The government of Indonesian must be extra careful in dealing

The government of Indonesian must be extra careful in dealing with the incident in Papua this week, in which one person was killed after a group of "separatists" tried to hoist the New Melanesian flag in front of the regental legislative building in Jayawijaya.

Recklessness and an unprofessional approach by the government will only favor the separatists.

The incident started when a group of Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel failed to negotiate with five people who were insistent about raising the flag. A detailed chronology of the fracas is not available, but reports said that the five locals were Wamena farmers equipped with bows and arrows and that some unidentified people had asked them to hoist the flag of New Melanesia, which proclaimed its independence on July 7, 2003.

Initial information reported that the five farmers had only acted in response to others' instructions, meaning that they were not the initiators of the flag raising.

Separatist movements are not new to Papua. The Free Papua Movement (OPM) has been fighting against the government, which they say have exploited their prosperous and rich motherland.

A thorough study must be made to find out whether the New Melanesian Movement is connected to the OPM. The police have a significant role in controlling the situation, and therefore police personnel must also be armed with adequate knowledge to deal with such situations, which have both social and political impacts.

An appropriate and controlled response to such situations is recommended. -- Koran Tempo, Jakarta

Territorial sovereignty

Civilian, as well as military, authorities have made a cacophony of sounds over Indonesia's obligation to issue a diplomatic statement on the illegal entry of five F-18 Hornet jet fighters of the United States Navy into the country's airspace.

The diplomatic statement, which is being discussed, would serve as a protest to Washington because the U.S. jet fighters' maneuver over Bawean island in East Java province was a violation of Indonesia's territorial sovereignty.

Indonesia's territorial sovereignty is a sacred constitutional decree, which cannot be measured by how often a foreign fleet violates it, but by how strong the country can defend it.

At sea, our national sovereignty is torn apart by foreign fishermen who steal our marine resources.

Separatist groups are also beginning to tear up our territorial land. The separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has claimed the land of Aceh as theirs, while the Free Papua Organization (OPM) is doing the same thing by claiming the land of West Irian (Papua).

Still fresh in our mind is how two tiny islands of ours, Sipadan and Ligitan, had fallen into Malaysian hands.

The gradual violation of our territorial sovereignty is brought about by two major issues -- the country's failure to regard sovereignty as national dignity, and the country's negligence of its navy and air force.

Thus, it is humiliating for Indonesia, as a marine country, to have a weak navy fleet.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta

Egypt's Mideast peace role

It is of great significance for Egypt that Israel should show real commitment to the Middle East peace process, rather than praise Egypt's key role in brokering a truce between Palestinian resistance groups to pave the way to implementing the U.S.- sponsored 'roadmap' peace plan.

Having voluntarily assumed its historic responsibilities for the Palestinian cause for 55 years, Egypt wants only mutual commitment by the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Egypt expects the U.S. to continue promoting the peace process. Meanwhile, Israel should release all Palestinian detainees, freeze settlement building, lift the siege on the Palestinian territories in accordance with Oslo Accords, and withdraw from the occupied territories.

Consequently, the Palestinians will regain trust in the Israelis and realize that their neighbors truly want peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should remember that all his savage tactics have failed to crush the Palestinian resistance. He should also understand that the Palestinians' truce is a temporary suspension of attacks against the Israeli occupiers and will be honored only if Israel stops its assassination campaign.

-- Egyptian Gazette, Cairo ---

U.S. policy in Iraq

If the pace of Anglo-American losses continues, the postwar period could cost more in human lives than the war itself. Yet it is useless to draw parallels with Vietnam, which often gets inappropriately cited in comparison. That conflict should be remembered only insofar as it proved military superiority is not enough to impose a durable political model.

In Iraq, the Americans have not begun to build the promised democracy. To a large extent, the country the Americans have freed has proven itself hostile.

What's amazing is that beyond the military invasion, a technical success, a plan intended to deal with the most urgent problems has not been prepared. What amazes us is the gap between military efficiency and political intelligence. What do we make of the decision to print banknotes still portraying the former dictator's face? Can one imagine the Italian lira or the German mark with Mussolini's and Hitler's faces printed on them? How should we read the inability of the freeing superpower to deliver water and light to inhabitants of the capital?

Marines can defeat a dictator, but it's more difficult to install a pax Americana.

-- La Repubblica, Rome