Readers' corner
Moscow's way
Sir-- Re 'Westward Hu' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 27 July-3 August) yes, it does seem counterproductive for Russia to aid the US effectively to encircle Russia. Whether it is a mistake or not, though, there must be some method to Medvedev's madness. What if Moscow is reading the signs of impending collapse of the US, and is trying to get closer in the hope of mollifying the cornered tiger? As the US approaches the precipice, it is likely to lash out and seek to solve problems by attacking even more countries; and if Moscow is holding its hand at the time, maybe it can be restrained. Or maybe Moscow would hope to inherit Atlantic leadership as Washington goes down the tubes. Or I could be dreaming. However I put it, it does sound like a huge risk for Moscow.
Doug Ryden
Washington
USA
Kosovo judged
Sir-- Re 'To be or not to be?' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 5-11 August) the ICJ defined the question about the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration so narrowly that it became a question of free speech for a random group of people. And then they concluded that there is no international law that forbids such a group from making some territory independent. The court did not state that the secession itself is legal. In fact, the absence of such a statement suggests that they thought it illegal.
Unfortunately, you didn't ask about the remaining refugees. There are still some 220,000 people (mostly Roma and Serbs) who fled Kosovo during and shortly after the war and who never have been able to return. It is generally expected that most never will be able to return.
The situation of the refugees is a reflection of the delicate position of the remaining minorities. They are the subject of heavy discrimination and justice is hard for them to find. One can find this attitude even in Husseini when he makes all Serbs in Kosovo responsible for what happened in the war.
Husseini brought a lot of disinformation that unfortunately went unchallenged. Yes, 65 per cent of the Serbs did vote in some Serb-majority municipality. If they wouldn't vote their municipal administration would for the next years be ruled by the Albanian minority and given the level of discrimination in Kosovo, that would not have been good for them. And yes, some estimate the Serb population at the moment at five per cent -- by not counting the refugees.
Husseini talks about Serbian genocide in Kosovo in the years before the war. But except for the last year before the war when there was a guerrilla war and some 2,000 people died, there were no killings -- only discrimination.
Wim Roffel
Leiden
The Netherlands
Dry Rehab
Sir-- I have a complaint against Rehab City. I've been living here for two years now, and not a single day did I have water all day long. Some days there is no water at all, others for just a few hours and in all cases, never enough for a human being to live decently. I complained to City Hall several times but no action was taken.
Rehab is not a cheap place to live in yet it lacks the basics of living a normal life.
Mona Mounib
Cairo
Egypt
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