[G8 Protests] pledges broken, say poverty activists

from The Evening Telegraph

Campaign groups gathered in Dundee’s City Square today to mark the first anniversary of the Make Poverty History march and the G8 summit at Gleneagles, writes Graeme Cleland.
And the question they were asking was: How far have we succeeded?

The campaigners were displaying their white T-shirts from last year’s march when 250,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh and demanded the world’s most powerful leaders make poverty history.

Tony Welsh, spokesman for the Tayside World Development Movement (WDM), said, “The G8 promised to start making poverty history by increasing debt relief and aid.

“However, they’ve broken their most important promise — that poor countries would be allowed to decide their own economic policies.

“In particular, they have not proposed ending economic conditions attached to World Bank and International Monetary Fund loans, grants and debt relief.

“We believe the UK government must stop funding any activities of the IMF or World Bank that have economic policy conditions attached.

“Let’s make sure the money gets delivered in a way that benefits the people who need it most.”

The local campaigners words were backed today by a report from a leading Scottish aid agency.

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund said the gap between campaigners’ demands and G8 promises remained wide and was costing lives.

SCIAF calls on the G8 to close these gaps — and urges campaigners to keep up the pressure.

SCIAF chief executive Paul Chitnis said, “It is clear that G8 words and actions have fallen far short of what is needed.

“They promised much less than we demanded and, by and large, are not keeping their word.

“While important change has been achieved, especially in debt cancellation, promises to increase aid are much less than the extra $50 billion per annum that we requested.

“Of what was pledged last year only $20 billion is new money, and delivery is delayed until 2010. This will cost 50 million children their lives.”

He continued, “We asked for a binding timetable for countries to give 0.7% of their national income in aid.

“The EU agreed, but set the deadline for 2015, 45 years after the target was originally set. This is too little, too late.

“In debt cancellation the G8 is implementing the promises made a year ago, and agreed 100% debt cancellation for some poor countries for the first time. Many poor people are seeing the benefit.

“But the promises fall short of Make Poverty History demands for cancellation of all poor countries’ debts.”

Mr Chitnis added, “The biggest gaps between campaigners and the G8 are in trade. Make poverty history called for fairer trade rules, and the G8 agreed that developing countries should have the right to decide their own economic policies.

“Yet since the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, the EU and the US have been pressuring developing countries to open up their markets, with potentially devastating effects, in areas as varied as agriculture, industry and services.

“SCIAF’s report shows, however, that individuals can make a difference. Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, told campaigners, ‘2005 demonstrated that you can change things. If it wasn’t for everyone lobbying, campaigning, writing, marching, willing that something should happen, then it wouldn’t have’.”