The Hindu : Front Page : End Africa's misery, G-8 urged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 03, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

End Africa's misery, G-8 urged

Hasan Suroor

"Rich nations can eradicate poverty that is killing 50,000 people everyday"

MUSIC FOR A CAUSE: An aerial view shows music fans in front of the stage of the Live 8 concert in Berlin on Saturday. — PHOTO: AP

LONDON: Leaders of the world's richest nations have been warned that if they do not reach an agreement on "decisive'' steps to fight poverty in Africa at their summit in Scotland next week they would be guilty of "betraying'' the people of Africa.

The warning, addressed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the U.S. President George W. Bush and other leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations (G-8), came from organisers of the Live 8 rock concerts held around the world on Saturday to raise funds and create awareness about Africa as part of an international anti-poverty campaign led by the music star Bob Geldof.

"No half-measures"

In a sharply-worded open letter, Mr. Geldof, who has emerged as the public face of the "Make Poverty History'' campaign, told G-8 leaders that the world would not settle for anything less than a "historic breakthrough'' in combating poverty in Africa.

"We will not applaud half-measures, or politics as usual. This must be a historic breakthrough,'' he said, adding: "Do not disappoint us. Do not create a generation of cynics. Do not betray the desires of billions and the hopes of the poorest of our world.''

The letter, widely published in British newspapers, listed the measures the anti-poverty campaign wanted the G-8 summit to adopt. It called for an extra $25 billions in aid, 100 per cent debt cancellation for "all'' African countries, and an end to "unjust trade rules'' to help poorer nations build their economies through free trade.

"Just as people demanded an end to slavery, demanded women's suffrage, demanded the end of apartheid — we now call for an end to the unjust absurdity of extreme poverty that is killing 50,000 people everyday,'' it said.

The appeal was backed by charities, which warned that any delay in delivering the promised aid would mean prolonging the misery of millions of people across Africa. They expressed concern that some of the aid may not be delivered until 2010 saying it would be "five years too late''. If there was a delay, more than 50 million children "will die waiting for the world's richest leaders to deliver on their promises,'' Oxfam warned.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Edinburgh, close to the venue of next week's summit, in a show of solidarity with the people of Africa. The marchers, among whom were a large number of elderly men and women, planned to form a "human chain'' around the city to put across their message.

Concerts under way

AP reports:

Paul McCartney and U2's Bono rocked London's Hyde Park with a rousing performance of ``Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' on Saturday to kick off the main event in the Live 8 extravaganza rolling around the globe from Tokyo to Toronto, Berlin to Johannesburg.

A thunderous roar erupted from the crowd of about 150,000 as the two iconic performers belted out the first line: ``It was 20 years ago today ...'' — a nod to the mammoth Live Aid concerts that raised millions for African famine relief two decades ago.

From Johannesburg to Philadelphia, from Berlin to Tokyo, musicians and fans gathered for a global music marathon to raise awareness of African poverty and pressure the world's most powerful leaders to do something about it at the Group of Eight summit in Scotland next week.

Organiser Bob Geldof promised to deliver ``the greatest concert ever.''

While electrifying the crowd with an opening set that included ``Beautiful Day'' and ``One,'' Bono launched an appeal for lifting Africa out of its misery.

``We're not looking for charity, we're looking for justice,'' Bono told the sea of spectators. ``We cannot fix every problem, but the ones we can we must.''

The first concert kicked off in Japan, where Bjork and Good Charlotte joined local bands for a concert that failed to generate much interest in Asia's only G-8 nation. It rolled on to Johannesburg, South Africa, where 24-year-old Zambian singer Lindiwe opened before a crowd.

German crowd-pleasers Die Toten Hosen kicked off Berlin's Live 8 concert with a string of power anthems while reminding revellers that helping Africa stood above the music.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section