Madam, - In his acceptance speech on receiving the legion of honour - France's highest civic award - Kader Asmal, the internationally acclaimed human rights advocate from South Africa, cited two historic documents which had inspired him in his lifelong endeavour. These documents, the former South African minister said, were the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic - or as he described it simply to his French audience, the "1916 Proclamation" (The Irish Times, February 10th).
We know that India and many smaller nations struggling against colonialism and its inherent exploitation and racism took considerable inspiration and courage from this seminal event of the early 20th century. The recent exchange between the former South African minister and the president of France appears to confirm that the Proclamation and the events surrounding it remain a treasured part of the world's body politic and its human rights champions. The debate on 1916 and its legacy is no longer, therefore, the sole preserve of the Irish.
Accordingly, as part of the upcoming centenary events, perhaps the leaders of our still influential nation could consider staging an international conference on the legacy of 1916 and its relevance to today's rapidly changing Ireland and to a world still troubled by gross inequality, war and the denial of basic national and human rights. If so, I can think of no more appropriate personages to jointly co-host such a conference than the President of Ireland and the secretary general of the United Nations. - Yours, etc,
BILLY FITZPATRICK, Terenure, Dublin 6W.