Your newspaper has recently carried many letters, reports and opinion columns on the current Israeli military engagement in the Gaza strip. All of these illustrate the varied opinions of Jamaicans at home and abroad on this headline-grabbing conflict which has rightfully attracted overwhelming attention by many international and local media houses.

Unfortunately, the same public attention was not given to the Nigerian riots in November 2008 that was caused by an election dispute and left over 400 dead and resulted in an increase of Muslim-Christian hostilities in that country. Or, another estimate of 400 that were killed on Christmas Day 2008 and since, in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Ugandan-based Lord's Resistance Army. I criticise your paper for not carrying significant reports on both of these horrific incidents with the same vigour as it is doing now with the Israeli military engagement in Gaza.

Official stance

However, since the current Gaza incident is attracting so much attention, I would like to ask the Jamaican Government what its official stance is on the situation? The ever-verbal Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has voiced his country's official position, and so has Bharrat Jagdeo for Guyana. What then is Jamaica's position? Does our government lack the moral fibre to take any stance on the issue? Is it being pragmatically silent and thus neutral on this highly-charged globally controversial incident? Does it have an opinion, but not had an opportunity to issue it?

This very distant conflict may seem irrelevant to some Jamaicans but, as is proven by numerous articles and opinions via your newspaper and others, it does hold the attention and interest of many others. I look forward to an official position by the Government of Jamaica on this issue (but will not hold my breath). More optimistically, I look forward to a more comprehensive global coverage of international events by your newspaper on issues that are not necessarily internationally popular, as Gaza appropriately is at the moment, but all similar incidents that so dramatically ignite people's consciousness and which force observers to contemplate some very big questions concerning ourselves and others.

I am, etc.,

ADAM LAING

al326@st-andrews.ac.uk

Kingston 5