SWEDEN

SWEDEN

Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, May 13: The Pope is traveling to the Holy Land. Or to the site of one of the longest and harshest conflicts of our time: Israel-Palestine.

A trip for peace is his desired headline.

The previous Pope, John Paul II, operated politically in a way that popes hadn’t done since the Reformation and the Counterreformation in the 1500’s. He didn’t tear down the Berlin wall on his own, but his contribution to the fall of communism was significant.

Clumsy

While John Paul II could see the right time for action, Benedict XVI has so far failed in a sensationally clumsy way.

His speeches have been interpreted as offensive by Muslims, while he has been perceived as being unsuspecting about anti-Semitic expressions. On top of that he has managed to drive members away from the church while his predecessor did the opposite.

It is therefore not any new John Paul II who is touring the Middle East. It is an old school Pope, whose voice tough politicians in the region will clearly not listen to.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Herald, May 11: Dire predictions uttered about Pakistan when Gen. Pervez Musharraf stepped down have not been long in coming to fruition. If, as United States special representative Richard Holbrooke insists, the country is not yet a failed state, it is certainly on its knees.

More than anything, (President Barack Obama) wanted an indication that (Pakistani President Asif Ali) Zardari’s (g)overnment can deliver the strong leadership and effective policies that have eluded previous civilian (a)dministrations. ... For the most part, the U.S. has had cause to be disappointed. Rather than confronting the Taliban, the Pakistani leaders’ first impulse has been to seek non-violent solutions.

Difficulty

Therein lies the difficulty in trying to pressure Pakistan. Whatever the pledges made in Washington by the civilian government, these may not be fully translated on the ground.

Another, perhaps more likely, outcome is that yet another tilt at democracy will fail. The Army, despairing of the government’s incompetence, could reclaim control. This process elevated Gen. Musharraf and several other military figures to power. It could easily recur if the Taliban threat grows and the economy becomes even more sickly. It will never be an acceptable alternative. But the good options for Pakistan’s survival as a moderate, democratic nation are rapidly expiring.

BRITAIN

The Times, London, May 13: The United Nations has spoken of a “bloodbath.” Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary-General, was “appalled” at the killing of hundreds of trapped civilians at the weekend, and called for an immediate halt to the Sri Lankan Army’s indiscriminate shelling of the tiny coastal strip, the last hold-out on the island of the rebel Tamil Tigers. But the shelling goes on.

This carnage must stop. Already more than 6,500 civilians have been killed and 14,000 injured in the first four months of the year.

The Sri Lankan Government has been deaf to all entreaty. It sees itself on the verge of victory to end Asia’s longest-running civil war. It believes that the fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are defeated and wants to finish them off.

Use of terror

Of course, the Tigers are at least as guilty (as) Hamas of using terror to achieve their ends, of holding civilians hostage and of blocking their escape. Their tactics are ruthless, their exploitation of human shields inhumane and their moral claims worthless. But that does not justify a campaign of annihilation. If Colombo shows no mercy, it must pay a price.