Sir, – I hope Fintan O'Toole's timely article will galvanise Irish people to express their revulsion against the continuing atrocities being perpetuated on the people of Aleppo by Russian and Syrian bombers ("Why the silence? What's outrageous in Gaza is no less so in Aleppo", Opinion & Analysis, October 5th). Human rights are indivisible, and when they are violated at home or abroad the rest of us who are enjoying the exercise of our rights cannot sit on the fence but have a duty to act together in solidarity to demand an end to human rights violations. People still have the remnants of the cold war ingrained in their psyches. Recently when I was organising a protest over Aleppo outside the Russian embassy, I was accused of "being a puppet of the Americans", showing that old prejudices die hard.
However, being silent when the lives of a further 250,000 residents of Aleppo are in grave danger of being obliterated is to side with the Russian and Syrian perpetrators of these continuing atrocities. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN BUTLER,
Malahide, Co Dublin.