Letter: Disaster relief

Sir: On television I saw Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development, state, in her usual forthright manner, that the question of the UK cancelling the long-term debt repayments of the Central American countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch is "an irrelevance" and that all that needs to be addressed now is immediate disaster relief. I am pleased to see you rightly questioning Ms Short's views in your leading article ("Our moral duty to help those hit by disaster", 7 November) and pointing out ("West is urged to waive debt") how her views contrast with those of Europe's Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Emma Bonino.

Hurricane Mitch is said to be the worst storm to have hit the region for more than two centuries. It has wreaked havoc on countries which are among the poorest in the world. They depend very largely for what little foreign currency they can earn on agricultural exports. These, together with thousands of people, have just been washed away or buried under mud, as have the roads over which they would normally have been transported.

Our government has proclaimed its belief in an ethical foreign policy. Surely, this is the moment to show that that is not an empty slogan by announcing that the UK will immediately declare its willingness to relieve the stricken Central American countries of their international debts. Clare Short is simply wrong. The huge indebtedness of the poorest countries in the world is certainly not an irrelevance to them.

HENRY ETTINGHAUSEN

Professor of Spanish

University of Southampton