Madam, - I trust that when your readers are considering the situation within the Balkans, especially within Kosovo as detailed by your correspondent, Dr John O'Brennan (March 30th) they will also examine the following. Yes, there is the poisonous legacy of the past, particularly the exclusion of Kosovo in the Daytona peace "accord" and its bombing in 1999 by NATO under the US Clinton administration.
We must also note last week the accession of seven more former "Soviet bloc" states into NATO, now guarding the Western shores of the Black Sea, within easy access to the oil pipelines. These, bringing oil to the "West", are "an essential part of US energy security strategy", as Bill Richardson, former energy secretary, admitted in November 2000.
The Balkans, having seen the previous imperial power retreat, now realise that they have come under the political and military hegemony of the current imperialist power through its NATO agency.
Having moved briefly from under the boot of "Soviet Russia" they are now becoming economic clients of the US. We in Ireland are well aware of the results of such "clientelism" in relation to the war in Iraq.
The hope I would offer comes from a letter from Belgrade signed by many Belgrade-based and other organisations, first published in June 1999 and reissued on several occasions.
Extracts from which I quote:
"The better future of citizens of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, of Serbs and Albanians, as citizens of one state or closest neighbours, will not arrive by itself overnight, but it is something we can and must work on together".
Further, "We are convinced that by joining forces we can contribute to the reaching of a just and rational political solution to the status of Kosovo, and build confidence and co-operation between Serbs and Albanians". Surely the reference by Dr O'Brennan to the words of Slavenka Drakulic, an "atmosphere of brotherhood and unity", ironic though they may be, give better grounds for optimism than your headline, "Can sharing of power ever work?". - Yours, etc.,
KEITH CARGILL, Ennistymon, Co Clare.