Letters to the Editor [Archives:2002/06/Letters to the Editor]

Comment on Article:
India and Pakistan: Between Wax and Wane
I came across your article titled India and Pakistan: Between Wax and Wane. No doubt the writer has commented very openly on the possible US role in diffusing tensions and also that why it is in USAs interest to continue preserving tensions between the two countries. What I would like to add here is that Pakistan is itself to share the blame to some extent of what is going on in the region.
First of all Pakistan’s foreign policies have always been in a sea-saw fashion, reflecting the frequent change in the governments in the past 10 years or so. Secondly the policies come into play only when a certain need arises otherwise Pakistan is often seen to lapse in periods of hibernation regarding improvement of its foreign relations with not only the USA, but its immediate neighbors.
Right now Pakistan is relying too heavily on China. But if it had improvised and made the right moves, we would be witnessing good relationships with the likes of Iran, Uzbekistan, and most importantly Russia. The irresponsible attitude by Pakistan towards its immediate neighbors has given India the chance of extending its allies in the region. It can be noted here that a faction such as the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan which was and will remain a Muslim faction consisting of those fighters who had driven the Soviet Union out of it’s borders, enjoys good relations with India. On the other hand, Pakistan which is not only geographically closer but also shares religious and cultural ties with that community had almost cut off all relations with the Alliance. That is why Pakistan is now facing a not so friendly neighbor on its western borders also.
This is the era of diplomacy, and Pakistan on its diplomatic fronts has been lacking either on the improvisation and planning of its diplomatic relations or on the point method of application. The result is that Pakistan has limited support and the only meaningful support that it is getting is from a non-Muslim country, namely China. The Arab world and the OIC are just silent spectators watching the drama unfold. In fact, the OIC has only one thing to say about all this. That being: Oh, I See!
Mohammed Ather
[email protected]
Karachi, Pakistan
Attack against Yemen Unjustifiable
We observe with concern the vicious attack by the western media against our beloved country, YEMEN and its leadership, under the pretext of the so called war against terrorism.
I hope the western media realizes that His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been always against terrorism and continues to stand as a pioneer defender of peace and democracy in the region.
Mustapha Ahmed Abdulmoula
[email protected]
Responding to another Letter to the Editor:
The Yemen Times is not the New York Times
A recent writer (Letters to the Editor, January 21-27, 2002) criticized the Yemen Times for concentrating on tribal problems and internal strife, while appearing to ignore problems in other countries – such as the U.S. – which he states have far greater crimes and problems. He further states that Yemenis are shot without reason, apparently implying that Yemenis are targeted in the U.S.
There is no question that there are incidents where foreigners are targeted by isolated, deranged persons, in extremely rare situations; but I know of no one who has been specifically targeted for violence, because they were from Yemen. In fact, since September 11, I have been very sensitive to such targeting, and have questioned many of my foreign friends and associates as to whether they have felt any sense of discrimination. Happily, they have not. The same cannot be said for people such as the crusading al-Queda group and their sympathizers, whose goal appears to involve killing of non-Muslims in general, and Americans in particular.
The writer seems to not understand that your publication is the Yemen Times, and as such, should report on incidents and problems, in Yemen. In the U.S., publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post are filled with our own internal and very embarrassing difficulties. And we do have a greater number of problems than you, in Yemen; we also have a far greater population which, in part, accounts for the greater volume of difficulties.
Finally, if your writer would read new American publications, he would realize that we do not hold ourselves up to have all the morals, as he states. We are a very self-critical people, as a rule. We continually point out our own faults, in the hope that such reporting will allow us to learn from our mistakes, and become better than we are, over time.
Don Barrick
[email protected]
Response to Some Letters of Last Issue
I’ve been reading some letters to the editor published last week issue 5 and somehow I feel the urge to respond to some. To Khalil I say: You stand for the modern Muslim way of thinking. With guys like you, I doubt that we could ever lose the war about being we truly are. Please continue to stand up for the rights of our men.
To Leyla I respond: We need not to know whether you are an American Yemeni or not. Be what you want but be fair and let the world know the chaos in the USA. After all, isnt that the birth place of millions of Monica Lewinskis and Bill Clintons? To the guys urging us to learn English, I say learn the Quran first. It is the only way to be liberated from bondage and oppression.
Salem S.
[email protected]
Send Good News, Please!
It is unfortunate that it seems that your paper has nothing good to inform us (Yemenis abroad) from time to time. It is sad enough for us, Yemenis that we have to live away from home to earn a living and instead of expecting to hear the good things through your paper, all we get is the news of kidnapping. Please let us know something good, instead.
Khalil Alkathiri
[email protected]
Germany
Dear Khalil,
I understand your feelings, but the newspaper is obliged to communicate to you the most important breaking news items, but it is not obliged to create good news. The responsibility in that lies on our government!
Editor
Introducing Muslim News Watch
Through your publication, I would like to introduce our establishment Muslim News Watch to your readers. Discourse can avoid conflicts. Muslim News Watch tries to inform you of more correct news and views on the world. The responsibility of any news media is to tell the truth. Since in a war, this truth varies according to which side you are, we thought we would give you news of the world from a Muslim perspective.
To date more than 2,000 US soldiers have been killed in the Afghan war, as opposed to one (or seven) officially acknowledged in US. It is the current practice to hide news during a war in order to either discourage the enemy or mislead them.
The bodies of the dead soldiers are being kept in Pakistan in special coffins. Here are the names of two Americans who died in Afghanistan during a bomb attack by Taliban elements: 1. Ronald Stephen Leigh, Houston, Texas & 2. Michael Simon Watkins, Los Angeles, California.
On September 11, 2001, the attack on WTC triggered a war on Islam. During the ongoing war with Islam, we will try to give you our version of the news. It is important to note that there were no Arabs or Muslims on any of the flights. Do not take our word for it. The list is still available at :
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/AA11.victims.html
An Metet
Muslim News Watch

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