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Editorials
Thursday, February 3, 2000Relieving traffic tie-
ups along Waianae CoastLAST week's police standoff with an armed man blocked traffic for 13 hours on Farrington Highway at Nanakuli, a major inconvenience for commuters on their way home at the end of the workday. If road blockages of such extreme duration were commonplace, the need for alternative access to the Leeward coast would be urgent. That is not the case.The issue: A police standoff that blocked traffic along the Waianae Coast for hours has prompted calls for an alternative route.
In cases of emergency, an alternative route to the coast already exists: Kolekole Road, a military road that crosses the Waianae range from Schofield Barracks to Lualualei Naval Reservation. The Navy has an agreement with state Civil Defense to open the road for civilian traffic in cases of emergency.
Indeed, Kolekole Road was opened at 3 p.m. last Thursday, about an hour and a half after the police standoff with Dominic Kealoha began.
Commuter Mike Duarte said it took him 90 minutes to get home. The Waianae High School softball team rode in vans through Kolekole Pass and arrived for its game at Roosevelt High School with time to spare.
The last time Kolekole Pass had been opened for civilian traffic was in 1986, when a gas truck overturned in Nanakuli, blocking all four lanes of traffic on Farrington Highway.
The Legislature three years ago approved $1 million to study the possibility of a mauka highway on the Waianae Coast, but Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae-Maili-Makaha) said the study estimated the cost at $500 million, which did not include the cost of land acquisition. Governor Cayetano's spokeswoman said the governor has rejected the idea of a bypass road because the state couldn't afford the estimated cost of $1 billion.
Moreover, some Leeward residents oppose such a road because it would threaten the area's rural character. There might also be protests from environmental and native Hawaiian groups. Such opposition stalled the H-3 freeway project for decades.
A more modest undertaking could involve improvement and connection of existing roads mauka of Farrington Highway between Nanakuli and Makaha, allowing traffic to be diverted in the event of Farrington's blockage. Waianae Neighborhood Board Chairwoman Cynthia Rezentes said Mayor Harris is committed to improving Waianae back roads for this purpose.
A second major highway cannot be justified because of the inconvenience caused by a police standoff -- a rare event that may not be repeated for decades.
Indonesia’s president
tests his authorityAN order by Indonesia's president that a prominent general leave his cabinet post has raised the question of civilian authority over a military establishment that has been all-powerful for most of the nation's history.
President Abdurrahman Wahid said General Wiranto, who commanded the armed forces during the carnage last year in East Timor, should resign immediately as minister for political and security affairs.
Wahid made the statement in London after a government commission charged that the armed forces and their militia surrogates conducted an orchestrated campaign of mass killing, torture, deportation and rape in East Timor. Six generals, including Wiranto, were identified as potential subjects of criminal prosecution.
Wiranto initially ignored Wahid's statement -- it wasn't clear that he had been officially notified -- but was expected to yield eventually. However, until Wiranto complies the situation will be unsettling.
This is the first real test of Wahid's authority since he assumed office three months ago. Although the president has growing support for his efforts to establish democracy after decades of authoritarian rule, there is an outside chance that the military may attempt a coup.
International support for Wahid was underscored yesterday when his government won $4.7 billion in aid from major donors to help pull the country out of its severe recession. The money came with a clear warning against any attempts to undermine the democratically elected government.
Wahid dismissed fears that the dispute could spark a coup among disgruntled elements of the military. But financial markets fell on fear of a coup.
Analysts said the military is too divided to form a cohesive group to fight back against Wahid. A coup would probably result in a cutoff of foreign aid and could even spark a civil war in a country that is already plunged into turmoil. In short, it would be a disaster.
However, the recent military coup in Pakistan illustrates the fragility of democratic government in much of Asia. It would be naive to take its survival for granted in Indonesia, which experienced its first free elections only last year.
The West should reiterate its support for democracy and its opposition to military intervention in Indonesia.
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
