We don't live in cowboy country

Last Wednesday's fatal shooting of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi of the Central Sulawesi Prosecutors' Office came as a big blow to us.

It is not the first time a member of the judiciary has been shot dead by irresponsible people. Ferry's murder has further blackened the climate of the country's judicial system.

A biased court and flawed judiciary has become the status quo.

British Ambassador Charles Humfrey's disappointment over a UK company's loss in a legal dispute with its local partner remains fresh in the mind. Reports said the court had been partial and unfair in the case -- this is only a small example of the unfair court proceedings that prevail here.

It is ironic that clean judicial members, like Ferry, die for their principles.

We condemn such a "cowboy" practice, and Ferry's tragic death should become the last high price we should pay to uphold the law. -- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta

Maid for absconding

Good help is so hard to find these days, judging by the Immigration director-general's report that more than 17,000 foreign maids ran away last year.

If they were abused as Nirmala Bonat was, then they have every reason to bolt from their cruel taskmasters. But the director- general said mistreatment was not the reason. He explained that they did not like doing "household chores" and preferred other jobs. Or perhaps, although there was no physical, psychological, or sexual harassment, the work was harder than they expected. There would certainly be problems with their employers and the work environment.

If you have to work a 16-hour day, seven days a week, taking care of four children, cooking three meals a day, doing the dirty dishes, cleaning the house, washing the clothes and cleaning two cars for about RM300 a month, you would probably clear out, too. But many Malaysian families will tell you that they treat their maids well, regard them as part of the family, give them days off, help with the housework, provide good working conditions, and pay them decent salaries.

Yet their maids disappear unexpectedly, leaving them with the difficult task of getting someone to look after the kids on such notice, a fine to pay and no hope of getting a refund.

Like the maids, employers too have tales to tell -- trust broken, money stolen, valuables pilfered, husbands seduced. Although the stories are not as horrific as those of maids tortured, they do show that both are victims of an unsatisfactory state of affairs.

Live-in maids have become a necessity for many double-income Malaysian families in the absence of affordable alternatives for the childcare and domestic services they require. There is also a large pool of available foreign workers to mind their children and do the housework.

But somehow neither the needs of the employers nor their maids are being met and neither are their rights being respected. Recruiting agencies owe it to their clients and the maids to do a more professional job. Governments, not least those of the labor-exporting countries, owe it to their citizens to create the mechanisms and regulations to ensure a fair deal for both employers and migrant workers. -- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

Old foes say cheese, but old scars remain

IT may not have quite the power of the image of Nelson Mandela applauding his former jailer, F.W. de Klerk, when the two were awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1993, but Monday's beaming photo in The Australian of East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao and Indonesian presidential candidate General Wiranto was a stunner. As the leader of Fretilin during the Indonesian occupation, Mr Gusmao spent more than six years in Indonesian jails and under house arrest.

As the former commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Wiranto bears direct chain-of-command responsibility for the bloody rampage in Dili that cost 1500 civilian lives after the 1999 independence referendum. While the photo is a powerful image of reconciliation, it is also a symbol of the pragmatism of East Timor's leadership. In a country where 41 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, there are more urgent issues than settling old scores.

That does not mean there is any question of forgiving and forgetting the slaughter, rape and robbery that Indonesian forces carried out in 1999. The UN-funded Serious Crimes Unit has indicted 369 people for those crimes, including General Wiranto himself. But ever since the warrant for Wiranto was issued, senior East Timorese officials, including Mr Gusmao and Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta, have been playing down the possibility it will be carried out.

Wiranto is the chosen candidate of Golkar, the old Soeharto political machine, in the Indonesian presidential elections due to begin in less than five weeks. The last thing East Timor, with its population of less than a million, needs is to make a lasting enemy of the 220-million-strong nation that sprawls to its east, west and north. It is realism that dictates Mr Gusmao's smile, even through gritted teeth.

-- The Australian, Sydney

Our economies live in dangerous times

It is hard to imagine a world without oil. Petroleum underpins much of the workings of modern society, whether as fuel for our cars, ships and airplanes, as energy for our electricity plants, or as a basic material for the plastics, industrial chemicals and other industries that have developed for the general betterment of mankind. Industrialization and globalization have helped feed our ravenous appetite for oil.

Even with technological advances allowing oil to be found, extracted and transported more efficiently than ever before, the world's oil markets continue to be led by the countries of the Middle East. Nearly two-thirds of the world's proven reserves are in the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The region produces one-third of total global production, nearly all for export to the United States, Europe and Japan.

Any disruption to the world's oil markets can have huge repercussions. During the 1970s, a blockade of shipments by the OPEC cartel to the West led to deep recessions around the world.

