Nicaraguan aid
Sir: Your editorial of 8 June entitled 'Nicaraguan aid' was inaccurate and mis- leading.
To set the record straight: in March this year the Disaster Unit of the Overseas Development Administration responded quickly and generously to our request for £100,000 to provide relief assistance to people displaced by the war being waged by the Contras in Nicaragua. This donation was channelled to Cafod's partners in Catholic parishes in the affected areas of Nicaragua. The funds were exchanged legally and openly at 50 cordobas to the dollar. It is not our practice to deal on the black market in Nicaragua or anywhere else.
The Observer report referred not to funds from the Overseas Development Administration but to the British Govern- ment's alleged policy of blocking multi- lateral disbursements of funds to Nicar- agua through the World Bank and similar bodies.
Julian Filochowksi
Director, The Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, 2 Garden Close, Stockwell Road, London SW9
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