ACT: What the newspapers are saying today Tuesday April 20

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-1999
ACT: What the newspapers are saying today Tuesday April 20

SYDNEY, April 20 AAP - Indonesian President BJ Habibie must be left in no doubt that
Australia insisted on the disarming of militia groups in East Timor, The Australian said in
its editorial today.

Jakarta has put forward the spurious argument that rogue elements of the military were
supporting the militias.

"But the evidence of the weekend killings suggests the military even up to the level of the
Dili commander, not only back the militias but will not take action to stop the violence," The
Australian said.

"Indonesia's friends cannot stand back and just wring their hands: they must be prepared to
take action to ensure the militias are disarmed and that the rogue elements of the military
are removed from the province."

The Daily Telegraph said Prime Minister John Howard must meet with President Habibie as
soon as possible to discuss the East Timorese crisis.

"It is in Australia's interest that Indonesian stability does not disappear completely
under military pressure, just as it was vital for us to ward off the worst of consequences of
economic collapse."

The Sydney Morning Herald said the responsibility for the bloodshed in East Timor rested
with the Indonesian armed forces ABRI.

It said given ABRI's "conspicuous failure of responsibility to protect the lives of East
Timorese citizens, the questions of outside peace keeping forces will become increasingly
pressing".

Australia must do everything it could to help the UN intervene in East Timor at the
earliest opportunity, The Canberra Times said.

"All the signs point to tragedy," the newspaper said.

The Canberra Times said the Australian military leadership, with its strong ties to
Indonesian counterparts, should be part of the diplomatic offensive.

The Adelaide Advertiser said Indonesian military officers behind violence in East Timor
must be reined in.

"The Indonesian puppet master army officers behind the militias must be curbed.

"On our doorstep a triumph or tragedy in unfolding. Whether Mr Howard is equal to this
greatest foreign policy test of an Australian government in a generation will be one of the
determinants of his prime ministership," The Adelaid Advertisers said.

The Herald Sun said East Timor was a developing Kosovo on Australia's doorstep, and that
the unfolding crisis was Australia's problem.

"And as the tragic lines of Kosovo refugees continue to seek sanctuary in surrounding
countries, we can expect much closer to home a repeat of 1975 when boatloads of wounded,
terrified refugees sailed to Darwin across the Timor sea."

The Herald Sun said the plight of the Timorese people was again threatening Australia's
relations with its most populous neighbour.

The Age said the UN must immediately send a substantial team to East Timor to determine how
best to stop the killing.

"If ABRI is simply sitting on its hands as East Timor tears itself apart, or even more
reprehensible, promoting that outcome, then clearly the international community must move to
restore order."

It was time for Australia to harness its long-cultured relationship with Indonesia in a
more positive and forceful manner, The Age said.

The Australian Financial Review said the scenario of a sizable budget surplus for 1999-00
might tempt the government to give back some of the dividends from the strong economy but such
thoughts should be resisted.

"Fiscal firmness should be maintained for many reasons. The real economy does not require a
relaxation in fiscal settings, with growth remaining strong, unemployment falling and with the
current account deficit uncomfortably wide."

The 1999-00 budget should continue the government's push towards fiscal reform and debt
elimination.

"It must hold its nerve and and lock in the budget surpluses to build national savings and
work structurally to lower the current account deficit," The Australian Financial Review said.

The Brisbane Courier-Mail said if independent Senators Brian Harradine and Mal Colston
support the government's tax package in the Senate, they should do it on a full-blooded basis.

The GST was a much-needed tax reform but it was not a cure-all for the Australian economy.

"It is about economic efficiency through making the tax system more rational.

"The key question for the government is whether its compensation package is sufficient to
ensure Mr Howard's pledge that no one will be worse off under the new system holds true," The
Courier-Mail said.

AAP cfm

KEYWORD: EDITORIALS

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