The potential for a repeat of such circumstances has taken greater urgency in recent months, heightened by political tensions and security risks in the Middle East. Energy prices have risen to their highest levels in decades, to over US$40 per barrel. But it is the risk of global terrorism targeting the delicate infrastructure of Middle East oil markets that is the greatest factor behind the recent run up in prices.

This risk was reinforced by the weekend attack in Saudi Arabia. With political stability in the Persian Gulf looking a pipedream, common sense would suggest the current volatility of the oil markets may be more representative of future trends than simply a short-term aberration. -- The Bangkok Post

Alan Greenspan's renomination

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who has guided our economy through good and bad times, has been re-nominated by President Bush for a fifth four-year term. The appointment, which is expected to sail through the Senate, was no big surprise, even though Greenspan and Bush don't always see eye to eye. ...

The Fed chairman has held the job since the summer of 1987 and has steered our nation through several potential disasters - the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the tech bust of 2000 and the recession stemming from the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which closed the nation's stock and bond markets for more than a week.

At age 78, Greenspan may not complete his full term, some pundits say. But others contend that our central banker will tough it out to the end to ensure that our nation's intricate economic machine is running smoothly. Let's hope so.

-- The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

--- Kerry on the Democratic convention

You could ridicule John Kerry for suggesting he may not accept the Democratic presidential nomination at his party's convention in July. What's the man thinking? A nominating convention is for, well, nominating a candidate.

But let's not be too quick here. The senator has a point. The last exciting floor battle at a national political convention was in 1976, when Jerry Ford and Ronald Reagan skirmished. Ever since, the nominee has been known way ahead of the convention.

Today, the gatherings serve mostly as a trade show for political junkies, including us journalists. Like doctors going to Vegas or Miami for their professional gatherings, the political class meets every four years, eats good food, hears speeches and talks among itself. And the thing is televised.

Oh, yes, taxpayers foot part of the bill. In an era of record deficits, maybe it's time to stop that and start selling naming rights. Couldn't you see it: the United Auto Workers' Democratic National Convention? Or the Pfizer Republican National Convention?

This has possibilities. The lobbyists already dominate conventions. They host big parties for congressmen and others. They might as well pay the whole tab. Well, it's just a thought. Whether he meant to or not, Mr. Kerry has shown that political conventions have outlived their usefulness. We need an alternative.

Whatever the alternative, today's conventions are looking as dated as the old Pong computer game. And with security so tight these days, a new format makes sense. This one definitely isn't working.

-- The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas

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GetAP 1.00 -- MAY 28, 2004 00:22:53

;AP; ANPA ..r.. Editorial Roundup By The Associated Press= JP/

By The Associated Press= Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers around the world: --- Straits Times, Singapore, on Taiwan:

Semantics are an essential part of the political game that Taiwanese leaders are wont to play with China. In the latest manifestation of word play, Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's inauguration speech last week was calculated not to infuriate China but to say - or omit - enough to keep alive its suspicions about the island's course of action.

What he must keep in mind is that, unlike pro-independence fundamentalists who can make demands without having to take responsibility for the consequences, he is mandated to ensure the security and prosperity of Taiwan. Nothing could be more important to the Taiwanese.

China's annoyed response to the speech was expected. What it will look for now is where Chen's actions lead. He would do himself and his voters a great disservice if he believed that China would not act if he crossed the line. It is not in China's interests to fight a war that sets back its amazing economic transformation, but it would have no option but to fight if the alternative is the loss of Taiwan. Unlike word play, realities can be horrendously simple." --- El Pais, Madrid, Spain, on soldiers with immunity:

The scandal over torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison that is shocking the world makes immoral the Bush administration's request for an extension of international legal immunity for its soldiers in Iraq. This position is not new. The Security Council already granted this benefit in 2002 and 2003. But the context has changed and the American request has become a challenge to the very raison d'etre of the newly created International Criminal Court: to put an end to impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity, offenses which include the events that took place behind the walls of that shameful prison. --- Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan, on Israeli incursion into Rafah:

As the world sat and watched last week, Israel entered Rafah ostensibly to root out armed Palestinians and destroy smuggling tunnels.

In the process, 43 people were killed, among them ... a three- year-old girl, who died of a bullet wound to the neck. Add to the killing of children and the unarmed, the destruction of dozens of homes.

Let there be no doubt about it: Israel did not enter Rafah to protect itself; it entered Rafah to exact revenge for the killings of 13 of its soldiers two weeks ago.

It entered Rafah to collectively punish Gazans for daring to stand up, in one way or another, to the Israeli occupation. It entered Rafah to tell the world that they can criticize until their faces turn as blue as the U.N. flag: Israel can and will do what it wants to Palestinians. And what did the world do? A U.N. Security Council resolution was passed that, for once, the U.S. did not veto. Europeans complained. Arabs remonstrated. Even Israelis protested.

