into the regional power that it
deserves to be.
Iraq must return to being a major player in the Middle East
and the Gulf regions. By all standards, it has the human and
natural resources to become an economic powerhouse. The sooner it
regains its rightful place among the nations of the area, the
sooner it would be possible to recreate a regional environment
for peace and progress.
Investing in Iraq now is investing in regional stability and
development.
---
The Times, London, on Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar:
Spaniards have often underestimated Jose Maria Aznar. The
conservative prime minister seemed at first a dour contrast to
his Socialist predecessor, neither ebullient nor charismatic and
with the mournful air of a provincial insurance broker. Yet in
his eight years in office Senor Aznar has proved a consummate
politician, who has delivered steady economic growth, clean
government, resolution in the face of foreign and domestic
terrorism and a distinctive Spanish voice in European affairs. He
took a big risk this year in supporting Washington over Iraq,
despite overwhelming public hostility to military action. He
leaves to his successor, Mariano Rajoy, a party of the Centre-
Right in rude political health -- one of the few in Western
Europe. His achievement has been to take the PP out of Franco's
shadow and make it both respectable and electable. He has
insisted that, in European affairs, Spain does not simply echo
the dominant voices of France and Germany, but defines its own
policies and alliances. This has sometimes made for strange
bedfellows: Tony Blair's Britain would not seem like a natural
ally, given the failure to resolve the Gibraltar dispute. But the
two leaders have shared passing unpopularity over Iraq and have
been leaders of the "New Europe" and a counterweight to France
and Germany.
--- MORE[
GetAP 1.00 -- OCT 31, 2003 01:15:37
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Asia-press-comment 1
HONG KONG, Oct 31 (AFP) -- The following is Friday's editorial
fro
JP/ASIA