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Letter to the Editor, 23rd January 2008
Madam,
The European Parliament has called on EU member-states to freeze budgetary aid to Kenya until a peaceful solution to last month's disputed presidential elections has been found. As the Irish Government usually follows its European counterparts on these matters, an important question has to be asked: Why is it only Kenya's aid that is being looked at?
While the current unrest has brought Kenya to the forefront of people's minds, there are many other countries that have just as much reason to have their aid allocation examined. The government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, one of the few leaders to congratulate Mwai Kibaki on his election victory, has been identified as one of the most corrupt in Africa and yet every year the Irish Government routes millions through it.
This is despite the fact that Uganda was one of the many countries that invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2003 to loot the country's natural resources. The International Court of Justice ordered Uganda to pay the DRC $10 billion as a result of this conflict. Yet the aid to Uganda continues to flow.
Another country that should be examined is Ethiopia. Following the elections of 2005, 193 pro-democracy protesters were shot dead by the troops of Meles Zewani. Those same troops have invaded Somalia and helped create a humanitarian situation so serious that, according to the UN, it now surpasses Darfur. Despite this Ethiopia remains a bilateral aid partner of the Irish Government.
What level of corruption and brutality has to occur within a country before our Government will realise that channelling aid through these regimes is the wrong policy?
Yours, etc,
JOHN O'SHEA,
Goal,
Dún Laoghaire.
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