Sir, - I have often admired Amnesty International's campaigns, not least for the meticulously documented way in which they seek to establish the merits of each case and their measured, even cautious, use of language. It was therefore a shock to encounter the now infamous billboard earlier this year with its tagline - "Some say they're involved in racism. Others say they're doing nothing about it" - and the accompanying pictures of Bertie Ahern, John O'Donoghue and Mary Harney.
I have been involved with anti-racist and pro-immigrant organisations for several years. But like many other people - and many on "my" side of the debate have been regrettably silent - I felt that a common-sense reading of the campaign slogan at least allowed an inference to be drawn that the individuals portrayed were in fact racist. The wording was an unpardonably careless use of language - inexcusable, if the ambiguity in the slogan was deliberate.
Racism is a serious charge. The word should not be used lightly. Although I disagree with many of their policies, I do not believe that any of the people named is a racist. I also believe the campaign probably damaged the credibility of anti-racist and human rights organisations in Ireland - and their cause - to a greater extent than any right-wing reactionaries, who have little support in this country anyway, might have done. I can only conclude that the campaign was designed by people who were either inexperienced or out of touch with current conditions in this country.
As bad as this was, I was truly astonished, on reading the commendable statement by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland criticising Amnesty's campaign, to see that its criticism was rejected by Amnesty as "outrageous, inappropriate and frankly arrogant" (The Irish Times, September 4th). I had to check that these were not the terms used to refer to Amnesty's own campaign - they would have been entirely justified.
Living with diversity will be a challenge. The widening social gap within Irish society will make it doubly difficult to deal with new kinds of exclusion, when so many are already excluded. Informed action campaigns on the ground engaging all those involved - not billboard sloganeering - are the way forward. - Yours, etc.,
Piaras Mac Einri, Director, Irish Centre for Migration Studies, National University of Ireland, Cork.