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Editorials
Friday, February 18, 2000Legislature must
restrict fireworksYOU can forget about a total ban on fireworks in this session of the Legislature. The lead Senate negotiator on the fireworks issue, Cal Kawamoto, said his side has withdrawn its call for a ban, recognizing that the House is opposed.The issue: House-Senate negotiators have met on fireworks legislation.
Instead, Kawamoto said, the Senate is proposing that the counties establish a permitting system with a limit of 500 firecrackers per person and a 24-hour purchase period.
House and Senate conferees on the fireworks issue met Wednesday night for the first time since last April.
The demise of the push for a total ban is regrettable. After the experience of last New Year's Eve, it should be obvious that the situation has gotten out of hand and extreme measures are needed. Governor Cayetano agrees.
The governor pointed out that "there are some people who every New Year's Eve have no escape. These are the folks who have respiratory illnesses. Every New Year's Eve, the emergency room at Queen's and all the other hospitals are filled to capacity, sometimes over capacity, because people get sick."
While the polls show many people support using fireworks, lawmakers should protect the interests of the minority whose illnesses are aggravated, Cayetano said.
However, even a tightening of the fireworks law that fell short of a total ban might be beneficial and should be pursued if a ban is unattainable.
The Senate wants fireworks allowed only for religious and cultural purposes, defined by the counties, Kawamoto said. This could be a significant restriction if properly enforced, but the term cultural should be narrowly defined to prevent its use to circumvent the intent of the law.
The respective houses' positions on the number of firecrackers that could be sold per person and on the sales period are not too far apart. The House proposes a 1,800-firecracker limit and a 48-hour sales period. Even that would be preferable to current law, which contains no limit on sales and bans only aerial fireworks.
In addition, Kawamoto noted, the House and the Senate are close on proposals to increase penalties for the possession and use of aerial fireworks and a new system to monitor the importation of aerials for public fireworks shows. These are important elements of effective regulation.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Eric Hamakawa, the lead House negotiator, said his side would review the Senate's latest draft of the bill.
Despite the apparent demise of the proposed ban, at last something is happening to move fireworks legislation. There is reason to hope that the lawmakers will enact effective restrictions this year. They must.
Indonesian general
accepts suspensionIndonesia's shaky government gained a measure of stability when President Abdurrahman Wahid suspended the former commander of the armed forces from his cabinet position without -- so far -- provoking a coup.
Wahid also ordered his attorney general to follow up the findings of an inquiry that implicated six generals, including the suspended Wiranto, in the attacks on civilians by paramilitary groups in East Timor last September. Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said the trials for those accused in the East Timor atrocities would begin within three months.
Wiranto, who denies any wrongdoing, was in command of the armed forces when pro-Jakarta militias backed by soldiers launched a campaign of death and destruction after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly to throw off Indonesia's rule. The crucial question was whether the general would submit to civilian authority.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, visiting in Jakarta, praised Wahid's reforms and his efforts to curb the military's political power. But Annan warned that calls for a U.N. tribunal for East Timor would be revived if Indonesia failed to punish those responsible.
"The signs are all around us that serious efforts are being made to transform the society," Annan said. "For the first time in many decades, the civilian authority over the military is being asserted."
Annan warned that separatist demands around the Indonesian archipelago posed one of the nation's greatest challenges. In fact, East Timor's choice of independence in a referendum seems to have encouraged violent protests by separatist groups elsewhere in Indonesia.
The ouster of Wiranto is being viewed as perhaps the decisive moment for Wahid's presidency in the effort to bring the military under civilian control. Wiranto represented the conservative element of a long-dominant military that distrusted civilian rule.
The ailing president's erratic style has left serious questions about the effectiveness of his leadership. Keeping the military leashed will be essential to the success of the government, which has faced challenge after challenge since the ouster of former President Suharto nearly two years ago.
However, thus far Wahid's tactics have worked. His efforts to preserve democracy in Southeast Asia's largest country deserve Washington's encouragement and support.
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
