Dear Sir,
Having read Ray Fleming's comments on my letter which you were good enought to print, (June 16), I am reminded of the old adage There are none so blind as those who will not see. For example, his denial that he invariably presents the Palestinians as the wronged party and Israel and his socalled Jewish Lobby the cause of their suffering: well maybe he does not read his own copy! He even went so far recently as to describe the horrific acts of the Palestinian homicide bombers as socalled terrorism. In other words, in his mind, blowing up 26 young kids outside a disco or attacking a gathering at a Jewish religious ceremony causing many deaths, or blowing up crowded cafes, civilian buses and supermarkets are not really acts of terrorism at all. As to his expressed doubt about my claim that the BBC programme Sunday reported that over the past five years an average of 165'000 Christians have been murdered annually by Muslims for no other reason than their religion: not only was it stated on the programme, but the producer, Mr Norman Winter, confirmed it to me in writing. But then again, Mr Fleming's research seems to consist of discovering only those thing which fit in with his clearly proPalestinian views. Does he know, I wonder that just over two weeks ago, Yassir Arafat, on Iraqi TV replied to the question: Why did you say you are prepared to talk peace with the Zionists? (in Iraq, Israel does not exist, it is referred to as the Zionist Entity), by saying Ju Da Bia. This is a 7th century Arab provision that allows under conditions of stress a person to say or promise anything and take it back the next day. I suggest that Mr Fleming try to accept that among the hundreds of thousands of visitors to this beautiful island, there will always be some who know the actual truth about events in the Middle East, past and present. And some, like me, who will always be prepared to expose his lopsided views. Yours faithfully
Dear Sir,
I do think Martin from Glasgow (letters, Bulletin, Friday) is over reacting.
Its the people of Majorca's fault regarding the strike or the being able to divert the problem. It is the Spanish Government's and not the people that are at blame. They do what any logical person would do, they strike when they know the island is busy, and it has the most disruption. They know that tourism on Majorca is important, but they seem to do not enough at the right time. I hope Martin notes that it wasn't just Spain that caused the problem, but the French the previous day as well. Will he not set foot in France? The problem lies with the local and national governments for making sure this doesn't happen when the summer season has begun; tourism brings the revenue in. Because of this strike, car bombs where planted by ETA injuring people, because the Police where busy elsewhere. The message is talk to the unions, sort it out, before people become bitter and twisted about the country. Surely, they don't have to give into the demands, but while there are talks on the table, people listen and don't strike until they feel its the last step.