Madam, - As a man with strong Kurdish connections, I would like to challenge some of the views reflected in Nicholas Birch's very interesting report headed "Revenge is important in Kurdish Culture" (World News, July 6th) because I do not think it accords with the facts.
Few people know that the Kurds were twice gassed. In 1930, six years before Saddam Hussein was born, the British gassed the Kurds - and what an example they set for Saddam, who took a long time to follow in 1988. What evidence is there that the Kurds sought revenge after the British gassing? None to my knowledge.
Even now, they are by no means in the vanguard of those who seek revenge on Saddam Hussein. - Yours, etc.,
OLIVER DEVIN, Killiney, Co Dublin.