Kith and kin
Sir: How refreshing to read John Simpson's article ('Once an Empire, now an embar- rassment', 23 October) about the Common- wealth. I agree with him in his view that the British Government and people should per- ceive more clearly the value of our links with this unique collection of nations.
I have just returned from the Conference in my capacity as chairman of the Com- monwealth Foundation. We are financed by the Commonwealth governments to pro- mote contact between the people of the Commonwealth, through professional organisations, non-government organisa- tions and cultural contact. We should never underestimate the scale of this contact between people who are bound together by an historic link with Britain, the English language and many common institutions including the law, education and adminis- tration.
I have the unusual experience of having been the last British district officer to join the Kenyan administration and to have served for five years as a minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
I believe that we have a new opportunity to reappraise the value of membership of the Commonwealth. The Empire is far in the past and the hang-up about it has gone. The hypocrisy about standards of democra- cy and the rule of law is diminishing as the momentum for promoting these standards of civilisation increases. Similarly the argu- ment about sanctions or South Africa has gone.
In this new climate it would be folly for Britain not to take full advantage of the special links that we have with 49 other countries. We have much to gain in terms of influence, support and trade relations. None of this need be at the expense of our other foreign policy priorities including a stable Europe, Nato and relations with the United States. We are now an equal part- ner in the Commonwealth, but this associa- tion stems from the former British Empire. Thereis much goodwill towards Britain, made all the more powerful by the unre- ported and large-scale contact between the British people and organisations and the Commonwealth countries.
We must use the Government's decision to cut off support for the Commonwealth Institute as an opportunity to explore ways in which we can spark the imagination of the younger generation in Britain to believe in the unique value of the Commonwealth. The British Government and people would gain from following the remarkable lead of the Queen, who has done so much to pro- mote the Commonwealth link which is of priceless value.
Richard Luce,
The Commonwealth Foundation, The University of Buckingham, Buckingham
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