Madam, - I was absolutely amazed to read John O'Shea's commentary titled "Review needed of the way Irish aid is channelled" (Nov 13th).
Although he spilt much ink in smearing the image of the Ethiopia and in urging the Irish Government to stop aid to Ethiopia, O'Shea failed to point out any misappropriation of Irish money by the Ethiopian authorities.
His account of post-election violence in Ethiopia last year is based on speculation.
It was not only biased and unbalanced but also devoid of any grain of truth.
He ignores the killing of six policemen and the injury to 330 more in violence that was clearly not the "peaceful demonstration" that the organisers claimed.
Contrary to Mr O'Shea's assertions, all observers gave Ethiopia's elections a clean bill of health and most opposition party members took up their seats in parliament over a year ago - there are now over 170 opposition MPs, in contrast to only 12 previously.
The Ethiopian government has an excellent record in building democratic institutions, as the recent World Bank Africa Development Indicators 2006 report shows. It singles Ethiopia out for praise in key areas and gives the country a high overall rating.
As an instance, concerning education, in 1991 only 27 per cent of Ethiopian children attended primary school.
This rose to 77 per cent in 2004 and is now 85 per cent.
Ethiopia now has eight universities (it had only one in 1991) and is currently building a further 13 in all its federal states.
The Bank also has confirmed that the country has registered 9 per cent economic growth for the past three years and is poised to increase this into double digits in the coming few years. Ethiopia is in the top category for "policies of social inclusion and equity".
Regardless of the lame accusations by Mr O'Shea, my government has excellent relations with Goal on the ground in Ethiopia, which does invaluable work in various domains.
We fail to understand Mr O'Shea's antipathy, which seems to be based on hearsay and misinformation. - Yours, etc,
ZERAHUN RETTA, Ambassador, Ethiopian Embassy, 1-3 Merrion House, Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2.