Arm trade
Miracle happened, Amnesty International finally began to do their job. Before 10 days they called Canada to arrest George Bush (for war crimes) when he visit Canada to make some speech. Now they publish report about selling weapons by Swiss and other countries. Amnesty International looked into arms deliveries done after 2005 by European countries. The organization found out that the main suppliers of arms were the US, Britain, Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. However, neutral Switzerland also appears on the list. Between 2006 and 2010, Switzerland sold war material to Egypt for a total amount of 6.07 million francs ($6.7 million), of which 4.48 million ($5.3 million) were in handguns. In the case of Bahrain, the Alpine country has sold small caliber weapons to Bahrain for a total of 293,000 francs ($326,000). The organization complained however that, unlike France or Spain, Switzerland continued selling weapons to Bahrain even after the popular uprising started. “It’s money and short-sightedness ahead of the rule of law and respect for human rights,” said Brian Wood, manager of arms control at Amnesty. Some of the Swiss ammunition also ended up in the hands of the Libyan revolutionaries, according to a Swiss television report in July. The case, confirmed by Amnesty International, talks about bullets produced by the state-owned company RUAG. It is thought that the ammunition originates from 2009, when Switzerland sold 1.85 million francs ($2.3 million) worth of ammunition to Qatar. Last year, Swiss weapons-makers made deals with the gulf state worth over half a million francs. But this was not enough according to Green party MP and member of a security policy committee of the Swiss parliament, Joseph Lang. He has been calling for a ban on Swiss arms exports to the Middle East and North Africa since the ‘Arab spring’ started. “The Swiss Constitution has some principles written, such as sending aid to developing countries, fostering human rights and helping peace processes, but then Switzerland sends weapons to the same very places,” he said in a 2010 interview. “It is not only stupid but also a contradiction,” he added.
I would add that Serbia is not anything better, politicians make shit, especially minister of defense. In 2008 Serbian military exports were worth $200m. Last year they brought in twice that sum (not including a $400m contract, signed in November, to build three arms factories in Algeria). Yugoimport-SDPR, the trading arm for six of Serbia’s main producers, says sales have been growing by 30% a year since 2002. Minister of defense says Serbia is close to signing a $500m agreement to build a military hospital in at least one Arab country. He also hopes to win a $400m contract to modernize 149 M-84 tanks that Yugoslavia exported to Kuwait in 1991. The M-84 was assembled in Croatia from components made throughout Yugoslavia. If Serbia wins the Kuwait contract, says Minister, some of the work will probably be shared between Bosnian, Croatian and Slovene companies. This minister says that defense sales are the country’s fastest-growing industry after agriculture. Guns are also worth rather more than raspberries.
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