UN's Millennium Summit

To anyone who has spent a few years in the country of the geishas, the news that Russian president Alexander Putin is to visit Japan to discuss, among other things, the Kurile islands issue, provoked inside him a peculiar sensation of more than just curiosity. One may justifiably hope that the spirit of reconciliation on the eve of the UN Millennium Summit will prevail.

The group of islands, under the Japanese name of Chisima, in reality consists of 56 volcanic islands off the northeast coast of Asia, extending for 1,200 kilometers from the southern tip of the Kamchatka peninsula to northeast Hokkaido, Japan's most northern province.

Regrettably, it has slowly become clear that any hope of a peace treaty between the two last world war players, has evaporated. President Putin has rejected a Japanese call for sovereignty transfer over four disputed biggest but barren islands seized by Russian troops more than 50 years ago, at the end of World War II.

The two sides agreed at a summit three years ago to forge a peace accord by the end of 2000. For the Russians, the four islands have no more strategic value. It seems to be only a matter of internal prestige for the Russian leader after the Chehnya campaign followed by bomb blasts in Moscow and the burning of the country's highest television tower. The Japanese, evidently, are thinking more of trade and investment, hoping perhaps to get greater crude supply from its big "bear neighbor".

The Millennium Summit in New York looks like it will be successful and attractive because of the personality of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The summit will focus on the UN's main mission of caring more for the environment, such as securing drinking water, the battle against diseases, AIDS, even against malaria and to see to it that child labor is stopped and every family in the world can send their youngsters to school.

As we know, the United Nations is still grappling with the question of fair composition of the Security Council, where the right of veto is monopolized by only a few. This remains a stumbling block.

It appears that mankind is more preoccupied with pride and power rather than with peace, admittedly with some sense of compassion, at times. It seems that 5000 years of civilization is not enough.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta