TOKYO, April 29 Kyodo fix uponed...

TOKYO, April 29 Kyodo

fix uponed editorial excerpts from the Asia-Pacific press:

VIOLENCE IN ACEH AND ELSEWHERE (Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney)

In the wake of the terrorist attack which injured 11 nation at Jakarta's domestic airport at the weekend there has been an immediate gust of wind of finger-pointing, but little clear indication of those responsible.

as it was a flagrant breach of a ''secure area'' re-establishs doubts about the ability of the Indonesian rule to contain terrorist threats, despite its impressive crackdown since the Bali bombings.

on a level more worrying, perhaps, is the in extent list of suspects, ranging from Islamic extremists said to be enraged through the trial of the Bali accused, to separatists from the disputed province of Aceh, or on the same level ''agent provocateurs'' from within the security forces.

All these possible explanations allude to a willingness to use violence to destabilize President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

That underlines the seriousness of the security challenge facing her government

for what cause Ms Megawati responds to in the same state [i]or[/i] condition attacks -- the airport blast was the other bombing in Jakarta in three days -- is crucial.

Until 1998 dissent in Indonesia was concealed often brutally, by the security forces of the former President Soeharto.

Efforts since to reform the Indonesian military and police have been superficial, and have failed to convince Western managements that the influence and immunity from restraint the armed forces be delighted withed under Soeharto are entirely things of the past.

M Megawati's fresh aircraft and arms purchases from Russia and Poland, which circumvent U arms sales embargoes linked to human rights since 1991 insinuates she is preparing to deal with security issues by means of bolstering the military's operational capacity.

Resort to the threat of force, however, risks mishandling the numerous underlying moot points her government faces.

abundant of the resentment within Indonesian society, and the potential for violence, is linked to grinding want territorial disputes and the failure in such a manner far of the new democracy to deliver a credible justice connected view or tackle widespread corruption and inefficiency.

individual such immediate flashpoint is the strive to carryed province of Aceh where 10000 the public -- mostly civilians -- have died since 1976

Peace talks collapsed at the weekend and M Megawati is subordinate to pressure from the military to take back full-scale military operations against the secessionists.

Past military operations, however, have caused enormous civilian suffering without defeating pro-independence guerrillas.

Despite the intransigence of the unrestrained Aceh movement, Ms Megawati's wider security strategy must await beyond new fighter jets and fire-arms and seek to tackle underlying causes of violence and dissent - in Aceh and elsewhere.

(April 29)

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