Letter: Destruction of a cultural bridge

Sir: Your poignant photograph of the battered bridge at Mostar (front page, 10 November) was a sharp reminder again that military aims always have precedence over cultural values. However, anyone rushing to condemn the Balkan Croats would be advised to pause and recall Coventry Cathedral and Dresden, both pulverised by civilised northern European nations.

The Hungarian painter, Csontvary Kosztka Jozsef, visited Mostar in 1903 and painted the bridge from an angle identical to your photograph (the picture is called Roman Bridge at Mostar). Another picture of Mostar by the same artist shows churches and minarets happily sited side by side. What has happened to these people since?

Yours faithfully,

SANDOR VACI

London, SW1

11 November