Madam, – As one of the people who instigated the recent campaign for Ireland to join the Commonwealth (not re-join, as we never joined), may I congratulate Julian Ellison on his article (Opinion, April 17th).
Though remarkable progress has been made in Anglo-Irish relations recently, our Commonwealth campaign revealed that those who oppose membership do so on the grounds that Queen Elizabeth is the head. However, we need to be aware that this position is without power or influence and when she dies, the Commonwealth countries will elect a new head. All 53 Commonwealth members agree she is, and has been, an admirable head.
Mr Ellison is right to point out that we tend to dwell on the past. Many countries in the Commonwealth, from South Africa (which returned) to India, had some bitter colonial experiences, but have moved on.
Lastly, for those who argue that EU and Commonwealth membership are in some way contradictory, both Malta and Cyprus happily benefit from being in both organisations. In fact, as we know, the EU controls our destiny in many different ways, whereas the Commonwealth is not in the business of sovereignty control. – Yours, etc,