The response from Israel? The Israeli army denied there was a humanitarian disaster in Rafah and said the number of houses demolished were inflated by "Palestinian propaganda." Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, meanwhile, said while troops are being redeployed, "Operation Rainbow" would continue for a couple of days. In other words, Israel simply responded to international criticism by ignoring it.

It is time the EU and the U.N., as well as the Arab world, started pushing seriously and with determination for sanctions to be imposed on Israel.

While the U.S. will resist, as Washington resisted when sanctions were imposed on South Africa, the sanctions eventually worked there. They may eventually work against Israel. They will certainly have more of an effect than the international community's current efforts. --- The Times, London, on Iraq:

Grand promises are not in order, even though there is still room for grander vision in the long term. Iraqis know that June 30 cannot bring a wholesale transfer of sovereignty, but they need to feel that the date will mark a material shift towards a national government. The draft resolution presented to the UN Security Council yesterday left some important details to be decided until the caretaker government is named at the end of this month. But it clearly reflects the U.S. determination to make good on its word in encouraging Iraqis to take responsibility for themselves as soon as possible. It must now be hoped that the Security Council's blessing will follow, and that such a blessing will signal a commitment by the international community to see things through, and not provide an alibi to cut and run. ...

Agreement may yet be scuppered by French and German insistence on a date for military withdrawal. But experience in Somalia and elsewhere suggests that leaving too soon would reap more certain disaster than staying too long. Setting a fixed date could be a gift for those who want to see democracy fail. ... --- The Guardian, London, on Taiwan:

The Taiwan Strait is one of the last items of unfinished business from the cold war - and it can still make us shiver. Thursday's inauguration of Taiwan's recently re-elected president, Chen Shui-bian, has been watched with very close attention.

No one can quarrel with the status quo in which Taiwan is effectively independent while everyone follows the U.S. lead in pretending that "there is only 'one China."' What worries many people is the danger that either the pro-independence fanatics in Taiwan or the pro-reunification die-hards on the mainland will unmask this charade. We can breathe a little easier now, after encouraging signals from both sides. ...

Mr. Chen has a bad record of ratcheting up his hyperbole when in domestic trouble, and China still regards him as a "slippery politician." Beijing's moderation is offset by the way it has bullied Hong Kong over political reform, and it still talks of crushing a move to independence "at any cost.". Both sides should be urged to take it easy and settle for what they have got. --- Daily Telegraph, London, on attack on the Shia:

Yesterday's American attack on the militia of the Shia extremist Moqtada al-Sadr comes not a moment too soon. But what is its purpose?

The fear must be that this is a tactical escalation of force along a broad line of strategic retreat: biff him a bit before the next round of negotiation and accommodation begins. Obviously, al-Sadr has not won in strictly military terms, but that was never his game.

Rather, his aim was to create a political aesthetic for the gratification of certain portions of the Muslim world. He has defied the coalition and got away with it for a considerable period of time, at least in the sense of avoiding total annihilation (rather after the fashion of Yasser Arafat's escape from the clutches of the Israelis in Lebanon in 1982). ...

Iraq's Shia majority, especially, was disempowered under the largely Sunni Ba'athists. Since Saddam Hussein was overthrown, they have been told by the Western powers that there must be a dramatic slow-down in de-Ba'athification for the sake of "national reconciliation"; "affirmative action" for their Sunni oppressors; and now, their political fate is to be molded by the UN special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, a Sunni Arab nationalist of the old school who had few problems with Saddam.

Inevitably, even the least sectarian of the Iraqi Shias are asking: is the political playing field to be tilted against them once more for the sake of the West's overarching relationship with their Sunni Arab neighbors? ... --- La Repubblica, Rome, on Italian participation in Iraq:

The project of installing in Baghdad a government that represents the whole of Iraqi society that also keeps excellent relations with Washington seems to have failed.

The peace project in Iraq requires a political and military step turnaround: an authentic step backward by the Bush administration.

This step back will never happen, unless the desertion of important allies does not force the White House to rethink. That's the reason the recall of (Italian) troops ... seems a gesture of farsighted wisdom.

The choice of staying in Nasiryia or leaving has to be subject to rational evaluation, in which it would be absurd not to take into account what people actually want.

All the polls show that Italians favor a withdrawal. In the last ... 57 percent of those asked declared themselves against Italian soldiers remaining in Iraq.

Certainly it is an error to govern according to polls but it's no less absurd to blindfold one's eyes when popular opinion shows itself with such clarity.

If in this situation the authors of a mistaken war were severely punished by voters, it would be a clear sign of victory for democracies. --- MORE[

GetAP 1.00 -- MAY 28, 2004 00:22:44