Challenges for US justice system
Dear Sir,
The Michael Brown case and the riots in Ferguson pose major challenges for the US justice system. The current scenario reminds us of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992. Ferguson looks like a war zone now.
Despite President Barack Obama’s call for calm and respect for the jury decision, protests have hit more than 30 American cities.
The Brown family has said in a statement the decision of the jury is painful and justice is not done. American African community leaders have called for reforms and more accountability in the country’s legal system. There is strong criticism about militarisation of local police and against the use of heavy force against the African American community.
Political observers think that killing of Brown is not the only cause for the present unrest. Poverty and unemployment is on the rise in African American community and this is causing anger and frustration.
Khawaja Umer Farooq, [email protected]
A threat to humanity
Dear Sir,
An article on nuclear weapons in Gulf Times (“Urgent global action needed to address the nuclear threat”, November 15) warrants a response.
The acquisition of nuclear weapons by countries is a threat to humanity. Nine nations have amassed a total of 23,000 nuclear warheads. Many more states are actively aspiring to acquire them.
It seems that the world is going to be stuck in the age of nuclear weapons for many years to come. Survival has come to depend on a messy concoction of self-restraint and normative limits, reinforced by a shared instinct for self-preservation.
The aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945 is a chilling testimony to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. The sheer devastation serves as a stark reminder of why these weapons should be eliminated.
Living with such weaponry is a precarious journey into the future and seems an appointment with unprecedented human catastrophe, if not apocalypse.
Farouk Araie, [email protected]
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