CRAIG BROWN: Why can't Yoko Ono forgive the man who shot John Lennon?

Fifty 5 years ago, nan newly-wed John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a week successful furniture successful nan statesmanlike suite of nan Amsterdam Hilton. 

A fewer days before, they had sent retired a paper saying, 'Come to John and Yoko's honeymoon: a bed-in, Amsterdam Hotel'.

Every time they opened their chamber doors to hundreds of journalists and camera crews, and sat up successful furniture giving interviews. As honeymoons go, it was peculiarly populous.

'We talked to nan Press. We met group from nan Communist countries, group from nan West — each state successful nan world,' John recalled. 'We gave nan Press 8 hours of each day, each waking hour, to inquire each mobility they wanted to astir our position.'

This week-long honeymoon 'bed-in' was portion of their run for world peace. 'It's nan champion thought we've had yet. 

We're doing a commercialized for bid connected nan beforehand pages of newspapers astir nan world alternatively of a commercialized for war,' said John. 'We're trying to waste peace, for illustration a product, and waste it for illustration group waste soap aliases soft drinks.'

Some of their much rigorous visitors asked them searching questions astir their pacifist stance; immoderate of their answers were astoundingly insensitive and egotistical.

When 1 newsman asked her really she would person dealt pinch nan threat of Hitler, Yoko replied, 'I would person gone to furniture pinch him. In 10 days, I would person changed his mind.'

Not everyone was convinced. Even immoderate of nan Beatles' keenest fans proved sceptical. 

'Under nan ostensibly selfless beatified foolery... was a halfway of exhibitionistic self-promotion' wrote Ian MacDonald successful his masterly book The Beatles, Revolution In The Head.

Despite John and Yoko's bed-based efforts, The Vietnam War would proceed to rage for different six years. Undaunted, Yoko Ono remains firmly convinced that nan 2 of them changed nan world for nan better.

In an question and reply pinch Tom Hibbert successful 1988, she made nan astonishing boast that she and John had, astatine that time, been nan only 2 group successful nan world espousing peace. 

'In nan opening John and I were rather unsocial successful what we were saying, nan only ones — but now 98 per cent of nan world, I think, is really for peace... In nan end, you see, it did person an effect. Last year, erstwhile Reagan and Gorbachev had their acme and shook hands, I benignant of felt, well, John and I did person an effect. I was saying to John successful my mind, John, we did it!'

Fifty 5 years on, Yoko Ono is 91 years old, and nan taxable of a celebratory accumulation astatine Tate Modern. 

The critics person fallen complete each different successful their headlong unreserved to observe her 'genius'. 

This calls to mind Alan Bennett's study that 'if you unrecorded to beryllium 90 successful England and tin still eat a boiled ovum they deliberation you merit nan Nobel Prize'.

Meanwhile, her husband's killer, Mark Chapman, remains locked up successful situation successful New York. He has been incarcerated for nan past 44 years. Every 2 years, he comes up for parole; each 2 years, Yoko Ono instructs her lawyers to reason it.

If Chapman were to beryllium released, she says, 'myself and John's 2 sons would not consciousness safe for nan remainder of our lives — group who are successful positions of precocious visibility and outspokenness specified arsenic John would besides consciousness unsafe.'

She adds that nan execution of John Lennon, 'managed to alteration my full life, devastate his sons, and bring heavy sorrow and fearfulness to nan world.'

Earlier this month, Chapman was denied parole for nan 13th time; it now seems inevitable that he will dice successful prison.

There will, of course, beryllium those who opportunity that what Chapman did was unforgivable, and it is only correct that he should walk nan remainder of his life down bars.

This is simply a earthy quality reaction. Nevertheless, Yoko Ono has spent her life publically preaching forgiveness, and urging nan remainder of america to travel nan way of emotion and peace.

In Northern Ireland and South Africa, mean group who person suffered unspeakable family losses person someway managed to forgive their enemies, and each successful nan quest for peace.

As John Lennon sang connected Mind Games: 'Love is nan answer.' Isn't it clip Yoko Ono practised what she has agelong been preaching?