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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Geldof strikes back at critics while on Africa tour |
| 2003-05-29 |
| EFL & to just the new (today) stuff. Heedless of the dismay caused to international aid agencies by his support for Washington's Africa policies, Bob Geldof heaped more praise on the Bush administration yesterday. The Live Aid founder, who is visiting Ethiopia for the first time in nearly 20 years to highlight the danger of another famine, hailed President George Bush's signature on a $15bn (£9bn) plan to fight Aids in Africa and the Caribbean, saying: "That is extremely radical and welcoming ... and will take the fight against Aids to new heights." Earlier, Mr Geldof startled the aid world by describing Washington as one of Africa's best friends in its fight against Aids and famine. He compared Mr Bush favourably with his predecessor, Bill Clinton, who he said talked passionately about Africa, but did "f*** all". As for the EU, its response to Africa's humanitarian crisis was "pathetic and appalling". Aid agencies have generally welcomed the $15bn US commitment against Aids, but believe it does little to counteract the Republican administration's hardline approach to trade and debt questions. Justin Forsyth, Oxfam's director of campaigns and policy, said: "The international trade rules are a major obstacle to developing countries and America is a big impediment to resolving these. "The harm that The US isn't the one stopping African countries from feeding themselves. Undaunted by the controversy, Mr Geldof visited a feeding centre in the Awassa region of Ethiopia yesterday, one of the areas worst hit by more than two years of severe drought, where dozens of children lay waiting for high-energy food to keep them alive. He said it brought back memories of his first visit to Ethiopia in 1984, when nearly a million people starved to death. "The situation is worse than I expected," he said, taking an emaciated child from the arms of its mother. "We are condemning these drought-affected people to death. Why do all this elaborate work in bringing all these people back to health if all we are going to do is send them back out to nothing? It probably isn't a famine yet. I keep going on about it, and I don't understand why we don't learn." Gotta like this guy. Gets into the trenches and says what he thinks. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 He's also not big on Zimbabwe Bob... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-694964,00.html |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-29 15:00:27 |