I HAVE travelled and worked extensively in the Middle East. I have been shouted at in a business meeting by an Arab demanding to know why the British like the Jews; been segregated in coaches, leisure areas and restaurants; been prohibited from driving; have had to wear a long black shroud in public. I know of people being flogged for drinking Coca Cola in daylight and have had the office telephone tapped. I have also witnessed other insidious effects of corruption which develop in non-democratic countries.

No civilised Westerner would be endeared by such a totalitarian regime. Silvio Berlusconi's words in Germany recently may have been undiplomatic but he voiced genuine concerns which must be faced if we are to achieve peaceful harmony.

Annie Wright,

Aston Science Park,

Love Lane, Birmingham.

Updated: 10:38 Thursday, October 04, 2001