UNDER the somewhat melodramatic headline "Fight goes on for racial equality", you report that a total of 14 complaints were received by the Bury Race Equality Council for the whole of 1998 and, of these, just six went to tribunal.

Now every single day in this town there must be literally thousands of cross-racial interactions - in schools, shops, hospitals, libraries, DHSS offices, and in the context of taxi services, and not to mention informal, spontaneous encounters.

This is made plain if we consider actual population figures. The best estimate of Bury's total population in 1997 is 181,900, and the proportion of ethnic minority folk at the 1991 census was 3.6 per cent - probably about five per cent now, giving a raw number of about 10,000.

That means that at least 99 per cent of people from the ethnic minorities found nothing to complain about in 1998 - even allowing for relevant age profiles, and despite the fact that we have a vociferous race relations industry that constantly urges the ethnic minorities to complain long and loud at the slightest suggestion of discrimination.

All of which indicates that race is not a significant issue in this town. People, whatever their colour, get on pretty well - in fact, there is probably more in the way of animosity and discrimination WITHIN both major and minority communities than there is BETWEEN them. The generally settled and tranquil state of race relations is a tribute to the fundamental decency and tolerance of all Bury folk; and this confirms the recent comment of the Chief Rabbi that this is probably the most tolerant nation on earth.

Why else are we so massively popular regarding immigrants?

Yet we still have the chairman of the Bury REC banging on about "institutional racism".

Would this gentleman care to specify which institutions in Bury actually practise "racism"? Should he not put up or, in heaven's name, shut up?

My fear is that if influential organisations such as the Bury REC continue to accuse folk of something of which they are not guilty, then they, themselves, will create the very resentment they are supposed to be in business to prevent.

Is it not time, indeed overtime, to question the tens of thousands of pounds of public money invested in such a manifestly useless organisation?

Would the money not be better spent on hospitals, schools, or old folk's homes?

RAY HONEYFORD,

Wragby Close,

Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.