Madeleine Albright

* Here is a wholehearted vote of support and praise for the long-overdue public tongue-lashings delivered in the Balkans by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (June 1).

The tone.circumstances and moral depth that Albright used to convey her message of personal accountability to the presidents of Croatia and Serbia mark a high note in American diplomacy.

We have a truly courageous secretary of State at a particularly critical moment in history. Imagine the force that comes when a U.S. secretary of State tells a ministerashamed.”

BILL ORTON

Seal Beach

* Has anyone noticed the difference--Albright’s talks with Croatia’s President Franjo Tudjman were held in the presence of reporters, followed by a press conference. In contrast, no media were present during talks with Serbia’s President Slobodan Milosevic. It was held behind closed doors, as were the talks with the president of the Bosnian Serb entity.

Why the secrecy? Only Croatia was chastised in public, while the Serbs, instigators of the wars and perpetrators of 90% of the war crimes, were hardly mentioned in the press. Is this freedom of the press and fairness?

HILDA FOLEY

Santa Ana