It says that personally you need do nothing about systems that concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, systems that are exemplified by the wealthy rock stars who perform on these occasions. What do I see? Immense poverty and sickness of course but also an instinct for survival, particularly in women, that shames us in the West and in many cases, is almost heroic. This is the positive side to Africa but it is one that rarely gets coverage. It shows that, given the right support and resources, Africans would be capable of lifting themselves out of poverty.But Africa can never work if populations continue to grow at their current levels.CHRISTOPHER RHODESTARRAGONA, SPAINSir: I greatly admire Bob Geldof, and support the aims of Live8. In addition, damage to the environment from a doubling of the population over such a short time would be catastrophic.This puts the achievements of Africa into perspective.

Over the past 25 years Ethiopia’s population has almost doubled, and the populations of most other African countries have followed a similar trend I visit Ethiopia and travel to rural areas. Scary? The social and physical infrastructure might not completely collapse but it is impossible to believe that standards of living at the current level could be maintained. In 2005 the population of the United Kingdom is about 60 million In 2030 the population is 120 million. There must be no more quiet diplomacy designed to protect a tyrant rather than his innocent people. Not to protest publicly in the strongest terms through the UN and the EU will be to make the Commission for Africa mockery.BARONESS PARK OF MONMOUTHRT HON LORD CARRINGTONRT HON LORD STEEL OF AIKWOODLORD AVEBURYKATE HOEY MPLONDON SW1Sir: The critical issue of high population growth is barely mentioned in your Africa Issue (1 June). The UN agencies which are operating in Zimbabwe should report to the UN, to the Security Council, at once.

It will be a criminal act of complicity and appeasement if we do not now require the African Union and, in particular, Thabo Mbeki and the UN, to refuse utterly to deal with Mugabe without an immediate end to these appalling acts of violence against his own people Any food aid given now must not be used as a political tool. In both places the world press has been able to report what is happening; not so in Zimbabwe. As in Darfur, the UNCHR should immediately mount an independent investigation of these and other atrocities. On 26 May police, backed by troops, launched an operation described by state radio as a round-up of street traders and demolition of “informal housing”. The police were ordered to shoot to kill if they encountered resistance. The shacks of 200,000 of the bitterly poor were razed to the ground and burned. Goods were seized, street traders rounded up and, police claim, 22,375 arrests made.The world has been rightly concerned and prepared to intervene to bring pressure to bear in Uzbekistan and in the Sudan, both sovereign states.

For the Luxembourg Prime Minister to say that over half the citizens of the EU have approved the constitution is pure arrogance. In all the countries that have approved, apart from Spain, their parliaments ratified the treaty and the opinion of the people was never sought.ROGER WITHERSPARAMARIBO, SURINAME Don’t appease the tyrant of Zimbabwe Sir: James Morris of the World Food Programme has just visited Harare. But it should still attempt to do the same things as this one and make an already successful Europe work even better.VIKKI MILLSPRESIDENT, YOUNG EUROPEAN MOVEMENT LONDON SE1Sir: The “No” votes in France and the Netherlands may not be votes against the EU, but they are certainly votes against politicians, who have failed to communicate with their people. The battle we have to fight is not about whether we stay in or leave the EU.

Supporters of the EU have tended to rest on their laurels; maybe we have thought the creation of the world’s largest marketplace, with millions of people travelling freely across borders and a space where governments and nations can get their way only through co-operation and not confrontation were achievements that spoke for themselves Clearly we were wrong. But we will not be making the same mistake twice.Europe is not in crisis We are not at a crossroads. It’s about properly engaging with our enemies and demonstrating that we are the people with the messages about the real world of today A new treaty is probably many years off now. The EU is a success; it’s communication that needs improvement

The EU is a success; it’s communication that needs improvement
Sir: The French and Dutch no votes surely mean that the constitutional treaty is dead and gone. But we should remember that when we ask “What now for Europe?” (front page, 2 June) that these votes leave the EU just where it was – all the existing treaties are still in force.The no votes are more about politicians losing touch with the people, and not just in France and the Netherlands: the long refusal of the British government to speak out for Europe shows just how scared Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have become of the public on this issue.The answer to this malaise is not to dismember the EU but to make it relevant to ordinary people who take its benefits for granted. So we had it dug up, and we found that it contained a dead body.