Letter: Let Arafat be judged on his own merits

Sir: Schoolboy gangs and soccer hooligans operate on the primitive principle that 'a friend of an enemy is an enemy'. This is the kind of reasoning John Marshall MP (letter, 15 February) uses in respect of the relations between Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein, and for a Member of Parliament in a modern democracy it simply will not do.

Mr Arafat must be judged on his own merits, and not on the reputation of those with whom he consorts. After all, he may have sound political reasons for his behaviour to which we are not privy, and I'm sure we all, in the course of our lives, accept plaudits from those with whom we would rather not be judged.

Yours sincerely,

JOSEPH BRAY

Department of Psychiatry

University of Leicester

Leicester

15 February