Editorials
Wednesday, October 14, 1998

Cease-fire in Kosovo
may be only temporary

NEGOTIATORS have averted a crisis in the southern Yugoslav region of Kosovo, but the agreement provides little assurance that it is more than a winter postponement of further violence between Serbs and ethnic Albanians. Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milosevic's avowed support for eventual Kosovo self-rule within Serbia lacks credibility, while separatist ethnic Albanians continue to demand independence for Kosovo. Achieving lasting peace remains an elusive goal.

NATO and U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke can claim success in forcing Milosevic to stop the violence, particularly against helpless civilians, allow verification of compliance with U.N. resolutions and agree to negotiations on a settlement. Milosevic says he will agree to hold elections within nine months in Kosovo and restore autonomy, which was stripped away in 1989. The West supports Kosovar autonomy within Serbia, one of the two remaining states of Yugoslavia, to avoid further instability in the Balkans.

However, the Kosovo Liberation Army was not a party to the agreement and finds Kosovo autonomy within Serbia unacceptable. The KLA insists that Kosovo's people be granted the right to self-determination and full independence after a three-year interim period. The Serbs insist that they will never relinquish Kosovo, where a famous battle between Serbs and Turks was fought in 1389.

Despite those differences, the cease-fire is a relief for 250,000 Albanian Kosovars who are homeless as winter begins, following the destruction of their villages. Humanitarian aid will be facilitated by the presence of 2,000 unarmed "compliance verifiers" from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and "aerial verification" by NATO surveillance planes. The threat of NATO air strikes remains in place should Milosevic renege.

Both the Serbs and the Kosovar separatists are likely to accept the agreement at least as a winter reprieve. What happens after that will be determined by negotiations that will be more difficult than those that led to the cease-fire.

HPU’s expansion

IN Hawaii's stagnant economy, Hawaii Pacific University is a rare exception. In 1976, when Chatt Wright became president of what was then Hawaii Pacific College, it had 200 students taking classes in two downtown buildings. Today HPU is the state's largest private university, with 8,400 students on two campuses and on military bases. The annual budget in 1976 was $750,000. This year it's $64 million.

But HPU isn't stopping there. It is planning to expand its Kaneohe campus, the former Hawaii Loa College, relocating most of its downtown facilities. Wright said the school intends to double or triple the academic plant, raise enrollment to 10,000 students and increase the endowment from the current $47 million to $100 million in the next five years.

HPU acquired the Hawaii Loa campus six years ago but the school facilities occupy only a fraction of the 135 acres. Currently nearly 3,000 HPU students shuttle between the downtown and Windward campuses. The school occupies 11 buildings on or near the Fort Street Mall.

Expansion at the Windward campus couldn't be undertaken immediately because the city sewer system was at capacity and no new hookups were allowed. Now that problem no longer exists. HPU is revising its strategic plan and hopes to start the move to Windward in the next three to five years.

The student body is about one-third Hawaii residents, one-third mainlanders and one-third from foreign countries. This puts HPU in the forefront of the effort to make Hawaii an educational center for the Pacific region, along with the East-West Center and the state university. Unlike the other institutions, HPU is privately owned. No taxpayer money supports it.

The economic problems in East Asia are making life here more difficult for students from those countries, but HPU is pursuing its expansion anyway. More emphasis is being placed on recruiting in Europe because of Asia's difficulties.

HPU is turning to practical advantage all the rhetoric about Hawaii's attractions -- balmy climate, scenic beauty, cosmopolitan atmosphere, ethnic diversity, a safe and clean environment and mid-Pacific location -- to bring thousands of students here from the mainland and foreign countries. HPU is showing that education can be an important part of the mix in diversifying the state's economy.

Testing supplements

MILLIONS of Americans who take dietary supplements ought to welcome word that the $4 billion industry is beginning to test its products. Until now most consumers had little to go on beyond faith and folklore about the efficacy of the pills they are taking. There has been no proof of many of the claims made for the supplements.

Now two companies -- Paracelsian Inc. and PharmaPrint Inc. -- are trying to determine exactly what is in these remedies, which are not policed by the Food and Drug Administration like prescription drugs.

Dr. H.B. Matthews of the National Institutes of Health says testing "is a step in the right direction."

The testing movement is a response to growing complaints about the quality and effectiveness of the supplements. Even if a specific herb is beneficial, there is currently no assurance that a product contains a consistent dose of the effective ingredients.

Both companies are putting herbs through the same lab tests that prescription medicines must pass. This is new for the supplements industry but could be critical for its full acceptance. Testing should eliminate some if not all false claims and give consumers more confidence.

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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