Bush Right on Africa

I wish to commend President Bush’s vision of aid to Africa as “a two-way street” in the current G8 aid and debt relief debate. The U.S. has decided not to give aid to countries that are corrupt, or do not hold true to democratic principles – a clear sign that the administration is fervently dedicated to a vision of a new deal for Africa.

Any new aid package to the continent will only succeed if it is matched by tackling corruption. Doubling aid, for all the noble aims of such a step, is useless unless the capacity of African countries to spend that aid effectively is doubled first. And this simply has not happened.

Corruption undermines every step of development – any type of reform that is tried is continually halted by a wall of corruption. As long as corruption exists at its current level in Africa, and as long as donors continue to look the other way, foreign aid will simply serve to keep African kleptocrats in power.

Consider this — Africa has had about 10 Marshall Plans in terms of the amount of aid the continent has received, estimated at $114 billion in bilateral and multilateral aid from 1995-2002.

Yet African countries have consistently ended up at the bottom of the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development report, which measures life expectancy, gross domestic product per person, and literacy.

The billion-dollar question is — where did the aid go? The Commission for Africa Report rightly notes, “Africa has suffered from governments that have looted the resources of the state; that could not or would not deliver services to their people…that maintained control through violence and bribery; and that squandered or stole aid.”

The Bush administration will be remembered as the government that had the moral courage to tackle corruption head on, confronting this century’s greatest obstacle to development in Africa.

John O’Shea, GOAL USA, New York, New York

Stop Visa Denial

I was very pleased to see the recent letters from Sean O’ Lubaigh and Brian Wardlow regarding the Eire Nua peace proposal and the visa denial policy which has been used by the U.S. government against proponents of this plan.

The Eire Nua peace proposal holds the potential of achieving what the Belfast Agreement has failed to deliver — a peaceful, sovereign Ireland which would guarantee, as the Proclamation of the Republic states, “religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens.”

Irish Americans have a right to learn about the merits of Eire Nua first hand from its most eloquent proponents. Yet the visa denial policy prevents such individuals from entering the U.S. States despite the fact that they clearly pose no threat to American security, and despite the fact that there is ample evidence to conclude that the Belfast Agreement is dead in the water.

One must ask oneself why they are barred from speaking about an alternative peace plan when one would certainly seem to be needed?

The State Department, in their misguided attempts to make post-September 11 America a safer place, and as quid pro quo for British cooperation in the “war in terror,” have cheated the American people of their right to hear the merits of Eire Nua from those who can best explain it.

They have cheated the Irish people by censoring a proposal which seeks to bring a just and lasting peace. The State Department must, in the interests of peace in Ireland and freedom in America, end its policy of denying visas to proponents of Eire Nua.

Robert Fitzgerald, St. Paul, Minnesota

Troubling Attack Ignored

The Irish Troubles are unfortunately far from over. In spite of what the mass media would have us believe, there is in fact a reasonable, non-sectarian, feasible peaceful alternative to the failed, so-called Good Friday Agreement.

This alternative unites the island of Ireland in way that is fair, responsible, and would make for a healthy country for all. That proposal is named Eire Nua (New Ireland).

Unfortunately those who support this viable alternative are banned from sharing their ideas in the U.S. through visa denials and instead are branded as terrorists.

While I’d like to use this letter to promote Eire Nua more, I’ve learned of a situation this morning that your readers should be made aware of immediately.

Friday night (June 10, early June 11) after a tribute ballad event for a deceased Irish community worker, Frank Gartland, members and supporters of organizations that support the Eire Nua peace proposal were brutally assaulted and arrested in Tallaght, outside of Dublin.

Youth, women, men, even a young person suffering from Cerebral Palsy were pistol whipped, beaten, threatened and arrested without a warrant, and so far without any charges.

While this sort of brutality might have been a common occurrence in Belfast in the 1980s, this is just outside of Dublin today, in an Ireland that greatly contrasts the image the Provos, British and American governments and media would have us believe exists.

As I type this there has been no coverage of the attack in the media and chances are any mention will be done solely by concerned individuals. And that’s what I’m doing with this letter.

If your readers would like to learn more about this situation, I encourage them to visit the following websites — the Irish Republican Bulletin Board at www.irbb.rr.nu, or Na Fianna Eireann at www.fiannaeireann.com.

And for information on the Eire Nua peace proposal visit Republican Sinn Fein at www.rsf.ie.

Saerbhreathach MacToirdealbhaigh, Dublin, Ireland

Gaelic Is Official

I want to express my joy at the Irish language becoming the 21st official and working language of the European Union. This decision can only assist in the development of a modern dynamic dimension to one of the oldest European languages.

The Irish language has the greatest living oral tradition, its deep spiritual and poetic capabilities are widely recognized and now has a unique opportunity of communicating 21st century social ideals and political complexities.

It shows that the European community is not leading towards a homogenized “dumbing down” of cultures, but glories in the richness and diversity of European cultures and languages.

Tír gan Teanga, Tír gan Anam.

Elaine Ní Bhraonáin, CUNY Institute for Irish-American Studies, Bronx, New York.

United Ireland Is Right

I just read the letter in the June 1-7 issue of the Irish Voice where Martin McGrath supported letter writer Thomas Keown on his dislike of a Michael Cummings letter in May to the Irish Voice.

I know Michael and he has been very active in Irish affairs. He is respected in Ireland and from coast to coast in this country.

He strives to see an end to injustice in Ireland. One may disagree, and I thank the Voice for giving us this forum.

When I see the words “inaccuracy and hysteria” it doesn’t fit the Michael Cummings I know. I guess it is how one looks at it.

An atheist may see the Bible as inaccurate for his own reasons, and a Christian may see both his bibles as accurate. Now we take a Jewish view of it, and they might say the atheist is wrong and the Christian is only half-right.

Whoever writes the headlines on the letters to the editor page does the job well. On Mr. Keown’s letter it read “Look Ahead, Not Back.”

Keown states we must look for ways to cooperate. It reeks of white flag waving. His letter was well done, but I think I would have to stand with the atheist on this one.

As for Mr. McGrath’s letter, I think the answer is there in the headline to his letter — “Brits Out Is Old.” The alternative then is, “Brits In.”

The statement is old because the problem is old and great injustices are seldom new. There would be no need for the IRA if there were no Brits in Ireland.

Mr. Keown and Mr. McGrath may be comfortable with the Union Jack in Ireland, but I thank God we still have those who seek a united Ireland.

Bill Ashe, Corona, California