Anti-Serbism

Mr. Dyer's anti-Serb attitude is comparable only to anti- Semitism from the days of old. Thus, if there is a conflict somewhere, and Serbs happen to be one of the sides involved, there is no trace of a doubt in Mr. Dyer's mind that the Serbs are the guilty ones. No need to waste time and wait for the official investigation, to see and hear both sides of the story -- just "Nuke'em!"

He sees evil deeds and intentions even in things that are quite normal (such as the moving of dead bodies to the morgue -- if Serbs do that then it is because they want to remove evidence; I suppose in London, for instance, the dead are kept out in the streets until Mr. Dyer personally checks them out).

When he talks about the Albanian minority in Serbia, he tells us that Albanians account for 90 percent of people in a particular region of Serbia. He does not tell us that Albanians make up less than 20 percent of the population of Serbia (1.6 million out of 10 million) because that would compromise the logic of his anti-Serb "viewpoint". He does, however, admit that Albanians in Serbia "are well educated and relatively prosperous" compared to people in Albania proper. But this was not meant as a tribute to Serbs and the Serbian government that made it possible. He simply hasn't noticed that this fact does not fit with his anti-Serb beliefs.

And, Mr. Dyer, of course you do not understand why Albanians in Serbia have been "deprived" of independence by Western powers. It is not to stop Albanians in Macedonia (25 percent of the population, as claimed by Mr. Dyer, compared to 20 percent in Serbia) following the same steps, it is to avoid full independence of the Serb Republic in Bosnia and to help forget the fate of ethnic Serbs in Croatia. Not that they were not granted autonomy -- they are still mostly refugees in Serbia with a very pale chance of ever going back home. We'll never read about this problem in Mr. Dyer's "viewpoint."

But maybe Mr. Dyer can help me understand: How can the use of NATO troops against the Serbs force Albanians to accept autonomy in Serbia and give up the dream of independence? Or how can that put a stop to the daily inflow of armed KLA troops from their bases in Albania proper?

BRANIMIR SALEVIC

Jakarta