14/06/2005 Sèberos de s'Imprenta - The Indipendent
S'ispesa globale de sas Armas est arribbada a unu Trilione de $
De Andrew Buncombe in Washington -tramunau in sardu dae Lutzianu Anzelu Porcu
Leadu de S'Independent, on-line version.
Mancu de unu mese primu sos leaders de sas natziones
prus fortes de su mundu si suntis atopodos pro
faeddare de azuadu in dinari pro s'Africa, unu report
nou narat sa disparidade de su dinari ispendiu pro sas
armas contra 'e cussa ispendia pro sos azudos.
In su 2004 - su de ses annos chi biet cust'inari pro
sas armas pigare sempre de prus - su globale de totu
cuddu ispendiu in munitziones est "$1 trilion",
accostindesi, pro sa primu borta a su tempus de sa
Gherra Fritta.
De s'attera parte, su dinari ispendiu pro sos azudos
in su matessi tempus est
istadu de $78.6bn.
Torra, s'America fiat de largu sa chi at prus ispendiu
in armas. In su 2004 s'ispesa fiat de $455bn, pigada
de su 12% in su 2003, pigada pro sa parte manna pro
sos investimentos de su Presidente George Bush in sa
"war on terror". Sos azudos Americanos suntis su 4,1
pro chentu de s'ispesa pro sas armas. Sa Britannia, sa
de duos pro ispesa de armas at bogau $47bn - una de
deghes parte de totu su chi ispendent sos USA.
Custa iscena noa, bogada de su the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), unu
istituto de ricerca
indipendente, est bessia sa die a coa chi Tony Blayr e
su presindete Bush si suntis atopaos in Washington pro
faeddare de s'immaniamentu de sos azudos a s'Africa.
Su Primu Ministru benit cun sa promissa de Bush de
supportare a su 100 pro chentu s'annullamentu de su
debitu de S'Africa - chi poded pigare a prus de $20bn
in su continente si lassau diasi. Bush at fintzas nau
chi due suntis $674m contra 'e su famene in su "Horn
of Africa".
Ma sos gruppos de azudu e sos sotzios pro sas
campagnas narant chi, postu acanta a s'inari ispendiu
pro sas armas, totu custu chi est istadu promittiu pro
s'azudu 'e s'africa est pagu e nudda.
"Cando abbadias a totu su chi est istadu ispendiu in
armas acanta a. s'azudu, si biet cantu est pagu sa
parte pro sos azudos," narat Brendan Cox, unu
spokesman de sa Oxfam. "Nois semus ispinghinde pro
immaniare sos azudos de $50bn ocannu , ma sos USA
spendent $450bn de armas. Custu fae biere chi, cando
du est sa voluntade politica de atzapare s'inari,
custu bessit a fora. Tenimos bisonzu de sa guerra a sa
povertade."
Atteros sotzios ant accusau su G8 de frassidade.
Un atteru report de su London-based Campaign Against
the Arms Trade (CAAT) narat chi sette de sas natziones
'e su G8
suntis in mesu a sos affarios de sos primos deghe
bendidores de armas -responsabiles pro s'export de
prus de $24bn de armas.
Su report 'e su sotziu in prus narat de una cricca de
su Congressional Research Service chi mustrat in su
2003 chimbe natziones e su G8 - USA, Britinnia,
Frantza, Germania e Russia - funtis sos responsabiles
de su 89 pro chentu de s'affare 'e sas armas bendias a
sas natziones poberas.
Su pretziu de sas bendita e sas armas, e sas
cuntierras chi custu bogat, tenent effettos malos a
pitzu 'e sa possibilidade de svilippu sostenibile.
Faeddare de s'accabu de sa pobertade in su summit 'e
su G8 at a esser una cosa seria solu si si acabbat su
business de sas armas fattu de sas natziones" narat
unu spokesman CAAT, James O'Nions.
"Sos governantes de su G8 jant dinari e sustentamentu
politicu a sas aziendas de sas armas, meda bortas
custas aziendas suntis industrias tziviles."
