The Monday Club
SIR,—I am flattered that Mr. Alan Watkins should now say (December 24) that the Monday Club is 'a highly reputable body,' for this had not been my impression of his initial comments on our Caxton Hall meeting. To me a 'Nuremberg Rally' was a rally organised by Nazis for Nazis for the glorification of one man—but perhaps my memory of these events is too cloudy for I was only a teen- ager at the time.
This particular rally was run by the Monday Club with the help of stewards from other organi- sations. That a limited number of undesirables got into a PUBLIC meeting is not surprising. Indeed, Empire Loyalists have attended Conservative rallies and even the annual conference, but no one—that I know of—has implied that this makes all Con- servatives into Empire Loyalists. To call the Monday Club meeting a 'Nuremberg Rally' is a perversion of language; similarly to insult the audience goes beyond the truth, for the vast majority at this gathering were responsible people expressing a deep feeling of dislike about a real and live political issue. In the long run, it may be seen that that meet- ing was the rallying point for those opposed to punitive sanctions, the use of force or UN inter- ference in Rhodesia.
Finally, Mr. Watkins might like to note that on December 19 we issued a statement opposing oil sanctions but urging that an all-party parliamentary commission should visit Rhodesia to reopen talks in default of which action attitudes will harden and compromise will become less likely.
The main issue of Rhodesia is too important to be bedevilled by a few Fascists, or even Commun- ists, attending public meetings in London. I am, however, grateful to Mr. Watkins for describing the Monday Club as 'a highly reputable body.' PAUL WILLIAMS Chairman. The Monday Club 6 Elm Park Road, London, SW3
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