SIR - Watching television images on the news of a community in the city I was born and raised, being completely destroyed by mindless thugs, was very depressing.

Many other law-abiding Asians in Bradford like myself couldn't help feeling dejected and saddened at what we were seeing. I was absolutely disgusted to watch people of my race resorting to such senseless criminality and thuggery incomprehensible to any civilised human being.

These thugs are obviously extremely idiotic because what they have failed to realise is:

1. They have possible damaged excellent race relations in Bradford for a very long time;

2. They have ruined any chance of potential investment in the Manningham district thus it remaining a poor area of Bradford for the foreseeable future;

3. The insurance premiums in the area will inevitably go up because of the damage to cars;

4. Finally, the 1,000 Asian thugs have achieved on Saturday exactly what the fascist National Front wanted - for Asians to cause trouble. They have played right in the hands of these extremists by portraying Asians as trouble-causers and hooligans.

In my opinion the West Yorkshire Police were not to blame for inciting the violence on the streets this weekend despite popular belief. They were not heavy-handed. My only criticism would be that they were not heavy-handed enough.

Miss Hubna Butt, Brantwood Oval, Heaton, Bradford 9.

SIR - I would like to ask the West Yorkshire Police, as well as ministers and community leaders, why there was an apparent complete failure to make one single arrest on the basis of inciting racial hatred.

In Bradford, people witnessed first-hand thugs from the National Front (make no mistake that is who they were) shouting and hurling racist abuse.

The residents of Bradford condemn violence in every shape or form and we also think it is absolutely disgusting for police officers to be targets of violence. However, if the police fail to implement laws which are designed to protect the community, such as the law that is designed to prevent inciting racial hatred, the police will, as these cases clearly demonstrate, lose the confidence of the public.

It also follows that more uncontrollable minority members of the community will express their frustration in an uncivilised and deplorable fashion, in the midst of which criminal elements will utilise the turn of events for their own selfish ends.

I know that I am not alone when I urge the police to seek out those inciters of racial hatred as well as those who caused criminal damage and disturbed the peace of our city.

W Hussain, Little Horton, Bradford.

SIR - As an Asian community leader in Bradford said of the riots in Bradford, Asian, white and Afro-Caribbean youths acted together in the looting, burning and fighting with police and that it was nothing more than mindless violence.

He asserted that it had nothing to do with any threat or intimidation from the National Front, though the fact that they said they were coming to the town despite their proposed march having been banned, was used as the excuse. I absolutely agree with this assessment.

What is particularly sad and dangerous is the effect this will have on the fragile relationship between the communities because, make no mistake, it will be the Asian youth that will be perceived to have been solely responsible.

It is a double-edged sword, however, since the actions of the minority have played right into the hands of groups like the National Front and the BNP, that have everything to gain from such activity.

Bradford, which could muster so little support for such right-wing extremists that they had to send one from York to stand in the general election, will have more now as a result of Saturday's riots.

The hotheads who caused them should reflect on that while they compare notes as to who torched the most expensive designer car.

Steve Arloff, Marriner's Drive, Bradford 9.

SIR - Your banner headline asks: "Where do we go from here?"

Personally, as a retired person, I would like to go to Bridlington.

Like many people in my age group, I used to love this city but now I cannot stand it anymore.

Will Bradford's councillors actually stop gabbling and think of ways to help retired people move away to a better environment?

R Stephens, Duchy Wood, Bradford 9.

SIR - My family has never been racist. My father, who was Irish, came to Bradford and was himself subjected to the racism showed at that time towards his fellow countrymen, and therefore would not allow his children to show the same kind of verbal abuse that he suffered. This in turn I passed on to my children.

How can anyone criticise the police who fearlessly risked their lives to try and sustain the outbreak of wanton destruction and violence on our streets? One can only admire them for their courage. How is it possible to successfully police hundreds of raging hooligans? They should be commended for containing the violence, as they did.

However, I do criticise the police at the top who were not subjected personally to the onslaught, first for the fact that only 28 arrests were made and secondly for not using water cannons and tear gas to fight the angry mob. I hope they use television footage to track down the culprits seen stabbing and maiming both police and others caught up in the carnage.

It's time the police took off their kid gloves and started to be proactive instead of reactive. Police abroad have no problems sorting out football hooligans and lessons should be learned from them. Nobody has the right to inflict terror and carnage on the streets of Britain.

Anne Yates, Farfield Avenue, Bradford.

SIR - It is futile to concentrate on what set events going in the weekend's riots. A slanging match between a host of ignorant yobs can hardly be seen as a valid and reasonable precursor to the level of violence that was witnessed in the hours that followed.

Possibly the riot itself may have been avoided and the extent of destruction minimised had events not unfolded as they did, but the emotions that motivated such actions would still have been simmering beneath the surface. It is the opinions of many of them that need to be challenged and resolved if we are to avoid repeats of such ugly scenes.

The frustration of the people of Bradford runs deep. Those who haven't noticed any problems in the past are obviously dismayed that their communities are being turned into war-zones.

Then there are the people, whether they are white, black or Asian, who feel that their concerns are not being recognised by the powers-that-be. Riots result when there is a sense of dissatisfaction on a mass scale and Bradford is no different.

For the most part, people from all cultures and backgrounds live and work together in relative peace, but stories of unrest abound through word of mouth and a racism of some sort lies dormant in the minds of many.

The concerns of whites and Asians alike desperately need to be voiced and debated and the council, the police and community leaders are required to be a lot more frank, but seemingly the fear of being politically incorrect prevents them from doing so.

Guy Sanderson, The Coppice, Sutton-in-Craven.

SIR - The racial problems now plaguing the North of England are a direct result of the UK's inability to come to terms with its colonial past.

Successive British governments have done nothing to combat the colonial mindset of 'white' working-class culture in Northern Britain. Inevitably, this has led to the sorry situation of racial segregation in many Northern cities today.

It should come as no surprise to us then that Muslims are the targets of the BNP and NF.

Islam is a tolerant, non-racial religion which obviously threatens the racist, intolerant attitudes of Northern working-class Britain. The BNP and NF should be bulldozed into the North Sea.

David McKellan, Greendale Avenue, Ealing, London W5.

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