Arms companies in pursuit of profits deliberately instigate conflicts in Asia and Africa
24 August 2021 - 15:38
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US troops prevent the entry of Afghan citizens into Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 17 and 18, 2021, in this image obtained from a social media video. Picture: RISE TO PEACE/REUTERS
Events in Afghanistan, the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, and the various climate crises, highlight an urgent imperative for a global end of wars and the reallocation of resources.
Arms companies in pursuit of profits deliberately instigate conflicts in Asia and Africa. In the past 20 years of “forever wars” since 9/11, about 11-million people have been killed and 70-million are now refugees and/or are displaced. In the words of British jurist Lord Denning, “fraud unravels everything”. The principle applies internationally that the fraudster should not profit from his fraud.
The arms deal unleashed a culture of corruption in SA, the consequences of which include our collapsing economy and further impoverishment. The BAE/Saab fighter aircraft were bought for the bribes, not for any rational defence requirement, and are now in “storage” because SA cannot even afford to fuel them.
In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu the arms deal “negates all the good Sweden did in supporting the struggle against apartheid. I am totally distressed given what the money spent on those planes could have done in SA, and that the British and Swedish governments were so involved in the cover-up”.
Accordingly, and in the public interest, last week I filed a complaint with the British Serious Fraud Office against BAE/Saab, requesting the reopening of its earlier investigation against BAE and for appropriate compensation for the people of SA.
The offset agreements stipulated that BAE/Saab would deliver offset benefits worth $8.7bn (now R120bn). The BAE/Saab offset obligations never materialised, and as predicted were simply a scam to pay bribes.
Terry Crawford-Browne World Beyond War SA
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Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Stop wars and reallocate resources
Arms companies in pursuit of profits deliberately instigate conflicts in Asia and Africa
Events in Afghanistan, the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, and the various climate crises, highlight an urgent imperative for a global end of wars and the reallocation of resources.
Arms companies in pursuit of profits deliberately instigate conflicts in Asia and Africa. In the past 20 years of “forever wars” since 9/11, about 11-million people have been killed and 70-million are now refugees and/or are displaced. In the words of British jurist Lord Denning, “fraud unravels everything”. The principle applies internationally that the fraudster should not profit from his fraud.
The arms deal unleashed a culture of corruption in SA, the consequences of which include our collapsing economy and further impoverishment. The BAE/Saab fighter aircraft were bought for the bribes, not for any rational defence requirement, and are now in “storage” because SA cannot even afford to fuel them.
In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu the arms deal “negates all the good Sweden did in supporting the struggle against apartheid. I am totally distressed given what the money spent on those planes could have done in SA, and that the British and Swedish governments were so involved in the cover-up”.
Accordingly, and in the public interest, last week I filed a complaint with the British Serious Fraud Office against BAE/Saab, requesting the reopening of its earlier investigation against BAE and for appropriate compensation for the people of SA.
The offset agreements stipulated that BAE/Saab would deliver offset benefits worth $8.7bn (now R120bn). The BAE/Saab offset obligations never materialised, and as predicted were simply a scam to pay bribes.
Terry Crawford-Browne
World Beyond War SA
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by email to letters@businesslive.co.za. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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