Editorials
Wednesday, September 8, 1999World must intervene
to halt Timor slaughterTHE world community must intervene quickly and decisively in East Timor to stop a brutal attempt to nullify the people's call for independence in a United Nations-sponsored plebiscite. Indonesian soldiers and police are aiding and supplementing the terror tactics of pro-Indonesian militias, making a mockery of their responsibility to maintain order.The issue: Indonesian soldiers and police are terrorizing East timor in an attempt to reverse a plebiscite favoring independence for the territory.
The issues are human rights, self-determination, the authority of the United Nations and the danger of instability in Southeast Asia's most populous nation.
The government in Jakarta declared martial law in East Timor, but there was much skepticism that the order would be helpful. The army is already present in force in the disputed territory and seems to have done nothing to stop the violence.
Witnesses said soldiers were forcing thousands of East Timorese to march to the docks and board ships out of the war-torn province. Meanwhile abandoned town and city centers burned. East Timor's spiritual leader, Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo, winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, saw his home torched and was among those forced to flee.
B.J. Habibie, who succeeded the discredited President Suharto last year, had reversed Suharto's policy of refusing to consider independence for the half-island territory, which was seized by Suharto in 1975 after Portugal withdrew from its former colony.
But Habibie appears to have lost control of the army. The generals seem bent on negating the results of the plebiscite, which overwhelmingly favored independence. They reportedly fear that granting independence to East Timor would encourage unrest in other parts of the island nation.
The world community has just completed the air assault that ended with the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo, and is understandably not eager for another such military intervention. But the U.N. role in the plebiscite implies a responsibility to ensure that its results are respected -- even if it means the use of force to restore order.
Indonesian Defense Minister Gen. Wiranto rejected an international force, saying "we have all the capability to handle the situation." But the reality is that the army refuses to do its duty. Instead, it is a part -- probably the biggest part -- of the problem.
Australia, Indonesia's neighbor to the south, which has long been concerned over the stability of the country, has offered to contribute 2,000 peacekeepers. Indonesia's Asian neighbors, despite their reluctance to intervene in another nation's internal affairs, should also participate. The United States should support such an operation, although preferably not in a leading role as in Kosovo.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright demanded the Indonesians either calm East Timor or "allow the international community to come in." It is becoming clear that the second of these alternatives is the only realistic one, unless Habibie immediately demonstrates that he can control his generals.
Teachers strike over
merit pay planPUBLIC schools in Detroit have been beset by chronically low test scores, attendance and graduation rates. Now the teachers have added union troubles to the schools' problems.
After rebelling against proposed reforms that included longer school days and merit pay, thousands of striking teachers were poised to return to class under a tentative agreement reached on Labor Day with the school board.
About 180,000 students missed the first week of the school year after teachers refused to sign a contract extension. The teachers rejected proposals made by the district's new chief executive, who was hired to turn the troubled school system around.
The teachers walked out in defiance of a Michigan law that bars teacher strikes and fines them one day's pay for each day they strike. Legislative leaders said they would move to seek sanctions against the teachers. We hope they do.
The pact lowers some elementary class sizes and cracks down on teacher absenteeism. The district withdrew its proposal for a longer work day -- 6 hours to 81/2 hours -- and left merit pay out of the contract, leaving that to be decided by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission.
David Adamy, chief executive of the school district, said, "We probably accomplished about two-thirds of the proposals for greater accountability in this district." But the defeat of merit pay -- and the loss of instruction time during the strike -- are discouraging.
The union said the criteria for the merit pay system were unclear and could allow administrators to reward undeserving teachers.
That argument is familiar but unpersuasive. It's the old union idea that everybody, slackers and overachievers alike, should get the same pay regardless of performance. But in education the principle is especially unfortunate.
Merit pay is necessary to provide incentives and recognition for outstanding teachers. The Hawaii school system, like Detroit's, badly needs improvement, which means among other things better teaching. Teachers who will strike rather than accept merit pay provisions leave the public wondering about their commitment to education.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert 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
