Sir, - Archbishop Walton Empey asked in his Easter address if we have refused to learn from seeing ethnic conflict in the Balkans, Zimbabwe, etc. on our TV screens. It is the bishop who has refused to learn. Any rational human being would learn one lesson from these ethnic conflicts - namely, that a country which has not had an ethnic mix should avoid it like the plaque.
The bishop sweepingly tells us to welcome immigrants. He conveniently ignores the fact that even a bleeding heart like Peter Finlay admits that 60 to 70 per cent of asylum-seekers are not genuine. Are we supposed to embrace the fraudster? When they leave their addresses on receipt of a deportation order and become illegal immigrants, must we also embrace them?
Are we in charge of our own country (the very meaning of democracy) or are we not? The nature and extent of demographic change should be decided by us, not by the outsider. The bishop is obviously a busy man who has not had time to reflect on these matters. But since they are political, they are not his business anyway. - Yours, etc.,
Aine Ni Chonaill, PRO, Immigration Control Platform, Dublin 4.