THE Irish Government can play a critical role in easing the pain of thousands of Somali people — if it can only find the courage. Because of its close association with the Ethiopian government, the Government is ideally placed to exert pressure on the Addis Ababa authorities to persuade them to withdraw their armed forces.

THE newly appointed Irish ambassador to Ethiopia has warned that the coming weeks will be critical in determining how the drought-hit country copes with its food shortage.

JOHN O’SHEA’S article (‘Giving money to kleptocrats will not help the poor,’ Irish Examiner, June 16) is not only unfair but inaccurate.