Madam, - There is open warfare on the edge of Europe, with several thousands reported dead. Now is the time for the EU to offer the UN Security Council the mobilisation of an EU battlegroup as peacekeepers. This is exactly what the battlegroups were created for.
Russia may veto the move, but we must at least try to bring peace when it is in our power to do so. - Yours, etc,
KEITH MARTIN,
The Maltings,
Island Street,
Dublin 8.
Madam, - In 2003, 100,000 people in Ireland, and many millions more around the world, marched in protest at what they saw as the violation by the United States of the sovereignty of an independent country.
No matter that the leader of this particular nation was a sociopathic dictator, a man who believed that even the most depraved of acts were justified if they served his purpose - all of this paled in comparison with the wrong of America's unilateral invasion (it being convenient to forget about the participation of Spain, Australia, the UK, Poland).
The flames of indignation in this country were fanned by the various anti-war organisations, and a number of their spokespersons become household names for a time. Even after the initial furore had died down, anti-war camps in Shannon and the actions of dedicated individuals kept the issue in the public eye.
Given that such organisations have proven themselves to be so commendably anti-war, I look forward to their immediate and vociferous condemnation of the Russian invasion of Georgia.
I anticipate, furthermore, that Irish people will gather in support of Georgia's independence, as they did for that of Iraq. I look forward to participating in the mass marches that the anti-war organisations will surely organise to protest at Russia's truculence. I look forward to hearing anti-war protesters on the airwaves, denouncing the Kremlin's belligerence towards Tblisi.
I have no doubt that all of the above will occur, and that Russia's actions will be roundly condemned by the Irish people, not merely through words, but through mass protests akin to those witnessed against America's invasion in 2003.
Anything else would surely smack of hypocrisy and moral relativism. - Yours, etc,
EMMET DUNPHY,
Loughboy,
Kilkenny.
Madam, - President Bush says the "territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected". Many might correctly say it is now a bit too late for that, after the carve-up of the former Yugoslavia by the Americans, ably assisted by elements within the EU.
It is Mr Bush, his predecessor and their disciples in Europe who have let the separatist genie out of the bottle. And once genies get out, they rarely, if ever, go back. - Yours, etc,
ALAN McPARTLAND,
Grange Court,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.