Morton Abramowitz and Heather Hurlburt are right to urge strong U.S. involvement to help resolve the festering problem of Kosovo ["Where to Start With Europe," op-ed, Dec. 23]. They, however, do not go far enough. Any settlement of the situation in Serbia must include the province of Vojvodina.
In the past eight months, non-Serbs, including members of Vojvodina's 300,000-strong Hungarian minority, have been harassed and assaulted. Their cemeteries and churches have been desecrated in a wave of violence, vandalism and anti-Semitism. Serbian authorities have turned a blind eye to these hate crimes, refusing to curb, investigate or prosecute those Serbs who target ethnic Hungarians and other minorities.
Regardless of the target, discrimination and hatred are not only inconsistent with Western values, they undermine regional stability and so are contrary to European and U.S. interests. The abused minorities of Vojvodina still wait to have the full autonomy of the province restored -- autonomy Slobodan Milosevic destroyed in 1988. They also are waiting for the intolerance to stop, the xenophobia to vanish and the criminals to be brought to justice. The United States and its European allies must forcefully address these problems along with the situation in Kosovo.
FRANK KOSZORUS JR.
President
American Hungarian Federation
of Greater Washington
Germantown
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