Harry Reid was not altogether accurate on the Commonwealth (The Herald, November 8). The Commonwealth - 53 nation states - is represented in South America by Guyana.
Not all were once part of the Empire: Mozambique, which joined in 1995, was formerly a Portuguese colony. Zimbabwe was suspended in March 2002 and left the Commonwealth in December 2003. Pakistan has never been expelled: it left in 1972, rejoined in 1989 and was suspended from 1999 until 2004.
The Commonwealth Games Federation - with 71 members - has a different membership basis from the Commonwealth. For example, the federation includes seven nations and territories - Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey - which are represented in the Commonwealth by one multi-nation state: the United Kingdom.
Dr Alexander S Waugh, 1 Pantoch Gardens, Banchory.
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