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| Sunday, 26 February 2006 |
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Letters |  |
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Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments. The stormy issue on the publication of cartoons and caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (S) has brought into public focus another controversy-the Holocaust. The Holocaust conundrum first started with a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the province of Zahedan, Sistan, Baluchistan where he claimed that the Holocaust was a myth. The speech was broadcast on Iranian state television on December 14, 2005. In a part of the speech President Ahmadinejad "If you say it is true that you massacred and burned six million Jews during the second world war, if you committed this massacre, why should the Palestinians pay the price? Give part of your land in Europe the U.S., Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country." These provocative statements infuriated Israel, the U.S. and Europe. The Western mass-media screamed and outburst of virulent invective by the leaders of the U.S., Europe and Israel against President Ahmadinejad for more than three weeks regularly. The matter died down slowly. However with the publications of cartoons and caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (S) that has caused a raging controversy and a firestorm of worldwide protests by Muslims, the Holocaust issue has surfaced again. The argument of the Western countries is that freedom of expression, a sacred right granted to them by their democracies is infringed upon if they are denied their freedom to lampoon even religious leaders. Muslims addressing this argument claim that in the freedom of expression loving countries like Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia, there are Holocaust denial laws in force making it a criminal offence to deny the Holocaust. Any article or cartoon mocking or denying the Holocaust is deemed a criminal offence. In France, Prof. Robert Faurisson in the 1970's published articles and books that repudiated the existence of gas chambers in concentration camps, faced prosecution and law suits throughout the 1980's for publicly stating these views. He was physically beaten, mercilessly harassed and stripped of his tenure. Leading French intellectual Roger Garudy was imprisoned for raising doubts and questions about the Holocaust. Last November, Austrian authorities refused bail to British historian David Irving who was subjected to Holocaust denial charges for denying the existence of gas chambers in Auschwitz in two speeches he gave in Austria more than a decade and a half ago in 1989. He also argued that the scale of extermination was exaggerated; an offence which, if found guilty carries a ten year jail sentence. More recently the German government impounded the passport of Horst Mahler preventing him from travelling to Tehran where he was to challenge the figures and stories of the Holocaust. There is daring exposition of contradiction and a grotesque manifestation of double standards in this controversy. The publication of the disparaging cartoons, insulting the beliefs of 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, is being justified by Europe and her allies on the ground that is a serious issue that infringes on the freedom of the press. On the other hand the Holocaust denial has never been treated as an issue of freedom of expression. The Holocaust issue now has caught the headlines again with Iran wanting to hold an international debate on Holocaust to examine the scientific evidence supporting it. British Prime Minister Tony Blair branded the plan 'shocking ridiculous, stupid.' A date will soon be fixed for this debate and seminar. The Iranian Foreign Minister announced that it will invite Blair to this seminar so that he can listen to the Holocaust deniers and supporters and also have the freedom of speech to express his own views and opinions. The on going controversy has had another twist recently. A very popular and widely circulating newspaper 'Hamshahri' in Iran organised a cartoon competition of the Holocaust. The newspaper called for entries internationally. It was reported that entries were pouring in even from far away Australia. The European media and governments claimed freedom of expression on their publishing and reproducing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed (S) and wanted Muslims to tolerate their right, now the management of the Iranian newspaper wants to see whether the European media and governments will tolerate the cartooning of the Holocaust and reproduce them in their media. - Saybhan Samat Bambalapitiya sans Post Office J. V. Thambar of Colombo 4 has highlighted the need for a post office for Bambalapitiya and his plight in the Daily News of Nov. 3. Since the post office located near Bambalapitiya junction (behind the bus terminus) 'closed shop', couple of years ago, over 200 permanent residents of Bambalapitiya made a joint appeal sometime back, to the then Minister of Posts Mangala Samaraweera to open a post office in Bambalapitiya. His Coordinating Secretary faithfully acknowledged the appeal and stated that the appeal has been referred to the Post Master General for necessary action. As no action was forthcoming, a similar appeal was sent again to the Minister who succeeded Mr. Samaraweera.We went to the extent of suggesting a plot of land belonging to the Urban Development Authority. The postal authorities have still not responded and we, the residents of Bambalapitiya irrespective of our physical conditions and old age, have no other alternative except to trek either to Kollupitiya Post Office or the Havelock Town Post Office for certain transactions that the agency post offices do not handle (eg. postal identity cards for students). The agency post offices are managed by individuals and they are not available for business transactions on certain days. We hope the new Minister of Post and Telecommunication who is keen to develop this sector will no doubt settle the outstanding problem early. Now that the passport office has been shifted out, there must be ample space in available the same building. Even a garage space could suffice. If there is a will there is a way. - T. Mahalingam Reading Lucian Karunanayake in Tikiri Menike dragged down to sausage culture light refractions (Sunday Observer - 29.01.06) was one felt a reminder to us of the mockery directed at our values and customs by a few who take delight in holding allot their anglicicised values. As pointed out by L. K., a few years ago these same people tried to project that our staple food was the sausage. After a period of silence this time round they have foisted on us once more that the sausage and the ambula are one the same served by Tikiri Menike. Time and again readers have expressed strong views at the quality of some of the advertisements put out by the advertising agencies. Surely do they need to hurt our sensibilities merely because they are running out of creative ideas? The ongoing advertisement is one which has caused outrage in many quarters simply because it has vandalised a perennially beautiful song and at the same time distorted and ridiculed an age-old customs. It is really unforgivable when manufacturers market their products, however good or bad they be, at the expense of our traditional customs. Do they really need be devoid of good sense and mock charming customs which have traditionally come down the ages, enriching our folklore and even prompting the late Mohideen Baig to sing of Tikiri Menike, the Ambula and the Govirala with such emotion? The least they could do is to say sorry to the Nation, for the Ambula is far more tastier than the sausage. - D. C. Nugawela Your editorial comment on the 'Cartoon Controversy' (Sunday Observer of Feb 12) is Bang On! The basic legal issue upon which the offending newspapers ought to be charged is the fact of "abuse of privilege". The press folk have sometimes degenerated into a level of utter presumption where they indulge a type of personal abuse upon a class of persons whom they dislike by avoiding direct confrontation (with legal consequences for defamation) but, instead inflicting personal pain by abusing entities and persons who are absent (or dead) albeit held in reverence and honour by the "reviled" class of persons. This is cowardly and is always tending away (additionally) from the newspapers' own reverential entities about whom there would be painful addictions on their domestic front, etc! This is actually selective abuse and bigoted; whilst forgetting on account of a "handful", the mind and soul of fellow human beings. The editors and publishers ought to be taught a lesson in punitive damages. (to charities perhaps?) - Rohan Jayawardane
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