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Media Statament, 8th July 2005
The G8 have squandered a unique opportunity to take action which
would have meant meaningful change for the poorest people on the
planet.
This is the view of GOAL, whose CEO, John O'Shea, said in a statement:
"Our world leaders shied away from the difficult decisions
and opted instead to take an initiative which is likely to benefit
Swiss bankers only.
It may even prove detrimental to the lives of millions who eke
out a precarious existence in Third World countries."
O'Shea believes the decision to wipe out debt at this point in
history is flawed, ill-advised and could be counter-productive.
"Unless good, honest, governance is present, debt relief will
not help those in greatest need. It is a waste of effort.
And given the appetite for war which many Third World Governments
have, the probability is that the arms dealers will also benefit
from this G8 decision."
O'Shea believes that the G8 should have found the courage to deploy
UN soldiers wherever they are needed; refuse to give any additional
monies to corrupt Third World leaders; ban all arms sales to Third
World Governments; and trade fairly with the poor.
"If the G8 truly cared for the millions who are suffering,
they could have taken decisions which would have been momentous.
Instead they underlined the point yet again that the international
community simply does not care one iota for the lives of those at
the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, or those whose lives are
in danger from their own brutal regimes.
Throughout Africa, great swaths of the continent are occupied by
countries... Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi,
and Swaziland, that, left to their own devises, would implode, or
destroy their neighbours as well.
The international community has little choice but to intervene
and protect the vulnerable.
Sadly, the G8 on this occasion did not see the merit of such an
argument."
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