The tragedy in Beslan

I watched the seemingly inevitable, unfolding tragedy in Beslan with horror. The sight of the terrified children and their grief-stricken parents was heart-rending, a scenario parents everywhere in the world would utterly dread. Yet despite these natural feelings, we do need to realise that events such as these have real, definite causes and reflect a profound failure both of political leadership and policy in Chechnya.

Formerly loving Chechen mothers and wives could never originally have intended ever to strap on explosive belts or kill children. Only the most dire experiences could have affected this transformation. Please let us seek a political settlement that guarantees the safety and dignity of all.

Can politicians please show their (supposed) strength and stature by working for peace?

Phil Hong

 

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The EU Position Towards the Russian Hostage-Drama

I've learnt with great astonishment from the displayed indignation of the Russian government that more than 300 persons were killed. The EU issued a statement about ending the hostage-drama in the school in Beslan by a Russian military.

The Russian government is judicially and morally obliged to start an independent inquiry after the real or alleged responsibility of the Russian security-forces. This is of utmost importance regarding the fact that in former hostage-actions Russian security troops made themselves guilty of taking irresponsible risks with the lives of the hostages. They also committed extra-judicial executions against the hostage-takers.

Further it is a characteristic of the EU policy to ventilate relevant criticism regarding the above mentioned serious incidents as the ending of the hostage-drama. The EU also abstains from fundamental criticism regarding the Russian political-military conduct in republics like Chechnya. In these republics, there are serious Russian human rights violations and war-crimes against the civilian population. These policies have led to very condemnable terrorist attacks like the recently committed hostage-drama in Beslan.

Therefore it is of the greatest importance that the EU uses political pressure to persuade the Russian government to maintain the universally accepted human rights rules.

Astrid Essed, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 

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Western Involvement in the Middle East

Dear Ms. Reems,

I try to listen to your show whenever I have time. I feel that your show is one of increasingly shrinking U.S media sources, able to maintain balance on a wide variety of subjects.

As of late, there have been many documentaries on terrorism and terrorists, however, with the exception of NPR's series on western involvement in the Middle East, no other mainstream media source seems to have the moral courage to address this issue. As pointed out in NPR's recent series, from the Crusades to the multiple invasions of Iraq by Britain, to the 1953 overthrow of Iran's government by the CIA to invasions and later division of the Middle East and Africa by the France and others (to include events surrounding the Suez Canal and the Berlin Conference of 1885), to events surrounding the creation of the present state of Israel, and of course the extermination of Palestinian people with U.S support, continue to play major roles in today's conflicts. These are only a few of many incidents which show that interventions by the west have always been about conquest, not spreading democracy as historians and other media sources tell us.

Presenting this history is important for many reasons, however, two of the most important are; answering the question "why do they hate us" as most U.S media sources ask. And, by the west owning up to its history in the region, we can possibly avoid repeating the same mistakes as we have in the current occupation of Iraq.

Until western countries (especially the U.S) find the courage to confront this history head on, there is no need in speaking of spreading peace and democracy anywhere.

Timothy Stinson, Miami, Florida

 

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DO THE RIGHT THING: get rid of Bush.

I hope and pray that the American people have now seen the true intentions of George w. Bush. He is not interested in the good of the world, he is driving ever forward to make the USA an even bigger bully boy than it is now.

Under him, we will have more wars more destruction more killing more misery, what kind of person would want this?

If you were to ask a true human being if he would like to become mega rich but the price his fellow human beings would pay for his fortune would be death, misery, occupation, more war, I would bet my soul that the true human being would refuse the offer.

At the end of the day who benefits from this American and British aggression? The rich do. Who and does anyone really think they care about the working class people?

The true terrorists of this world are the USA the UK and their hangers on. If these nations are so intent on helping the human race why are they not in the Sudan stopping their terrible conflict?

The answer is that the Sudan has got nothing we need or want, so they can go it alone. if the Sudan had a wealth of oil the USA and the UK would have been in there like a shot telling everyone what kind nations they are saving the Sudanese while at the same time taking their oil.

The Arab nations must be sick of being manipulated by the USA, always under the threat of attack from a friend one day then the same friend as an enemy the next day.

How has the world let the USA get this powerful? we stripped Germany after the 2nd world war so they could never be a threat to world peace again. Now like the gullible fools we are, we have allowed the USA to get into a position of near complete world dominance, the reinstating (re-election) of Bush will bring more grief to this fragile world. Come on you good Americans and I quote a saying of yours:

DO THE RIGHT THING get rid of Bush.

John Kitson

Editor: Actually, there are reports about oil in Darfur, which explains the heightened US-UK interest in the conflict.