Sir, I would like to offer my congratulations on your excellent article (October 12th) on the heroic efforts of the people of Dublin who are confronting the drug pushers in their midst. These communities deserve our full support, as do the local guards who try to deal with the drugs problem with inadequate resources.
There will be those who will condemn such action as the work of vigilantes. They should realise that it is the fundamental, and perhaps only, duty of the State to protect its citizens, especially the young. If the State cannot, or will not, carry out that duty, the legitimacy of the State is abrogated, and it is the responsibility of the people to take effective measures to protect themselves and their families from destruction.
This is the basis of democracy and has been upheld by our own politicians with their support, from a safe distance, for people's struggles in Eastern Europe, the Philippines, Sudan, Haiti, Burma and Timor. In the last resort, the people are the law and the politicians ignore them at their peril. - Yours, etc.,
Hollybrook,
Bray, Co. Wicklow.