Editorials
Tuesday, December 24, 1996
Hostage case in Peru
presents a dilemma
THE "Christmas gesture" release of 225 hostages by the terrorists who seized the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima does not appear to be a real breakthrough in the crisis. The terrorists still hold 140 people. Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto pointed out that the release of two-thirds of the hostages "means in effect that they've pared it down to a number they can control. To that extent, the tension has increased."
The Tupac Amaru rebels are demanding that the Peruvian government release about 300 of their jailed comrades. President Alberto Fujimori has refused. Whether Fujimori will maintain its resolve not to give in if the terrorists begin shooting hostages - as they have threatened to do - may turn out to be the crucial question. Americans can sympathize with Japan over the seizure of the ambassador's residence. The 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran was an appalling precedent for the latest outrage. In the earlier case, the hostage-taking dragged on for months and became a national obsession.
It's impossible to guess how long the current crisis will last. However, like the Tehran incident, it is clearly one of the negative consequences of great-power status. Nobody bothers to seize the embassies of poor, weak countries.
To the Muslim fundamentalist revolutionaries in Iran, the United States was the "great Satan." To the Marxist revolutionaries in Peru, Japan is a target because it is a source of investment capital and aid for the government they are trying to overthrow. In addition, President Fujimori's ancestry is Japanese.
Japan's and Peru's interests in this situation are in conflict to a degree. Japan's overriding concern is to save the lives of the remaining hostages, mostly Japanese businessmen and Peruvian officials. Peru, having battled the revolutionaries for years, balks at their demand that their captured comrades be released. Both governments' positions are entirely understandable. When dealing with ruthless fanatics, there are no easy answers. This outrage should strengthen the civilized world's determination to eradicate terrorism.
Amata Kabua
AMATA Kabua, president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, who died last Thursday in Honolulu at age 68, was one of the most prominent leaders of Micronesia in the post-World War II years. Scion of a Marshallese royal family, Kabua became president of the Marshalls in 1979 when the islands were still under the United States' trusteeship and led them to independence in "free association" with the U.S. in 1986. Under "free association," the United States retains defense responsibilities for the island chain in return for the right to continued use of Kwajalein atoll for weapons testing, and provides economic aid.
Amata Kabua was a key figure in leading his people out of the devastation of World War II and the postwar nuclear tests into independence and a continuing constructive relationship with the United States.
Women in sports
THE success of this year's University of Hawaii Wahine volleyball team came at a time when women's college sports continued on track toward nationwide acceptance and fan appreciation. It also came a month after a federal appeals panel in Boston refused to derail the effort to attain equal status for women's sports on college campuses.
The growth of women's sports at UH, especially in volleyball, demonstrates how equal footing can result in both full-scale participation by women in college athletics as well as fan enthusiasm that can equal or exceed interest in men's sports.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
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