Rian all at sea
From Jeffrey Bout well Sir: Is Rian Malan from the 'no need to check facts, let's just make it up' school of journalism? In his letter (2 October) he alleges that the Pugwash Conferences workshop he was invited to in February 2004 was held 'at a seaside resort' and that 'God knows how much it cost'. (Malan was invited to the meeting and agreed to come, but then failed to arrive without notifying anyone.) As is customary with Pugwash, committed scholars and public figures participate in the meetings, often covering their own air fares, because of their commitment to enhancing global security by thinking and acting in new ways. In point of fact, Pugwash had minimal funds for the February 2004 meeting, so overseas participants arranged their own travel and the workshop was held in the modest homes of the parents of our two South African organisers (Profs Marie Muller and Nola Dippenaar of the University of Pretoria), not some 'seaside resort'. Participants cooked their own meals, washed their own dishes etc., to save on expenses. Mr Malan doesn't need to ask God how much it cost — he can ask me. The total was about US $1,000, which for eight participants comes out at $135 a person for two days of lodging and meals.
I hope Mr Malan is more rigorous in his fact-checking on Aids than he was in seeking to belittle the Pugwash Conferences and its work on this important issue. However, as my colleagues explained in your pages, there arc sound reasons to doubt it.
Jeffrey Boutwell
Executive director, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, London WCI
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