Friday, January 09, 2004
Hilary 'My Dad is Tony' Benn mounts a defense of the work of his Government's department and talks about how they have invested millions in making the world a better place. What he doesn't mention is how the Government have also put money into backing up schemes which will make the world a better place for the rich and powerful while making it worse for the poor people in those unfortunate parts of the planet. Such as the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which will be built for the benefit of BP, and the Illisu Dam, a project so mired in corruption even the World Bank decided not to invest. Critics of the later say that it would destroy Kurdish culture which, considering that this is Turkey, isn't that surprising. (Amnesty 2003 report here)
Although the Government no longer subscribes to Robin Cooks infamous 'ethical foreign policy' it does seem they want to still act as though that were the case, but in the short time that he's been in office Benn has managed to prove that his deeds do not match up to his words.
Although the Government no longer subscribes to Robin Cooks infamous 'ethical foreign policy' it does seem they want to still act as though that were the case, but in the short time that he's been in office Benn has managed to prove that his deeds do not match up to his words.
