Biafra and human rights
Sir: I am afraid I must take exception to the remarks you have put under my letter to you published in your issue of the 22 November.
You of course know the rules of Chatham House but as you have mentioned the question of the Red Cross, I-think I must set the records straight. I have my lecture notes and what in fact I did state about the Red Cross was this. I gave the Federal government's attitude to Red Cross supplies going into Biafra. I then gave the Red Cross's attitude to this matter. I went on to say that one has to understand or try to understand the Federal government's point of view, which is that any form of blockade-breaking is an act of war in that it increases the will of people to resist.
My comment was that I felt that possibly the Red Cross had overemphasised the degree of assistance they had tried to put into Biafra whereas there is a great deal of assistance re- quired by people_coming out of the bush behind the Federal lines.
H. T. Alexander Bucklersbury House, 83 Cannon Street, London EC4