The hijacking of a bus committed by more than 100 senior high

The hijacking of a bus committed by more than 100 senior high
school students in East Jakarta last week was a real shock.

In school uniform, the students also robbed the bus passengers
of money and other valuables. This brutality took place on
Friday, the day they completed their final examination, as though
the students wanted to show people that they had reached
adulthood. However, the students' actions showed they were still
mere children; they would have acted more maturely if they were,
indeed, adults.

Some of the students were arrested. We only demand that the
police act properly and professionally and that anyone violating
the law, including the students, must be punished according to
the law.

The incident raises deep concerns once we think about their
futures. Competition among high school student graduates are
becoming tougher and tougher every year. Given the fact that the
rate of unemployment among university graduates is increasing, we
cannot imagine what senior high school graduates could do to
enter the job market.

Ironically, the graduates do not seem to be aware of, nor
concerned about, their own futures. Yet, they conduct a criminal
act.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta

The role of religion in Iraqi politics

The debate on the role of religion in Iraqi politics has been
escalating following the return of Shiah leader Ayatollah
Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim from his 23-year exile in Iran.

So far, the Baath Party administration, which is secular, has
maintained their distance from religion. The policy was supposed
to separate religion from politics, so that religion could not be
used as a means to realize political interests, and politics
would not be exploited by religion.

The return of Ayatollah Hakim is expected to restore the
Shiah's dignity, which started to fade in 1958 when Saddam
Hussein was at the peak of his power.

The debate on the role of religion in politics and of power in
Iraq has become complicated, because Iraq is a heterogeneous
country with a multiracial and multicultural background. This has
apparently produced the idea that democracy would be the best
system to (re)establish and manage the country.

Ayatollah Hakim has never talked about a religious state, but
he has offered a democratic vision based on Islam. He has also
insisted that tolerance within a heterogeny like Iraq was very
important.

"We want a democratic administration that represents all the
Iraqi people -- Muslims, Christians and all minorities," Hakim
said.

He has called on the Iraqi people to fight imperialism and
expel Americans and the British from Iraq.

-- Kompas, Jakarta

Peace, a priority in Aceh

The May 12 deadline for the reconciliation between the
Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
has finally come.

Despite the deadline being part of the government's attempts
to find a peaceful solution to the Aceh conflict, there was no
change in the attitude of the separatist group.

As the deadline expired, it has become more evident that GAM
does not have any good intention to make peace in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam (NAD) province.

When it felt that the peace deal was beginning to fail, the
Indonesian government decided to conduct an integrated
humanitarian, law enforcement, government stabilization and
security restoration operation in Aceh.

To support the operation, some 1,300 security personnel from
the Indonesian Defense Force have been dispatched to Aceh.

Such a move indicates that the military operation in Aceh,
called by the government as a security restoration operation, is
on hand.

Consequently, President Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled
today (Monday) to make a crucial decision as the legal basis for
the integrated operation.

Whatever the decision the president might make, the Indonesian
state and its people are still yearning for a peaceful solution
in its westernmost province. -- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta