Editorials
Tuesday, November 12, 1996
Burma’s attempted
intimidation of critic
THE State Department has responded sharply to the mob attack on Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi. On Saturday, about 200 men she described as "hooligans" bashed in windows of cars in her motorcade with their fists and sticks. One of her party's leaders, Tin Oo, was scratched on the cheek by flying glass. Government security forces stood by during the attack, according to Suu Kyi and witnesses. Suu Kyi charged that the mob actions were orchestrated by Burma's military regime, which bans public gatherings and tolerates no dissent.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns urged Burma to punish those responsible for the mob attack and "take every possible means to assure the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi." He added, "The United States is outraged by this attack, which took place under circumstances which are, to say the least, extremely disturbing."
The criticism was both timely and fully deserved. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, had been under house arrest for six years until her release in July 1995. Her political activities have continued to be severely restricted since her release. The attack was an obvious attempt to intimidate her.
However, the Clinton administration has been more restrained in its criticism of another repressive Asian government - Indonesia. Under reporters' questioning, President Clinton has been forced to deny that his relationship with Indonesian business executive James Riady had influenced his administration's policy toward Indonesia.
Human rights advocates have charged that the White House backed away from a review of Indonesian trade preferences that had been initiated to protest mistreatment of labor unions. Indonesian repression of East Timor has attracted scant criticism from a succession of U.S. administrations.
The award of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to two leaders of the East Timor resistance to Indonesian rule has called attention to Jakarta's abuses. Indonesia has more strategic and economic importance for the U.S. than Burma, but Washington cannot continue to ignore Jakarta's repressive policies in East Timor and other parts of the archipelago while scolding Burma.
Plantation property
THE closing of Oahu Sugar Co. has brought an end to an era for the Waipahu community but provided the Leeward Oahu branch of the Young Men's Christian Association with a home at last. This is a fine way to make use of plantation property that is no longer needed for the benefit of the community.
Aloha United Way
SURE, the economy is flat and lots of people are being squeezed. It's easy to understand why the Aloha United Way fund drive fell short. At the close of the formal campaign last week, the drive stood at 76 percent of its $14.8 million goal. Last year the campaign raised $14.6 million, short of the $15 million goal.
Crime in Russia
LIFE in post-Soviet Russia has been turbulent, but nothing to date can compare with the explosion of a bomb at a Moscow memorial service that killed 13 people and wounded 16. The blast occurred as 100 members of the Afghan War Invalids Fund gathered to memorialize their murdered leader. Until the government of President Boris Yeltsin comes to grips with the problem of gang violence, Russia will continue to bear a heavy handicap in its efforts to achieve order and prosperity.
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Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor