Dear editor,

I refer to the letter by Yeon Adams captioned "Death squads violate basic human rights" (24.2.2004). Sure death squads are a violation of human rights, but what about countries that fund and train death squads. Remember Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua etc. And violent street demonstrations that unleash violence against one particular ethnic group are also against human rights, as is the behaviour of politicians that incite racial violence. Remember "letting loose the dogs of war", "mo fiya, slow fiya", "making the country ungovernable."

It amazes me how certain countries choose to completely ignore their own reprehensible and sordid past and make pronouncements on others. I am also amazed at the people who come out of the woodwork to make statements on the death squad affair to further their own agendas, whilst completely ignoring the incidents of the past.

My bet is if a survey was done the majority would support the actions of the death squad to get rid of the criminal menace that was taking hold.

Yours faithfully,

Nohar Singh