Cool heads must prevail to stop huge loss of life
THE anger and frustration of the Israeli ambassador to the UN is understandable. However, to say that ‘the secretary-general, once again, distorts and twists reality’ and to then call for his resignation is totally disproportionate in the context of secretary-general António Guterres’s comments on the situation in Israel and Gaza.
The secretary-general was clear in calling the Hamas murder and kidnap rampage of October 7 ‘appalling’, and he further said nothing could justify the killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians by Hamas.
Like other international confrontations, these hostilities have their own context that must be recognised if there is to be any hope of long-term peace.
Impotent as the UN often seems to be, expecting it not to consider the context of this or any other hostilities impairs its capacity in conflict resolution.
Mr Guterres spoke cogently, in very measured tones and with the prudence of a possible future arbitrator between the sides involved.
Michael Gannon,
Kilkenny City.
... I FOUND the recent views of Dana Erlich, the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, to be rather bewildering.
The ambassador stated that Ireland is not a neutral country, which I found a rather perverse opinion. I also found her comments about President Michael D Higgins to be most injudicious. I believe that President Higgins has reflected the views of many people on the Israel-Gaza war.
Ireland has a long-standing military neutrality. The Ambassador has to understand that Ireland is not politically or morally neutral. It’s entitled to hold its views on political issues, which in most instances I believe are well-balanced, nuanced, proportional and astute.
John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
... THE recent heavy shelling of densely populated areas in the
Gaza Strip is creating havoc among the poorest people of that stricken state. The use of heavy explosives such as rockets, artillery, missiles and large modern explosive devices on a daily basis has caused huge loss of life, great damage to homes and other buildings and the destruction of vital services such as water, sewage, electricity, hospitals and waste management.
The rest of the world looks on, seemingly oblivious to the utter terror, carnage and loss of life of men, women and innocent children. Will somebody please shout stop? This is what humanitarian groups like the Red Cross and others come across every day in conflict situations around the world.
Late last year the Dublin Declaration, which prohibits the use of explosive weapons in conflict in populated areas, where such use may cause civilian
harm, was endorsed by 83 states across the world. Ireland played a major part in getting this international agreement over the line. Now let us all hope that cool heads will prevail among major world powers, and that solutions can be found to stop the killing, destruction of property and services in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen and other trouble spots on Earth.
Dialogue and calm discussion will bring peace, as it has done in our own country – not bombs, bullets, tanks or destructive high explosives, which only bring carnage to populated centres on a grand scale.
Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co. Sligo.
Let landlords be
IT was dispiriting to open your paper last Sunday (October 22) and see the article from Ivana Bacik about the housing crisis. Her solution (naturally enough)
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was to target landlords who have vacant properties and fine them until they rent them out.
We are accidental landlords with just one house that is being trashed by the tenants. Rent is intermittent and they are refusing to leave. We have been burned by the Government, Opposition, gardaí, RTB and Threshold as we struggle through this eviction quagmire. Once we finally get the house back it will never again be rented out as it’s not worth the hassle and abuse. Yet such is the Cult of the Tenant that no criticism of tenants can be made, nor even any admission even that there are problem tenants.
More and more landlords want nothing to do with tenants or the RTB and are getting out. So why keep repeating the mistakes of the past by demonising landlords, imposing ridiculous levels of rules and regulations via the RTB and then expecting them to keep renting out their properties?