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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Take no credit
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Sir- I am writing in response to John J Bentley's letter "Credit where it is due" (Letters to the Editor, Al-Ahram Weekly, 1-7 July) in which he lambasted the eminent columnist Salama A Salama for his criticism of the US foreign policy as regards the crisis of Kosovo. Perhaps Mr Bentley has the right to defend the policies of his own country. However, the fact remains that the US has done -- and still does -- its utmost to secure its own interests everywhere in the world regardless of anything else.
To say that the US and its allies intervened in the Balkans only to prevent the massacres and ethnic cleansing of the innocent Muslim civilians of Kosovo can hardly stand to reason. Can Mr Bentley tell us what the people of Kosovo really gained in the end?
Though Mr Bentley's sympathetic attitude towards the Muslims of Kosovo is praiseworthy, he seems to have intentionally ignored the awful situation elsewhere. What about the Palestinians who are killed and brutally tortured almost every day, and with America's blessing? What about the Iraqi children who starve to death because of the economic embargo imposed by the US and its allies on Iraq? What about the people of Libya who have been suffering for over a decade now? What about the huge number of Cubans who are fleeing their country under the pressure of stringent economic conditions resulting from the US economic blockade against Cuba? What about Haitians, Sudanese, etc.?
The US is always trying to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of protecting the rights of minority group members. What about the rights of African Americans and other minority groups in the US itself? Why doesn't the US mind its own business?
The painful fact is that the sole aim of the US is to impose its hegemony and domination over the world. One does not need much discretion to realise what America has done to this poor world of ours.
Essam Hanna Wahba
Assiut
Teens in a huff
Sir- The article "Instant publishing" (Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 July) by Tarek Atia has been a great offence to all of us and has caused outstanding rage from the teens.
It is obvious that Mr Atia has not done any research on our circulation figures, which are available from Al-Ahram's distribution office, or he would have known for a fact that we are by far the best-selling English magazine. Mr Atia has also chosen certain people to be interviewed and completely ignored the rest (I really don't know why).
It is also obvious that he has never read Teen Stuff or he would have known what our main topics are and what is the main objective of Teen Stuff. He would have understood that we are not only a magazine but a vehicle for teen expression and creativity and we also encourage environmental awareness and social work through our in house groups. (Please refer to Fanta Fun Club groups to know how much we are helping the Egyptian teens).
Manal El-Mahdy
Editor-in-chief of Teen Stuff
Cairo
A book in the hand
Sir- I am an ardent reader of your rich paper and always enjoy the monthly supplement on books.
While praying that you keep up this good work, I wish to request you to provide (if possible) such additional information as the cost of the books you routinely review and their availability or otherwise in Cairo.
Thank you for enriching our lives.
Lawal Dutsinma
Embassy of Nigeria
Cairo
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