Letter: New lines for the borders of Bosnia

Sir: I read with great interest Andrew Marr's article 'Just maybe, we could live with Greater Serbia' (December 18). At last reason has broken through and the obsession with defending Bosnian sovereignty has gone. Clearly the fairest solution is to partition Bosnia along ethnic lines even if this means a limited transfer of population. Surely this is preferable to trying to maintain a multiethnic state rejected by its Serbian minority and possibly by its Croatian minority as well.

Nevertheless, I disagree with the author over his attitude to the Albanian minority in Kosovo. They should be allowed independence from Serbia or the right to join Albania, and this should be the price exacted from Serbia for recognising its present conquests. Similarly, the Albanian minority in Macedonia should have the same rights in return for recognition of Macedonia.

This is not an easy solution, but it is the fairest one and will reduce the minorities problem in this region. When the problems of the former Yugoslavia have been resolved, perhaps we could apply the same principles in Northern Ireland and get a fairer border there, too.

Yours faithfully,

DAVID J. BRANSON

Ryton, Tyne and Wear

21 December