Sir, - The horrifying events still taking place in Kosovo and the reverse ethnic cleansing of the Serbian minority could lead a cynic to suggest that Kfor and NATO are just as guilty as the regime of Milosevic in standing idly by while ethnic atrocities are perpetuated under their noses. Indeed the whole of the justification for the Kosovo conflict, if there ever could be a valid reason for bombing civilian Serbia, is unravelling by the day.
This is the consequence of simplistic arguments as put forward by the likes of Blair and Robertson for their own ends. It consisted of demonising an entire nation by frequent and fraudulent references to wholesale genocide and mass rape by the Serbs. It conveniently ignored the fact that it takes more than one side to create conflict and that neither party has a monopoly on good or evil.
This blinkered attitude continues with the refusal by NATO to fund the repair of the damage to Serbia's infrastructure. This is condemning that entire country to a winter of unnecessary cruelty and hardship. It does not serve the interests of neighbouring states to have a malcontent in their midst. It is also counter-productive to these states, for instance, to have the great Danube waterway blocked to all traffic because NATO refuses to pay for the mess caused by its bombs. -Yours, etc.,
Donal O'Dowd, Fr Mathew Quay, Cork.