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Action Card Briefing for July 2007
The poorest
countries in the world are still giving $100 million a day to the rich
world to pay off old debts. In many cases, these ‘debts’ arose from
self-interested or irresponsible lending. This year, we have reflected
on our country’s role in the historical slave trade; but this also
raises questions about our role in creating a debt crisis that today
constitutes a kind of economic slavery. It is time to lift the lid on
unjust debts.
Rich country
lenders have often done very well out of the loans they gave to poor
countries, winning political support or lucrative contracts. The poor
people in debtor countries often did not benefit at all. But it is they
who suffer from the demand that these debts be repaid. Indonesia, for
instance, is still repaying over £500 million to the UK in payment for
weapons sold to the brutal former dictator Suharto, who was known to be
using such weapons against his own people. Meanwhile, debt costs
Indonesia almost four times as much as its entire budget for health and
education combined. The Democratic Republic of Congo, where average
income is just 15p a day, is still repaying billions ‘lent’ to the
notoriously corrupt dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in return for political
support during the Cold War. Such debts must be cancelled, and these
kinds of loans prevented in future.
Thanks to
campaigner action, over 20 countries have had extensive debt
cancellation.
Zambia, for
instance, has used money released by debt cancellation to abolish user
fees for healthcare and recruit 4,500 new teachers. But until rich
countries properly accept responsibility for their role in the debt
crisis – and cancel debt accordingly – millions more people will
continue to suffer.
We are calling on the UK and other lender
governments thoroughly to investigate past lending in order to uncover
unjust debts; cancel all illegitimate and unpayable debts; and put an
end to irresponsible lending. Please take action by writing to
The Secretary of State,
Department for International Development,
1 Palace Street,
London SW1E 5HE
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