The government’s failure in its responsibility to protect innocent civilians from atrocities, ethnic cleansing and genocide, as described in the foreign affairs committee report (MPs want inquiry into cost of inaction on Syria, 10 September), is not just “inconsistent” (Letters, 12 September), it is criminal.

The People’s Tribunal on Turkey, which reported to the European parliament in May, led by seven eminent judges from European countries, found Turkey guilty of atrocious war crimes in both south-east Turkey and in Syria, based on evidence of over 400 witnesses.

In Idlib, we fear the imminent eruption of perhaps the worst humanitarian disaster of the Syrian war. But our government actively supports Turkey, regarding it as an “ally”; it appeases Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, sells him arms, trades with his regime that has abolished the rule of law and an independent judiciary and is killing or imprisoning Kurds. The UK should be leading condemnation of these atrocities; our silence makes us complicit.

Margaret Owen

Patron, Peace in Kurdistan

• Last week Karen Pierce, the UK permanent representative at the UN, complained to the Russians about the use of chemical weapons in the Salisbury attack. The men thought to be responsible are now back in Russia, so any action should presumably be aimed at reducing the likelihood of this type of crime being repeated. That’s really all that can be done.

Why was nothing said by our representative about the Russians’ projected attack on the residents of Idlib? This has long been expected and has already started in some areas (Fear that Idlib attack will displace 700,000 people in one day, 6 September). It seems the UK, US, France and other western powers are happy to discuss punishing Russia for the events in Salisbury while some 3 million people in Idlib await their fate. Many of these people are already refugees from other parts of Syria.

I’m not suggesting we go to war, but the west has huge economic and military power. If we can consider measures in relation to Salisbury, why does the threatened holocaust in Syria hardly get a mention?

Mary Holmes

Twickenham, London

• The seven-year Syrian conflict has only been prolonged by the overt and covert assistance Syrian rebels have received from the US and its allies. Parliament’s foreign affairs select committee might learn some lessons if it examined the cost of the UK’s contribution to action in Libya in 2011. They should ask themselves if such action was of benefit to the Libyans.

Kevin Bannon

London

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