Both of these will be of increasing strategic importance through oil production and supply

Both of these will be of increasing strategic importance through oil production and supply.Furthermore, if the West wants to champion democracy and freedom, it must recognise that the ethnic minorities within the former USSR share these rights with ethnic Russians and that their fears and aspirations must be respected.Yours faithfully,R BennettNewcastle upon Tyne18 January. It also ignores the role the former USSR played in fuelling the rise of the Chechen mafia through their economic blockade of Chechnya since 1991. Secondly, there is no evidence that the Chechens supported Hitler’s Wehrmacht, except in the narrow sense of wanting to be free of the yoke of Stalinism.
Until now the West’s main concern has been to support Yeltsin as the guarantor of Russian stability and the preservation of its infant democracy. But with his increasingly eccentric leadership, and the likelihood of his defeat in the presidential elections, the West needs to reassess its response to the events of Chechnya.

The equating of the Chechen leadership with “gangsterism and corruption” is to vastly oversimplify things. From Dr R. Bennett

Sir: There are several points arising from your editorial “Chechnya is not the West’s cause” that need addressing. Does this mean that it is funded in the same way as other state schools? I wonder if my local state schools are badly managed They look so shabby.
Sincerely,Jon GrayMarksbury, Avon. The dithering shows how uncertain we British have become about our place in the world.Yours faithfully,Peter PriceChislehurst, Kent. From Mr Jon Gray

Sir: How is St Olave’s able to maintain such excellent education while other schools rot? I understand that it is a most congenial place with first-class facilities, and yet it does not charge fees.

There is no reason for any American or Japanese visitor, or even a German, French or other citizen of our own continent, to come to Birmingham They will have their own national exhibitions and events. Located there, our great exhibition would be no more than a national event.The choice is fundamental. Here is the world centre of time – GMT – from which time is calculated all around the world Here is also situated the 0 degree meridian. A great exhibition at Greenwich could attract visitors from all over the world.

It is the only place where the whole world could celebrate the Millennium.Birmingham, on the other hand, symbolises the latest inward-looking fashion. Are we an outward-looking nation, determining our priorities in relation to what is going in the world around us. Or have we forsaken that glorious past and become inward-looking, concerned only about what takes place in these islands?
Greenwich symbolises the outward-looking. BoyceVice-Convener of PublicityYoung Scottish NationalistsEdinburgh17 January. From Mr Peter Price

Sir: The choice between Greenwich and Birmingham as the main site for Britain’s Millennium Exhibition symbolises a national dilemma. Where were they – possibly at Westminster, taking part in New Labour’s pandering to “Middle England”?It would appear that the real “question” to be asked after this appalling display in the building in which Labour is planning to house its proposed assembly is, “Just how committed to democracy in Scotland is the Labour Party?”.Yours sincerely,Stuart G.

From Mr Stuart G. Boyce

Sir: On Monday, Michael Forsyth the Secretary of State for Scotland, held the first Scottish question time outside of Westminster, choosing New Parliament House in Edinburgh (“Scotland hosts question time”, 16 January).
The Tory, Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party contingencies were out in force, yet less than half of the 49 Scottish Labour MPs bothered to attend and question the Secretary of State, despite having to travel a far shorter distance than usual to represent their constituents. Flexible labour markets, new work patterns, new roles for women in work, institutionalised part-time work, whatever the approaches that are favoured, all require adjustments in our social patterns.This has long been recognised within the Commission of the European Union, and on March 28-30 Commissioner Padraig Flynn will be hosting a European social policy forum here in Brussels where we will be welcoming representatives of all such organisations from all over the European Union precisely in order to hear their views on the new order.Yours,Richard NobbsCommission of the European CommunitiesBrussels19 January. We will not be successful in Europe in our job creation efforts if we cannot carry people with us. It is clear there is an increasingly important role played by voluntary associations in the widest sense of the term, including the social partners and professional associations, in giving voice to the interests of their members in the midst of the many structural changes taking place.
If one accepts the thesis that economic performance is inextricably linked with social performance, then it is vital that the voice of the ever-increasing number of non-governmental organisations is heard in policy-making circles. From Mr Richard Nobbs

Sir: Andrew Marr (“The rise of do-it-yourself democracy”, 18 January) touches upon a phenomenon that is likely to become one of the defining elements of the society to which we are moving: the gathering importance of “the web of social relationships below the level of the state”. Mr O’Reilly states that, “The results refer to matters investigated between 18 and 24 months ago”.
Is he not aware that, since its inception in 1986, the Solicitors Complaints Bureau has been the subject of criticism from various bodies, including the Royal Commission on Legal Services and the National Consumer Council? The problem is one of long standing, and not merely due to a temporary aberration on the part of the bureau.Yours faithfully,C G BurrowsNottingham22 Jannuary.