18 - 24 June 1998
Issue No.382
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 18 - 24 June 1998 Issue No.382 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Weekly webbersSir- Warmest congratulations on launching the Weekly on the Web. I hope you give this site your best attention and I expect to be able to read it on the same day it is published, like many other papers around the world. Bahaa Elkoussy medialink@gega.net
Who is leftSir- I read with great interest Gamil Mattar's article "Back in the Gulf" and Galal Nassar's article "Survival in a hostile world" (Al-Ahram Weekly, 28 May-3 June). Both articles gave the ordinary reader a deeper insight into the current crisis in the Indian subcontinent. The nuclear tests conducted by India, and Pakistan's retaliation a few days later have dealt a death blow to the emergent idea of globalisation. No sooner had the world heaved a sigh of relief after the disintegration of the USSR and the end of Cold War than it had to face the threat of a new nuclear arms race. Perhaps India's, as well as Pakistan's, interest in promoting nuclear capabilities has something to do with the recent financial and economic failures in southeast Asian countries. The unexpected collapse of the economies of such countries has triggered a deep sense of insecurity in the Indian subcontinent. Therefore it is to be expected that other countries will follow the lead of India and Pakistan. Pakistan's reaction was not merely a storm in a teacup. Pakistan found itself between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand, it wanted to prove capable of facing the Indian threat. On the other, Pakistan was under great pressure to restrain itself. Its final decision was to retaliate. It thought this was necessary to prove the fact that it will not be an easy prey for the Indian monster. The nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan have only added fuel to the flames. To defuse the dangerous situation, Pakistan and India should start negotiations right away and try to settle the bone of contention between them. Both countries have got to listen to the voice of reason before it is too late. Is our world likely to be a peaceful one? I think not. There is just one sure way to find peace -- in the dictionary. You can't achieve it by throwing rocks at a hornet's nest. It can only be achieved by the substitution of reason for force, right for might and love for hatred. In fact, there can be no peace in the world until the calibre of its statesmen is equal to the calibre of its guns. All countries of the world have got to realise that developing more nuclear weapons constitutes a major threat to world security and that war does not determine who is right -- only who is left. Next time, it won't even do that.
Now that's serviceSir- My brother sent a telegram from Italy to our Egyptian friend living in Ahmed Mustafa Street (Nozha Al-Gedida), but he wrote the address wrong, writing Hamed instead of Ahmed. Actually, there is no Hamed Mustafa street in Cairo. But a very intelligent member of the staff of the central telephone office in Imbaba connected the signature of the telegram with my family name (sometimes I receive telegrams from Italy, but just a couple a year) and sent it to my address in Zamalek. Of course, I went to Imbaba to thank him (unfortunately I do not know his name). I would like to compliment the manager of Telecom Egypt on the brilliant service of his staff. Connecting the signature of a telegram with a name seen a few times, in a town of more than 15 million people! Unbelievable. I think this can happen only in Egypt.
|