Sir, - We were pleased to see from your report on the Slane concert (The Irish Times, August 27th) that Bono reaffirmed his commitment to campaigning for debt cancellation. His statement is very opportune as the next big push in this campaign will centre on the IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington on September 29th and 30th.
The IMF and World Bank are the major creditors of the poorest countries, and also the harshest. There are heavy penalties for falling into arrears to these two bodies, which are now absolutely refusing to consider cancelling outstanding debt. As a member of both these bodies, Ireland shares the responsibility for the impact of their policies on heavily indebted countries.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland have declared their support for debt cancellation by signing the Jubilee Petition and through many other actions over the past few years. It is now time the Irish Government took a clear position on cancelling debt owed to the IMF and World Bank.
At the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS last June, the Taoiseach said: "If this means that countries with high prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS should receive debt cancellation, we will agree." We say to the Taoiseach: Don't wait on the sidelines until someone else proposes debt cancellation. Get into the front line and lead the call. - Yours, etc.,
Jean Somers, Debt and Development Coalition/Jubilee Ireland, All Hallows, Dublin 9.