Sufferings of the Lebanese

The so-called international body, the United Nations, shall inevitably embrace the fate of its predecessor, the League of Nations. The lies and hypocrisy of the powerful nations are now all out in the open with their beastly faces, requiring us no further warning that the earth is now becoming the most fragile piece in the universe.

We must cherish the pain to make us stronger in avenging the death and destruction of fellow human beings, and just not get carried away by the sweet talk of ceasefire and get ready for the final war.

I am very sorry that I can't concur with Mr. Oneil Osman's view. Bangladesh is a legitimate country. The historical platforms of Bangladesh and Israel are utterly different. The dissimilarity is that Bangladesh had to fight for its freedom and its own land. It never took over other's land but Israel is dominating Palestinians to stay in Palestinian land. We all know more or less about the history of Israel, how it got into the Middle East. So it can never be comparable.

Mr. Osman, you've argued that all nations should oppose Iran. There are many systems of governance . Iran has its own system that others may not find acceptable. Hamas doesn't believe in so-called democracy and they are at war to save their own land. The people of Iran and Palestine are happy with their systems.

Israeli bombardment has killed 1,000 Lebanese so far, nearly all of them are civilians. In the name of retrieving two soldiers they are on a mission to annihilate the whole country. They are shouting for peace. The world has already seen what they can deliver. Israelis are the foremost aggressors in the Middle East.

Azizur Rahman, West Agargoan, Dhaka

Israel is destroying Lebanon and any economic viability that it has been struggling to attain over the past 16 years. Before that it was unleashing its terror and destruction on the people of Gaza. They are killing children, women and innocent civilians.

Israel has been displacing families from their homes in villages ever since its establishment in 1948. In 4 weeks since July 12, 2006, it displaced over 700,000 and killed over 1,000. It also pounded to the ground Lebanese people's homes and infrastructure, roads, bridges, airports, ports, highways, energy plants and communication networks.

We are constantly being told that we should appreciate the fact that we live in democracies, in the free world, where freedom of speech and expression are valued most. We are also being told that international leaders are waging war against terror just to protect us. But today we wonder whether such violent actions carried out by any state, which use unrestrained and disproportionate, clearly breaching international law and justice, are only exasperating the problem. Such actions are breeding more angry people who are willing to sacrifice themselves up anywhere in an attempt to turn attention to the injustice they are enduring.

The following steps need to be taken immediately by the international community.

1. Impose immediate ceasefire and ensure the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Lebanese soil. Stop further attacks on each other and focus on a UN mediated solution through discussion.

2. The Security Council must pass a resolution condemning the Israeli attacks and imposing sanctions on the Jewish state in an attempt to prevent it from repeating these attacks in future.

3. Put pressure on Israel through the UN or any other effective means to pay compensation for all the destruction it has caused at least since July 12, 2006.

The international community's failure to treat Israel and Lebanon equally is responsible for the current Middle East crisis.

Md. Saiful Islam, Kotbari, Comilla