Sir, - I applaud David Andrews for calling on the Irish Government to use its term on the UN Security Council to try to highlight and condemn the pernicious international trade in arms (The Irish Times, December 2nd).
His succinct article touched on all the important issues. In his second paragraph especially he hit the nail squarely on the head when he said the $800 billion that would be spent on arms this year alone could have put every human on earth above the poverty line.
To describe as obscene this trade, which is killing millions of people and preventing the development of some of the poorest countries on earth, is a gross understatement. It is hypocritical of world governments to talk about wanting to help the poor when at the same time they allow the proliferation of arms to continue on such a scale. I do hope that the Irish representatives at the Security Council will seize every opportunity to condemn the continuance of this most evil of trades which is fuelled by greed and brings wholesale misery to so many people.
When they stand to speak on behalf of the victims they should take good note of the reactions around that table. For there will be many there with blood on their hands. - Yours, etc.,
John O'Shea, GOAL, PO Box 19, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.