Sir - As the situation in Kosovo continues to deteriorate and Serb military action against innocent civilians intensifies, it has now become clear, as was the case in Bosnia, that international economic sanctions alone imposed on the fascist regime of Serbia's president, Slobodan Milosevic, have proved to be inadequate and ineffective to curb the excesses and spread of violence and persecution of the majority Ethnic Albanian people who make up 90 per cent or more of the population in Kosovo.
Over the past weeks scores of innocent civilians have been tortured and killed by Serb police and paramilitary units operating in the region (recent newspaper reports have confirmed the presence of "Arkan" Zeljko Raznatovic, responsible for some of the worst excesses committed during the Bosnia conflict by Serbs against Muslim civilians. As many as 50,000 people have been ethnically cleansed and made homeless as a result of constant military bombardment and sniper fire from the Serbs, 10,000 more civilians have fled from towns and villages with little food and possessions and have made the arduous journey by foot over mountainous terrain to seek shelter in neighbouring Albania.
Surely the time for posturing and negotiations has now all but been exhausted, and measures should now be undertaken by NATO and the international community to put an end to the spiral campaign of murder and genocide by the Serbs, whose only ambition is to shore up Mr Milosevic's political position in Serbia. - Yours, etc. Bernard Quinn,
Ireland Action for Bosnia,
Roxboro Road,
Limerick.