Sir, - Sir Ivor Roberts, British Ambassador to Ireland, writes (August 2nd) that Hans Van Sponeck offers no alternative to UN sanctions on Iraq. Nothing could be further from the truth.
He further attempts to muddy the waters by smearing Dr Van Sponeck and others who support the end of sanctions by suggesting they are apologists for the Iraqi government.
Firstly, sanctions are not of the making of the Iraqi people. More than 5,000 children die each month as a result of sanctions, with only the US and Britain continuing to support them.
The alternative is to lift all sanctions while maintaining an arms embargo on Iraq and all other countries in the region. Perhaps Sir Ivor could point out one country in the region whose human rights record is beyond reproach.
Finally, Dr Van Sponeck is one of the finest individuals I have ever had the honour to meet. He is liberal and moral and, like myself, supports liberal Western democracies. - Yours, etc.,
Niall Andrews, MEP, European Parliament Office, Dublin 2.