Sir, - The "eco-warriors" are due great credit for their brave stand in defence of a national asset. Regardless of one's opinion of the cause, their idealism deserved respect, not flippancy, in a court of law.
As it happens, their treatment by the media was sympathetic and courteous. They were afforded generous air-time on 5-7 Live and on the Late Late Show, as is proper for people who have endured privation and personal risk over an extended period of time in the public interest. The print media were similarly supportive.
Welcome as this is, it strikes me as curious that this treatment by the media is in stark contrast to their treatment of another group of young people who, week in, week out, similarly give of their time, and put themselves at risk, also in the public interest.
In the latter case, they are treated with hostility, and information about their activities is either suppressed or grossly distorted. Why is this? Defending trees is politically correct; defending innocent human life is not.
There is no better illustration of the worthlessness of the NUJ Code of Conduct (plus the so-called "Guerin Principles") than in their members' disgraceful treatment of Youth Defence, time and time again. - Yours, etc.,
Richard Greene, Roebuck Road, Dublin 14.