Sir, - Not only would I agree with William Hunt's comments (August 22nd), I would go further. For Kosovo is not the only site of conflict in former Yugoslavia, where inflated casualty figures have been used as an excuse for military action against the Serbs. In Bosnia-Herzegovina too, the "murder by Serbs of tens of thousands of Muslims" provoked NATO bombardment, and altered the military balance in the field. Yet investigative teams, similar to the ones in Kosovo, have uncovered some 2,500 bodies (without indication as to their nationality), after four-and-a-half years of investigation.
The murder of any civilians cannot be justified, and the perpetrators should be identified and brought to justice. But these figures are probably what could have been expected, considering the viciousness of the civil war in both provinces. Just consider how many civilians died in one day alone, by the terrorist hand in Omagh two years ago. What these figures show is that there was no genocide, planned or otherwise, committed by the Serbs in Bosnia Herzegovina, or in Kosovo.
It follows that, if the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague is to salvage its claim that it is an impartial judicial body, and not a political puppet of the US, it must take one of the following actions; either, withdraw the war crimes indictments, raised during NATO's bombing campaign, against dozens of Serbian political, military and police personnel; or add to that list the names of W. Clinton, T. Blair, M. Albright, R. Cook, X. Solana, Gen W. Clarke, and Dr J. Shea.
The next step by the international community should be the immediate lifting of all sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Needless to say, we will not be holding our breath. - Yours, etc.,
Zivko Jaksic, Serbian Information Bureau, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.