Sir, - On behalf of the newly formed Irish Algeria Solidarity Group I wish to congratulate Lara Marlowe for her expose of Motorola's supply of voice-encrypted, two-way radio sets to the Algerian police - a force infamous for its torture techniques and murder of suspects (The Irish Times, February 13th). In spite of our numerous requests, Motorola Ireland has refused to confirm or deny the Irish Times report, stating that such information is confidential, and has further refused to guarantee that such shipments to Algeria would be suspended, saying: "We do not operate in countries where such activity is prohibited by US law."
Last year Irish commodity exports to Algeria were valued at £26.133 million, while imports were valued at £2.567 million pounds. Clearly, Irish exporters, including Motorola, have a very profitable trade with Algeria. This must be made conditional on respect for human rights. - Yours, etc.,
Ireland-Algeria Solidarity Group, Upper Camden Street, Dublin 2.