Su report de sa Sipri narat chi s'inari pro sa defensa
ispendiu s'atteru annu est arribbau a $1trn. Custu no
est unu record. Fiat galu in sutta 'e sa guerra fritta
(1987-88) chi fiat artu meda, ma est creschinde de
1998.
Sos duos prus mannos logos, s'annu passau, in'ue
suntis arribadas armas suntis Cina e India. In su
2003, S'India a comporau jets Hawk pro $1.8bn de sos
Britannicos. A livellu locale, sa parte de su cabu
bassu e s'India est cussa chi at tentu una creschida
prus manna de ispesa pro sas armas, jande a s'india
unu creschida de 19% pro chentu in su budget 'e sa
defensa.
Global spending on arms tops $1 trillion
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
09 June 2005
Less than a month before leaders of the world's most
powerful nations meet to discuss financial help for
Africa, a new report reveals the extraordinary sums
spent by those same countries on weapons compared to
the relatively modest sums spent on aid.
In 2004 - the sixth successive year in which arms
spending increased - the global total spent on
munitions topped $1 trillion for the first time since
the height of the Cold War. In contrast, the amount
spent on aid over the same period was $78.6bn.
Once again, America was by far the greatest spender on
arms. In 2004, it spent $455bn, an increase from 2003
of 12 per cent, fuelled largely by the investment in
President George Bush's "war on terror". America's
foreign aid spending is around 4.1 per cent of its
arms bill. Britain, the second largest arms spender,
spent $47bn - a tenth of the US total.
The new figures, released by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), an
independent research institute, emerged the day after
Tony Blair and President Bush met in Washington to
discuss increasing aid for Africa.
The Prime Minister
came away with an undertaking from Mr Bush to support
a 100 per cent debt relief plan that could be worth
more than $20bn to the continent. Mr Bush also
announced $674m in new famine relief for the Horn of
Africa. But aid groups and campaigners say that,
compared to
the amount spent annually on arms, the sums being set
aside for aid to Africa - a cause to which Mr Blair
has pledged himself in his third term - are
negligible.
"When you look at the amount being spent on arms
compared to ... aid, it shows how little is being
spent on aid," said Brendan Cox, a spokesman for
Oxfam. "We are pushing to increase aid by $50bn
annually, but the US spends $450bn on arms. This shows
that, when there is a political will to find funding,
the resources can be delivered. We need a war on
poverty."
Other groups have accused the G8 nations of hypocrisy.
A separate report by the London-based Campaign Against
the Arms Trade (CAAT) reveals that seven of the G8
nations are among the world's top 10 arms dealers -
responsible for the export of more than $24bn worth of
weapons, half of which last year went to developing
countries.
The group's report also refers to an investigation by
the Congressional Research Service which shows that in
2003 just five members of the G8 - the US, Britain,
France, Germany and Russia - were responsible for 89
per cent of arms sales to developing countries.
"The cost of arms sales, and the conflicts they help
to sustain, have a massive and disastrous effect on
the possibility of sustainable development. Talk about
ending poverty at the G8 summit will only be
meaningful if G8 countries end their political and
financial support for the arms trade," said a CAAT
spokesman, James O'Nions.
"G8 governments give political and financial support
to arms companies, often at a highly disproportionate
level to civil industries. Huge amounts of time and
money goes into promoting arms sales, underwriting
exports and providing subsidies. While the G8
countries push 'free trade' on the global south, they
provide a system of corporate welfare for arms giants
like Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Thales."
The Sipri report says while defence spending last year
topped $1trn, it has not reached record levels. It is
still below the Cold War peak of 1987-88, but has
risen sharply since 1998.
The group said spending by the US accounted for nearly
half the total spent on weapons and was more than the
combined sum of the 32 next biggest spenders. It
estimated spending by the US will rise to $502bn by
2010. The two largest single recipients of arms last
year were China and India. In 2003, India completed a
$1.8bn deal to buy Hawk jets from the British defence
company BAE systems.
Regionally, south-east Asia saw the biggest rise in
spending, largely due to a 19 per cent increase in
India's defence budget.
