Letters: Noose tightening around Modi

Noose tightening around Modi
One month back Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi threw a challenge to all his opponents that if he is found guilty of collusion in the 2002 Gujarat riots, he should be hanged in public. Modi is widely blamed for his role (or inaction) during the riots for turning a blind eye, giving free hand to rioters for several days to murder thousands of people and destroy businesses and properties of the minority community. So far, he has refused to apologize for riots; instead he has blamed those asking for apology for fanning trouble and hatred.
Now his former minister Maya Kodnani has been found guilty in the Naroda Patiya massacre case. She is the first MLA to be convicted for murder, conspiracy and for provoking riots in the worst ever massacre in Indian history.
Perhaps the hangman’s knot is slowly getting tightened around Modi’s neck; so far it’s a matter of moral responsibility, one day a direct responsibility may also be proved against him. Till then, we need make mental notes of Modi’s vow to be hanged in public if found guilty. — Masood Khan, Jubail

Malaysia’s rise
This refers to the column “Mahathir: Architect and builder of new Malaysia by Farouk Luqman. I was so impressed with the author’s write-up on the legendary former prime minister of Malaysia, which I read with great enthusiasm. I admire this great leader for his straight talking and for all what he has done for the advancement of his own country in particular and the Muslim nation in general. I would like to add that Mahathir established the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission to focus on victims of abuse in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. On May 11, 2012 George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers were found guilty of war crimes. After the guilty verdict reached by five senior judges delivered, Mahathir said “Powerful countries are getting away with murder.”
I recall once that Mahathir said, “I am always amused when people try to analyze my opinion and actions, when I was prime minister, I am not an intellectual but I admit that I use my brain more often than most.” Muslim nation needs many “Mahathirs” during this critical period it is going through, with numerous conflicts everywhere. — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh

Aramco hacking
We are happy to know that the Saudi Aramco’s networking system which was hacked earlier has been restored, according to the company’s chief executive Khalid Al-Falih. On Aug. 15 the company’s computers were attacked by Shamoon cyber-sabotage malware. Hackers claimed responsibilities by posting a message on the website called Pastebin. The attack seemed to be politically motivated rather than to gain anything else. The virus created havoc by infecting I.P. address and infected the entire network and connected PCs. In the past, other companies were also targeted for such virus attacks and hackers created a lot of problems for them. I think, such attack should be condemned and culprits must not go unpunished as it has created disruption in smooth functioning of the company. — Anees Lokhande, Alkhobar

Osama’s death doubts
A US Navy SEAL’s book raises questions about Osama Bin Laden’s death. The US has offered no evidence whatsoever to show that Bin Laden made even the slightest movement to resist the Navy SEAL attack. No matter what one thinks of the Al-Qaeda leader, this was a cold blooded murder sanctioned by US President Barack Obama. There is no justice, no democracy they went about and killed Bin Laden. It’s something which seems to be copied from some Hollywood movies. In the classic film “Apocalypse Now,” Army captain Benjamin Willard – played by Martin Sheen — is dispatched up the Nung River in a navy patrol boat with orders to “terminate” Kurtz’s command — “Terminate with extreme prejudice.” While the US government plays in “real time” with the facts of “operation Bin Laden” the movie picks up on the real moral: Kurtz says to Willard “and they call me an assassin. What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin? They lie. They lie and we have to be merciful... those nabobs.” In the end, violence begets only violence. — Paul Kokoski, by e-mail