Rock star Geldof urges Europe to do more

Irish rock star Bob Geldof launched an attack on the European Union (EU) on Tuesday as he returned to drought-stricken Ethiopia for the first time in 20 years.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, he called on the EU to ship in more food unless the world again wanted to witness the horrors of the 1984 famine in which one million people died.

Geldof is the mastermind of the 1985 Live Aid concert which raised US $60 million for famine victims in Ethiopia.

“The EU have been pathetic and appalling and I thought we had dealt with that 20 years ago when the electorate of our countries said never again,” Geldof stated.

So far some 12.6 million people – one in five of the population – are facing starvation and the aid bill is estimated at more than £500 million.

Geldof's five-day mission is billed as a “wake up call” to a crucial G8 summit of world leaders in Evian, France on 1 June. He is looking for western governments to come up with a "Marshall Plan for Africa".

Geldof added that the AIDS pandemic – which he described as an “unimaginable horror on a parallel to the bubonic plague” was making the crisis worse.

His visit, which has been arranged by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), aims to highlight the plight of Ethiopia and the challenges it faces.

UNICEF Ethiopia head Bjorn Ljungqvuist told IRIN the agency was grateful for Geldof's visit "because it will help draw global attention to the new mix of challenges we must overcome to build a more peaceful, stable world - a world that is truly fit for children.”