Madam, - Desmond FitzGerald (June 18th) believes that the problem is not cancelling the poorest countries' debt but what happens afterwards. But the problem is extortionate interest on badly placed loans by irresponsible bankers flush with money. Weapons kill but so does debt.
Far from "prattling on" about relieving the debt and "missing the point", Bono & Co are well aware that it is scandalous, immoral, unjust and callous for rich countries to continue extracting money from the world's poorest people.
When these countries were supposedly given independence, they were left in a pitiable condition, without proper infrastructure, schools and hospitals and civil administrators. Furthermore, Western mercenaries (former British, French and Belgian army personnel) and Western companies, particularly armaments, mining and oil firms, continued to interfere and profit through exploitation and unfair trading.
I agree with Mr FitzGerald that at some point every country needs to take responsibility for its own actions regardless of its past. But the colonisers haven't pulled out yet. They are there under the guise of institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, imposing conditions like privatisation of state resources for multinational corporations and fiscal policies which favour the payment of debts at the expense of people's lives.
The idea of a UN programme that stops Western countries selling arms to poorest countries and stops these countries spending money on their armies is something I too support.
I would also like to see civil society groups, church groups and NGOs monitoring the "debt" money, ensuring it is spent on education, health, water, small business and agricultural projects.
Not only does Europe need to admit "how evil its rule in Africa was", it needs to admit that refusal to cancel illegitimate odious and unpayable debt is a form of violence against people ravaged by war, disease and hunger. - Yours, etc.,
GERALDINE MURPHY, Watson Avenue, Killiney, Co Dublin.