UK’s hypocrisy exposed
Posted on July 18th, 2013
Michelle Alexander
Despite incessant requests to other nations to not commit human rights abuses, the government of the United Kingdom stands exposed of its double speak after it has been revealed that more than 3000 export licenses has been issued for military and intelligence equipment, said to be worth a ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚£ 12.3 billion (14.6 billion Euros or US$$18.6 billion), with some of these exports to countries said to be on the UK governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s watch list for human rights abuses. This was revealed by a report compiled by The House of Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls.
Countries that have the most current deals with UK:-
- China ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ – 1163 export licenses worth 1.49 billion pounds (this is despite an existing EU arms embargo on China )
- Saudi Arabia ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ -ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 417 export licenses worth 1.86 billion pounds
- Israel ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ -ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 381 export licenses worth 7.88 billion pounds
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Human rights records in nations such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Zimbabwe are bad, even downright horrific, yet they are awarded export licenses for arms and other equipment.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Even countries such as Syria and Iran have deals for arms exports, with IranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s current contracts valuing at a little over 800 million pounds, and Syria had three deals worth a little less than 150,000 pounds, notwithstanding the fact that the UK is sending weapons to Syrian rebels fighting pro-Assad forces. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ William Hague recently issued statements saying that “Our sanctions on Iran are extremely tough and we do not export to Iran anything that conflicts with the sanctions agreed at the United Nations or in the European Union,” and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I think people can be confident in our export controls, they are among the toughest in the world.”
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sir John Stanley, the chairman of the committee and a former Defense minister added, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The Government needs to acknowledge that thereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s an inherent conflict between strongly promoting arms exports to authoritarian regimes whilst strongly criticizing their lack of human rights at the same time. Instead they continue to claim these two policies ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”are mutually reinforcingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
July 19th, 2013 at 2:50 am
Hi Michelle, Thanks for an article that is very relevant and important. This “The House of Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls”; is examining the exports to countries that have been identified by the UK Parliament as countries with Human Rights issues. That is why Sri Lanka has also fallen in to the list.
Please note the exclusion of India from this report though UK arms and defense technology exports to India is much more than a billion pounds a year. The reason for this is India has no Human Rights issues according to the UK Parliament. This Committee has no members of Indian extraction but the UK Parliament has a fair number and very influential members of Indian extraction.
There is a big difference between arms and defense technology because technology is expensive to buy but is much worth in the long run. For example Saudi buys are mostly armaments and Israel is mostly technology. India buys a lot of defense technology from UK and other countries. For example according to the Secretary of this Committee India bought Nuclear and Missile Technology in one quarter of 2012 worth almost four hundred million pounds. He said that they have checks and balances to stop India using these for Weapons of Mass Destruction when asked about India using this technology to attack Sri Lanka (using short range missiles with nuclear warheads) or Australia (with ICBMs like Agni 7000 under development).
Then I raised the question of Indian civil acquisitions that give India defense technology and I sighted Indian acquisition of Rover group that manufactures, Jaguar, rover and infantry vehicles and other heavy military vehicles and he agreed with me.
He also agreed India is a country with human rights problems like in Kashmir and its terrorists outfit in Sri Lanka. So you can see how Indians overseas including Indian colonial parasites can and do help India in its efforts to subjugate people like the Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers and Malays of the island nation.
July 19th, 2013 at 6:24 am
Well, when it comes to earning a buck, The UK has hardly anything else to export other than kit for warmongering! and Whisky!. Everything else now in the UK is imported from China, Japan or the EU. Sad. For the country which started the Industrial Revolution there are no industries left except the fabrication of armaments and therefore that is the ONLY item UK has to sell to earn its keep. And if you sell armaments through the back door to everybody in the World, there are jobs for life for some here. So the best for Britain is while pretending to be peace loving, to create armed conflict all over the world to sell the bloody stuff!! – S de Silva – London
July 19th, 2013 at 11:57 am
We are told that Britain never quite lets go of her ex-colonies. USA, India & Sri Lanka are all ex-colonies.
July 19th, 2013 at 5:46 pm
India was not a colony but the partner of the British Indian Empire. British built India. There was no India before that. Indian subcontinent had a large number of separate and independent countries. Let us look at things as they were and they are not what we have been led to believe.