Sir, - It is with sadness but little surprise that I read of the decision by our colleagues Medecins Sans Frontieres to pull out of North Korea following the frustration by the North Korean government of their efforts to provide aid.
It is now almost the norm for Third World governments to attempt to thwart the efforts of aid agencies working in their countries, either in an attempt to line their own pockets, as is the case in North Korea, or to strangle a section of the population by letting them starve, as has been the case in some African countries during the past decade. Either way the effect of such action is the same - it is nothing less than murder.
The international community must not stand aside and watch while the corrupt governments of the Third World cut off aid to their own people. The government of North Korea must not be allowed to decide whether its people are saved or are allowed to die. Only an international peacekeeping force can support MSF in their efforts to prevent the starvation of the North Korean people. We are calling for such a force to be sent there without prevarication. - Yours, etc., John O'Shea,
Goal, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.