We don't live in cowboy country

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

---------------------------------------------------------------

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