20 FEBRUARY 1988, Page 24

Waldheim's war

Sir: In 'Austria's Nixon' (23 January), Robert Rhodes James alleges that Kurt Waldheim is a war criminal and lied about his war record.

Unfortunately prevarication was neces- sary to escape the attention of war crimes tribunals, whose activities may be de- scribed as unconventional. Both prosecu- tors and judges were drawn from the Allies, a foreign legal system was used, ex post facto laws were introduced, to quoque was only permitted in the case of Admiral Doenitz, and there was abuse of the rules of evidence.

Mitford Goodson

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