THE Mayor of Monmouth, Eileen Goodrich, has reacted to angry press letters about forging new links between the town and the people of Ishikawa-Machi, Japan.
The criticisms from people who lost relatives and friends in fighting the Japanese during World War Two follow visits from dignitaries of the Japanese town to Monmouth.
Mrs Goodrich says while she sympathises with their losses and does not deny their right to speak their minds on the issue, she believes that forging new links with another nation can only be beneficial.
She did not think there was anything to be gained by "stopping friendship between nations and preventing world peace".
The Friendship Committee had organised the visits on behalf of the people of Monmouth and in their interest.
And in answer to criticisms that no benefits whatsoever would come from twinning links in Japan she said there was already a chance that local graduates would be offered English-teaching work in Japan on a long-term basis.
The war was a long time ago. She was not asking people to forget, only to be forward-looking and not stand in the way of efforts that sought to foster greater understanding and a more hopeful future.
A letter which was printed in last week's Review from Tom Moran, of Estob Way, Monmouth, who served in the bitter and bloody Burma campaign, said he had "a bounden duty to all my friends and comrades who will lie forever, some in unmarked graves" to speak up against twinning moves.
He concluded by saying he and others in the town were "strongly opposed to this foolish proposal".