Madam, - The continuing mystery over the exact details of Eamon de Valera's nativity should help us understand the tendency of a nationalist leader such as Yasser Arafat to obscure or even falsify particulars of birth for political purposes. However, once discovered, such confusions or untruths become useful tools in the hands of opponents, and may be further embellished at will to achieve a desired effect, as witnessed by the still current legend that de Valera was the illegitimate son of a Co Clare farmer.
It seems to me that this is what may be happening in the case of renewed allegations that Yasser Arafat is not even Palestinian (An Irishman's Diary, October 1st).
The respected Arab commentator Said Aburish acknowledges the falsity of the claim that Arafat was born in Jerusalem, but says that he was born in Cairo "of Palestinian parentage" on August 24th, 1929, and that his family may be traced back to Gaza.
As for the allegation that the KGB "destroyed the official records of Arafat's birth in Cairo", well, that puts me in mind of the equally improbable tale that the CIA forged the baptism record of Ronald Reagan's ancestor in order to rustle up an Irish pedigree! - Yours, etc.,
SEAN MURPHY, Windgates, Bray, Co Wicklow.