Sir, - I was delighted to read, in what regrettably was only in the sports columns of your newspaper, Tom Humphries's article of October 5th concerning the soccer game to be played by the Republic of Ireland in Belgrade.
I am embarrassed and angry that Western Europe, including Ireland, has sat back during the Yugoslavian crisis over the past few years while genocide and unspeakable acts of violence and mutilation have consistently occurred. We thought such acts could not be repeated, in Europe at least, after the atrocities committed against the Jews and many of the East European populations by Hitler during the second World War. It is an abomination of the word "civilisation" and an embarrassment to the human race that the governments of the West have sat back and let exactly the same monstrous atrocities take place on our own doorstep in the 1990s without taking positive action, other than sending food parcels and UN observers. There is little point in observing atrocities other than for historical purposes.
What ultimately sickened me was the photographs of the most recent massacre by the Serbs which included the mutilation of women and children and the bloodthirsty murder of babies. Only monsters and psychopaths could carry out such acts.
It is sad that UEFA appears to consider only the safety of the team to be an issue as to whether the match in Belgrade takes place. This is an abomination and Irish people should make their feelings felt. This match should not take place on any account as a protest against what is happening in Yugoslavia and is being sanctioned by Slobodan Milosevic. This is not a question of sport becoming involved in politics. It is a nation's statement of disgust at what is happening and should carry weight as the Irish team is much respected in the world arena and soccer is indeed one of the greatest ambassadors between international populations. It is sad that the only proponent of this view appeared on the back page of the sports review of your newspaper as every man, woman and child, whether they are lucky enough to have a family or not, should recognise that the barbarism which is taking place on our doorstep without redress by the international community would appear to illustrate a sad apathy and a typical "I'm all right, Jack" policy. - Yours, etc., Michael W. Tyrrell,
Herbert Street, Dublin 2.