Need for leadership
This is a really shocking report to read (‘‘We live in uncertainty because we are Muslims’’, Gulf News, June 18). It seems like all over the world, wherever Muslims are in a minority, they are being targeted and killed mercilessly, as if people have been given a free license by the majority government of the respective countries to kill them. It is high time now that an international forum is established, similar to the United Nations (UN), in order to protect Muslims around the world and keep the peace. If this does not happen through an international platform, I fear it may lead to worldwide terrorism, wherein extremist groups such as Al Qaida will emerge to ‘protect’ Muslims. Middle Eastern countries must convene and give serious thought to this issue and take a stand, to be tough with countries wherein Muslims are being killed ruthlessly. Strong moderate leadership among Muslim countries must emerge and it must be powerful, like that of the US, wherein one sentence will be enough to protect their numbers.
From Mr Ejaz Ahmad
Dubai
Peace first
Buddhism is a religion that teaches the world peace and love. The Buddhist monks involved in these incidents need to be corrected first. No religion should be the reason for war. The deaths of innocent human beings teaches us one thing - we must love and respect one another.
From Mr Shan
Dubai
Website comment
Time for action
This has been happening for a year or two, but there has been no response from any country except the US. The US had recently warned the Sri Lankan government to bring the culprits to justice and handle the situation without bias. Sad to see loss of innocent lives and property. Can someone stand up for the innocent people and arrest the Buddhist leader who encourages violence in his speech?
From Mr Abdullah
Dubai
Website comment
Strategy needed
Dark days, months, and years are ahead for radical Buddhists and the innocent lives that will be lost in the days to come. Financial loss to the economy will have severe consequences for the working class.
From Mr Abu Waleed
Sharjah
See for yourself
May Allah protect all Muslims living in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese should not believe what the Boddhu Bala Sena (BBS) or Buddhist Force is saying about the Quran. Please read the Quran for yourself — it is available online. All BBS wants to do is destroy the peace.
From Mr Mohammad Sinaam
Dubai
Disappointing
The people inside such societies would not understand how peacefully we stay here in the UAE, irrespective of our religious backgrounds. Totally disappointed with the incident happened in my home country. The Sri Lankan government should take action to stop these riots and everyone should consider themselves to be Sri Lankans first.
From Mr C. J.
Dubai
Website comment
Misdirected blame
I think the blame lies with the ruling government in Sri Lanka, as the current authorities have failed to act against the culprits, whomsoever they may be, regardless of religious purview.
From Mr Santhosh Raghavan
Dubai
Website comment
Solution
Stamp out radical Islamist fundamentalism, and hopefully tragedies like this will subside.
From Mr Mike Gelbman
UAE
Facebook comment
Killers: Mobile phones in drivers’ hands
I have been living in the UAE for a long time, and I have witnessed the changes in traffic and driving trends on the roads. Talking on cellphones while driving, without a handsfree device, seems to be the order of the day. The worst recent trend is texting while driving. This one I witness every day. Irrespective of age and gender, this new killer trend is going to hurt lot of innocent and law-abiding drivers and residents.
It seems the law enforcement authorities are unable to catch such offenders. I suggest that when someone passes their driving test, they should be given a memo strictly forbidding the use of cellphones while driving. This should be printed in bright red ink and handed over to all new and old drivers. The punishment for these offenses should also be strict from driving license suspension to impounding the car, to heavy fines. These irresponsible drivers not only put their lives in danger but ours, too. It is high time the authorities should do something to stop this nuisance.
From Mr Syed K. Ershad
Sharjah
Major road accidents
A driver is really not meant to do overtime driving. But companies, in order to cut down the expenses. are recruiting fewer drivers for replacement, causing havoc. The Roads and Transport Authority should emphasise on setting up an agency that monitors driving hours on commercial vehicles or labour transport.
Policies like those adopted in the UK and Australia for drivers should be applied, they have a digital or analogue tachometer that can be fitted to monitor the driving hours. A single person is responsible for claiming lives just because he is in a race for earning more money at the cost of others. This would improve the quality of driving on UAE roads. Tachometer is not just a device but a life saving feature if implemented in an effective manner.
From Mr Parminder Singh Gohal
Dubai
Let the games begin!
Despite the unrest and several protests in Brazil, the World Cup has begun with the home country commencing the event in style. Football is undoubtedly a universal game with an audience of 200 million viewers. The next few weeks are going to be amazing for sports enthusiasts.
Men will be men - we will note time differences and set our alarms accordingly to get up early and watch the key matches and undoubtedly arriving at the office sleepy.
While I am sure we all agree that the Brazilian government needs to tend to poverty matters and providing infrastructure and job opportunities, football has eclipsed the unrest in Brazil. The government cannot push all these important issues under the carpet with the World Cup on.
But let the whistle blow and may the best team win the tournament. We are all hungry for this feast!
