Sir, - I am continually amazed by the incredible arrogance of Jubilee 2000, Debtwatch and other groups campaigning for the cancellation of Third World debt. These groups continually state that the majority of Irish people want this debt cancelled. This is incorrect.
Some 800,000 people are claimed to have signed this petition, approximately a quarter of the population of the Republic. How many people, before signing this petition, heard an open debate on this issue? Few, if any. How many of these signatures are from secondary school students who were told by teachers to sign the petition in the absence of an open debate?
Are those who signed the petition aware of the real reasons behind Third World debt? One reason that the debt should not be cancelled for all Third World countries is war and war-mongering.
Half of Africa is at present at war. The unpayable debt of these countries has been accumulated by a vicious arms race in sub-Saharan Africa. Do those who campaign for debt cancellation honestly believe that these nations are going to suddenly see the error of their ways, repent and use the money freed from debt repayments to improve the welfare of their people?
Instead they will use the extra money to buy more tanks, missiles and other weapons of destruction. Far from being helped, those in war-torn areas will suffer as their governments use their clean credit-sheet to borrow more and more in the pursuit of military dominance. - Yours, etc.,
John J. Carroll, Ratoath, Co Meath.