UN bypassed and Syrians left to suffer

The significant aspect in the collection of “Westminster’s finest hour” correspondence (Letters, 31 August) is that not one mentioned the United Nations. How worried should we all be about that?

Simultaneously, the “proud to be British” thread ran through the narratives, although it is difficult to contemplate how 59 Scottish MPs out of more than 600 MPs overall could be guaranteed to be of any substantial influence in any circumstance.

John Birkett’s contribution is valuable, demeaning as he did the minority element in the so-called democratic outcome; some 280 out of 600 represents 46 per cent of the whole House of Commons – reminiscent of the 45 per cent support the devolution vote had from the Scottish electorate in 1998.

Regarding the UN, the problem for all of us is that the agency’s agenda is about nation states. If the Syrian government is responsible for the chemical weapons attack, then it would be a UN matter. But if the insurgents are responsible, then its remit would be less tenable.

So for those disclaiming responsibility for president Bashar al-Assad, the UN is bypassed. It may be that the insurgents are responsible, but the UN inspection team was not asked to judge on where the blame lies – very convenient for those who choose to bury their heads in the sand.

Labour leader Ed Miliband had plenty to say – once he had committed his U-turn –about doubts on blame, but he stopped short of calling the insurgents.

The finger is pointing at him for allegedly supporting Assad, but his bluff has been called with the invitation from a British lady GP who works in Syria to Mr Miliband to go with her, all expenses paid, to see for himself first-hand examples of the atrocities being committed, and which the world’s politicians are loathe to stop. We await his acceptance.

By the way, the context of his support for the UN had to be measured against the virtual certainty of a veto from Russia or China.

Douglas R Mayer

Thomson Crescent

Currie, Midlothian