From Mr P. Vinodhkumar
Dubai
Iran nuclear deal
This opinion article is a blend of a few realities admitted after years of so-called negotiation and some generalities repeated over and over, plus omission of some vital points that is key to solving this drama (‘Iran nuclear deal is possible’, Gulf News, June 14). When Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said in the article that his administration was, this time, negotiating based on realities faced; he is indeed admitting that the sanctions have worked. The West is determined to prevent the Islamic regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.
When Zarif talks generally, he does so without elaborating on the Iranian government’s real peaceful aim, and about how his government has had goodwill from the beginning of interaction with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He fails to show any tangible proof of such claims against signs that indicate otherwise - nobody in the right mind ever believed them.
When Zarif’s team – like previous Iranian negotiators - dodge the fundamental question as to why Iran, an IAEA member and signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, have kept the nuclear program clandestine and secretive, they unwittingly validate far-right wingers in the US, the country that leads the campaign against nuclear Iran. The Iranian government is still opaque about her real aim and her underlying target seems to be to buy time to break out.
Finally when Zarif admits that they were going to keep enrichment level to peaceful energy levels, he in fact admitting to all previous false claims about the the country’s goodwill.
I believe the Iranian government is still mistaken to believe that they can trick people with prolonged talks to get strong enough while at the same time gaining some points in persuading the West with some minor concessions to ease sanctions, that is fundamental in preventing the Iranian regime from becoming strong enough economically and thus militarily.
Here I need to clarify that firstly non-nuclear Middle East – is the right choice for this troubled region. Secondly, within the nuclear negotiation agenda all other major issues that have made the life of ordinary Iranians miserable for the past 35 years should be put on the table once and for all, including human rights, corruption at all levels, and helping other militias in the region to destabilise the Middle East for continuation of their real goal- survival of a non-democratic system at all costs.
From Mr A.F. Arjangian
Dubai
Online hypocrisy
Famous quotes by living or dead legends were never so popular before the advent of Facebook. But now, however, how many people posting quotes actually embody the motivating, moral, and compassionate principles that these quotes convey? I have a friend who is a chain smoker and who posted the negative side of smoking, and there is another who is unfaithful in his relationship but posts about the value of a truthful relationship. I don’t aim to generalize, but Facebook never shows the real character of a person. It could be referred to as ‘Fakebook’ in relation to some people’s character.
From Mr V. H. Unnikrishnan
UAE
Protect our animals
Recently I had the opportunity to see penguins and no, I didn’t travel to see South Pole. Rather these penguins that I saw were in an enclosed facility at a mall for people to spectate. Was I excited to see them? Yes! Was I happy to see them? I am not so sure.
I wondered how they must feel being away from their familiar habitats. To those that may argue that they are kept in such facilities for their own protection as they are endangered, I pose the question ‘Why are they endangered?’ The answer is simple; some people are ruthless and find killing such animals to be profitable. We, the people, are the cause for endangering millions of animals. The penguins that I saw don’t deserve to be confined for our pleasure, just like we wouldn’t like to be confined for someone else’s pleasure.
Despite all this there is no denying the fact that we have accomplished many things in this world. There are good and kind people in this world who strive to protect our planet, we just need to look hard enough.
From Mr Roshan Sageer
UAE
Learning to be bored!
At last, some common sense (‘Don’t schedule all your kids’ free time’, Gulf News, June 14). I know children who had every hour after school filled with activities away from home and every school holiday they were sent to camps. They were absolutely incapable of amusing themselves and wouldn’t be left to their own devices, even in their late teens! They expected endless costly activities in the end and just couldn’t cope if they weren’t provided for them. There is nothing wrong with them being bored occasionally or lazing around the house. They will learn to fill their time when you stop paying out loads of money to do it for them.
From Ms Nicky Coulthard
Doha, Qatar
Facebook comment
Padded goalposts
Safety should be of the utmost concern in whatever we do. And so it is imperative that the upright metal posts of the football goal posts are constructed with adequate padding to prevent any fatal injuries to the goalkeepers. Injuries due to head-on collisions with the post, while diving in to save a goal can be avoided by this simple solution. Since football has already seen such unfortunate incidents, why delay enforcing this precautionary measure?
From Mr Subhasis Mukherjee
Dubai
Rush hour parking
In response to the recent report on authorities fining people who park in handicapped parking spots, I would say - instead of placing fines on everything, focus on increasing the parking spaces. There is a lot of difficulty in finding parking spaces - especially during rush hour. I do not see considerable effort in increasing parking spaces. All residential and office buildings should have mandatory parking spaces inside. I never park in these areas, but when I see lots of empty spaces during rush hour, it makes me feel bad. I fully support parking for handicapped people, but please also think about others.
From Mr Salman J. Seddiqi
Abu Dhabi
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