Editorials
Wednesday, February 25, 1998THE collapse of several East Asian economies could have major political consequences. One of the more worrisome situations is in Indonesia, where the nation's fragile stability is already showing signs of stress. Indonesia should
pull out of East TimorIn a talk here, Jose Ramos Horta, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize and a veteran international campaigner for independence for his homeland of East Timor from Indonesia, described Indonesia as a volcano that could erupt at any time. He urged the United States to work for a peaceful transfer of power in Indonesia and to tell President Suharto "it is time to leave." He also asked Washington to endorse an Indonesian withdrawal from East Timor, which has continued to resist the military occupation. The citation for Ramos Horta's Nobel prize accused Indonesia of "systematically oppressing the people."
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 after the newly democratic government of Portugal ended its administration of the colony. As Ramos Horta noted, the United States, still smarting from its humiliation in Vietnam, was not disposed to get involved. Washington may have also shared Jakarta's concern that a leftist group had come to power in the former colony at a time when the Cold War was still the United States' prime concern.
Indonesia is a huge country of 200 million people and East Timor is very small. The world assumes that the Indonesian occupation is irreversible. But Ramos Horta, in his talk before the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, pointed out that few anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberation of the nations of Eastern Europe, a modern illustration of the fact that even the strongest empires eventually crumble.
Suharto used repression to bring a measure of stability to Indonesia for 30 years but recent rioting against Chinese shopkeepers is a warning that another explosion comparable to the turmoil of the mid-1960s may be developing. The president is 77, in poor health, and his administration has been discredited by the economic collapse.
As Ramos Horta suggested, the United States should use its influence to promote a peaceful transition from the Suharto era and avert turmoil. The failure of the Jakarta government to win acceptance of its presence by the people of East Timor after more than two decades of occupation indicates that Washington should also be prodding the Indonesians to withdraw.
THERE is ample ground for suspicion regarding U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's deal with Saddam Hussein. The Iraqis are claiming victory. That in itself is unsettling, because a victory for Saddam would be a defeat for world peace. It would mean the U.N. didn't really demand full inspection rights. Annan's agreement
Annan received a hero's welcome by cheering United Nations staff members when he arrived at the world organization's headquarters from Baghdad. But so did Neville Chamberlain in 1939 when the British prime minister returned to London from Munich, announcing that he brought "peace in our time." Hitler was not to be trusted; neither is Saddam. We can only hope Annan is less credulous than Chamberlain was.
The world is relieved that the threatened U.S. bombing of Iraq will not occur -- at least for now. President Clinton must be relieved that he will not have to incur the wrath of the opponents of bombing, both foreign and domestic. But he is wisely insisting on Iraq's performance to back up its pledges, threatening to proceed with an attack if the performance is lacking.
What this latest episode shows is that world opinion is turning against enforcement of the U.N. demands on Iraq. If -- or should it be when? -- Saddam again violates his pledges it will be even harder for Washington to muster support for punitive action.
THE claim by flea-marketeers at public parks that T-shirts are a fundamental medium of expression protected by the First Amendment can be put to rest. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a ban on the sale of T-shirts on the Washington Mall and at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the capital. T-shirt vendors in Waikiki were similarly unsuccessful more than a year ago in trying to get the high court's ear, and the recent refusal tends to affirm such bans at Diamond Head and other parks. T-shirt vendors
T-shirt vendors, claiming nonprofit status, created a blight and safety hazard on Kalakaua Avenue, underpricing legitimate merchants who pay rent and taxes. Like the Waikiki vendors, seven nonprofit groups in Washington argued that a National Park Service ban on such T-shirt sales in federal parks stifles "a unique, vital and widely accepted mode of communication -- the sale of message-bearing merchandise."
The argument fails to recognize that the primary purpose of a T-shirt -- unlike newspapers, books and handbills -- is clothing, and any message it may carry is secondary. Major shoe and clothing manufacturers such as Nike and Reebok have succeeded in duping purchasers of their apparel into being their human billboards. That doesn't mean that people buy their products as advertisements, even though they are willing -- even eager -- to wear garments with labels on the outside.
People are free to roam public parks and sidewalks wearing T-shirts bearing whatever message they wish to convey -- commercial, political or otherwise. The constitutionally protected right of freedom of expression is abused only when used as a pretext for establishing a retail vending outlet on public property where it would otherwise be prohibited.
The message is protected by the First Amendment. Sale of the garment is not.
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
