From Mr Jim Thomas Sir: I am rather concerned to learn from your crime

From Mr Jim Thomas Sir: I am rather concerned to learn from your crime correspondent, Jason Bennetto, that I am now a “threat to national security”. His article, “Crackdown on green terrorists”, 29 December) revealed that Special Branch is to “target” members of the public such as myself who care enough about the environment to stand up and be heard. When I have responsibly chosen to stand in the way of a bulldozer or kept guard over a tree, I was under the impression that I was doing this to protect anarea of the countryside or a neighbourhood. John Howley, head of Special Branch, obviously believes that I and thousands of others like myself have more sinister motives We do not.

I am a young person who along with many of my generation is watching the environment, its resources and its wildlife being destroyed by those who go before us. I hope to be around on this beautiful planet when they have gone and dream of passing on the best world I can to my children and beyond. Part of ensuring that dream is doing all I can to limit present environmental destruction. I have always been brought up to find and follow a moral code and am continually aware of this in any green activism.
As your leading article of the same day (“The green baby and the bathwater”) was correct to assert, actions that threaten lives (such as planting bombs) should be dealt with Violence in all forms is to be deplored. John Howley, however, seems to have singled out the M11 protests and those at Twyford Down – both examples are notable for their absolute commitment to non violence, taking inspiration from earlier struggles of the suffragettes, Ghandi, Chipko Movement and CND, to name but a few.Concern for the state of the environment and the animals that live in it is, thankfully, growing. If the Government continues to meet this concern with further moves to alienate and anger those who care, then resentment will grow even further and dangerously.Yours faithfully Jim Thomas Toy’s Hill, Kent.

From Sir Anthony Parsons Sir: Sarah Helm (“Troops in land-grab clashes”, 31 December), is right that Israeli land seizures are illegal under Geneva conventions, specifically the Fourth Convention which governs the behaviour of an occupying power. The US government used to take a similar view, as did the European community In the 1980s the American attitude softened The settlements became “obstacles to peace”. Now they are apparently only a “complicating factor” and US provides for their “natural growth”. There was a time when the UN Security Council and the EU would have publicly pronounced on an incident such as that reported by Sarah Helm Now only the media speaks up. This quietism is presumably designed not to upset the “peace process”.

This argumentwould be more convincing if progress had not ground to a halt. As it is, the international failure to react to the expansion of Israeli settlements will not have escaped the notice of the Palestinians and will serve only to deepen their disillusionment and encourage radicalism.
Yours faithfully, ANTHONY PARSONS Ashburton, Devon 1 January. From Dr Richard Lucas Sir: I read with interest Midge Gillies’s article on the strains on friends or relatives when someone seeks psychotherapeutic help (“Strangers who know too much”, 28 December) I would like to make two points. First, the UK Council for Psychotherapy, while a large organisation, does not represent senior established analytical psychotherapy organisations such as the British Pyscho-Analytical Society.

These are represented by the British Confederation of Psychotherapists. The BCP was formed to ensure that high training standards are maintained for analytical psychotherapy and publish a yearly register available to the public.
Secondly, it is quite possible to receive psychotherapy without paying £40 or more a session. If in doubt, the public could seek guidance from organisations listed in the BCP register, or through referral from their GP to their local NHS consultant psychotherapist.Yours sincerely, RICHARD LUCAS Chairman of External Relations British Psycho-Analytical Society London, N2. From Mr Munshi Faiz Ahmad Sir: Tim McGirk writes in his article “Dhaka opposition resigns” (29 December) that the 1991 Bangladesh general election was rigged.