FROM THE HEAVENS TO THE EARTH
I WROTE ON 8TH APRIL 2009
ITALY IS AMONG THE TOP COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE IN WEAPON TRADE.
THE TIME OF WAITING AND TOLERATION IS OVER.
DO YOU SELL DEATH? DEATH AND SUFFERANCE YOU SHALL RECEIVE FROM THE FORCES OF NATURE UNTIL WHEN YOU SHALL REALISE LIFE, PEACE, BROTHERHOOD AND JUSTICE.
THE PEOPLE HIT BY THE FORCE OF THE EARTH CALL FOR MERCY, BUT THEY ACTUALLY DO NOTHING OR VERY LITTLE TO IMPEDE THEIR GOVERNORS TO SELL DEATH (WEAPONS) THAT WILL WIPE OUT INNOCENT VICTIMS.
I KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO COMPREHEND MY LANGUAGE, BUT I CARRY ON BEING A THORN IN THE SIDE OF THE ASSASSINS OF LIFE.
WATER, AIR, EARTH AND FIRE WILL CALM DOWN IF THE SEED OF EQUITY, LOVE AND JUSTICE WILL START TO GERMINATE IN YOUR HEARTS
GIORGIO BONGIOVANNI
Stigmatist
Floridia, (ITALY) , 8TH APRIL 2009
Italy: record in arms export, the list of "armed banks" has disappeared
The Mongoose of AgustaWestland
There is a "made in Italy" sector that opens wide breaches in international markets: weapons. A real ?fire power?. In fact, it is a double record and ? to some extent ? it was due to a bypartisan decision considering that until last April the permits were issued by the previous government. According to the Prime Minister report on Italian armament exportation, the permits to export Italian arms in 2008 exceeded 3 billion euros, an increase of almost 29% compared to 2007, while deliveries actually reached 1.8 billion euros. To which almost 2.7 billion euros worth of permits for intergovernmental programs need to be added.
The Prime Minister Report clearly outlines: ?The Italian defense industry, has therefore, consolidated and increased its presence in the global market of security and defense assets, confirming its competitiveness, able to compete with technologically advanced markets?. If the report shows in detail principles, prohibitions, criteria and competence of the various administrations in accordance with the current normative (Law 185 of 1990), according to the Government, the weapons market seems to be mostly a ?global market?, in which the Italian industry is definitely ?competitive?, and ?successful?.
The competitiveness is not only strong within NATO and EU countries, but also within countries from ?the South? that have been authorized to receive more than 30% (almost 928 million euros) of the Italian military exports. It is no coincidence then, that the largest recipient of Italian weapons is Turkey alone that with more than 1 billion euros gets nearly 36% of permits. That is the Middle Eastern country where - according to the latest report from Amnesty ? ?there have been many complaints for torture, ill-treatment and excessive use of force by the police?. Turkey has been sued by the association for ?human rights violations? and now is granted permission, inter alia, to receive generic ?helicopters? (Report pg. 20), but - as the turkish Minister of Defence announced ? they are actually combat helicopters?, able to do ?tactical reconnaissance and war attack?. Possibly the mere fact that Turkey is a NATO partner, and that they were simply helicopters, caused the ?overlooking? of a few complaints forwarded by associations for human rights protection and for disarmament. But AgustaWestland - a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, whose main shareholder is the Italian government - launched last year in Ankara its new ?Regional Business Headquarters? and therefore it is clear that ?business is business?.
The United Kingdom in ranked number two in term of authorizations (254 million Euro) and the third rank, is taken by India that with almost 173 million euros constitutes about 5.7% of Italian weapon export. Perhaps an attempt to try and ?equalize? the great commissioning made last year by Pakistan: considering that New Delhi, in 2008 has purchased also a ?logistics ship class ?Etna? produced by Fincantieri? (pg. 23) and a new substantial business is being planned since AgustaWestland has recently become an ally of Tata to make a breach in the Indian market; certainly they do not intend to stop with the AW119 helicopters for ?surveillance and reconnaissance?, in fact - as testified by an expert - AgustaWestland is also proposing the AW129 Mongoose to the Indian aeronautics who is looking for 22 attack helicopters.
Among the top ten international buyers there are also two other countries not belonging to NATO and the EU: Libya which is allowed orders over 93 million Euro mainly for helicopters type Agusta A 109 and Algeria who purchases mainly Agusta helicopters (EH 101 Sar model) for a contract worth more than 77.5 million Euro. Also we should not forget other authorisations to non-EU or NATO countries, such as Nigeria worth nearly 58.9 million euros for ATR42 aircraft for ?maritime patrol?, Oman (57.1 million), Brazil (43.4 million), UAE (39.3 million), Venezuela (35.8 million), Kuwait (30.1 million), Pakistan (29.8 million), Saudi Arabia (22.6 million), Egypt (16.9 million ), Malaysia (7.4 million), Indonesia (3.8 million), Chile (1.9 million) and Israel (1.9 million). In other words it is a good list of countries from the South, in conflict and in areas of high tension, among which many often are criticized for human rights violations by international organizations.
Yet the concerns do not stop here. The list of banks that provide support services to weapons trade has disappeared from the Prime Minister Report, without any explanation whatsoever. A very important table considering that the permissions for operations reach the record figure of more than 3.7 billion euro. It seems difficult to simply consider it an oversight, given that last year the campaign who is carefully monitoring this aspect, that is the pressure campaign to ?armed banks?, had already denounced the disappearance from the Government Report of the detailed list of transactions that banks provide to the military export. The new President Report is committed, however, to ?further increase openness on the activities by providing, where necessary, any further information on topics of particular interest?. The unjustified absence from the Report of the list of banks which carry out these operations does not seem to move in that direction. It is to be hoped that the list ?disappearance? does not also include the entire report that the Prime Minister - by law - would need to forward to the Parliament today.
It is to be hoped, finally, that also the commitment made by the Prime Minister in the last line of the report shall not remain a mere promise: ?Every effort will be made in order to carry on the dialogue with the representatives of Non - Governmental Organizations (NGOs) involved in controlling export and transfer of weapon materials, with the aim of fostering a more timely and transparent information on related topics?. Given the premises derived from this report (increase in exports ?at risk? and to countries of the South, less transparency, possible changes to law n. 185 to enforce the new Directives on intra-EU transfers of arms) the associations working on Export of weapons will have a lot of work to do.
Giorgio Beretta
Tuesday, 31st March 2009
