Revealed: the extent of Britain's arms trade WEAPONS: SALES UK ships

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Jul 30, 2006 | by Neil Mackay Investigations Editor

BRITAIN is selling arms and technology which can be used by the military to 19 of the 20 nations which the UK's own Foreign Office lists as "countries of major concern" in its human rights annual report.

The only "country of major concern" not in receipt of military know-how from the UK is North Korea. The listed countries getting shipments include:

Belarus, Burma, China, Colombia, Cuba, Congo, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Nepal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

The UK is also exporting huge shipments of arms to countries designated "zones of major armed conflict" and to nations which have been defined as Red Cross "hot spots" due to poverty, war and disease. Britain also fuels regional arms races by arming opposing nations.

Countries under arms embargo are also obtaining equipment and technology which can be used for military purposes from the UK. These include:

Burma, China, Congo, Iran, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

In 2005, a minimum of GBP62m in arms - including "components for nuclear reactors" - were sold to China by the UK. In the first three months of 2006, a further GBP19m worth of weapons went from London to Beijing. In the Foreign Office's human rights report, the British government says: "The UK continues to have serious concerns about basic human rights in China."

Taiwan, the independent island nation which China wants back under its control, was also armed by the UK.

Between January 2005 and March 2006, it was sold British arms worth GBP63m.

India and Pakistan - two nuclear powered nations which are hostile to each other - were both armed by the UK. From January 2005 to March 2006, India was sold GBP72.5m worth of UK arms, while Pakistan spent GBP27m.

Countries such as Congo and Algeria, which have been riven by brutal conflict, are also buying up large amounts of UK arms. Recent arms shipments to Algeria from the UK totalled GBP33m.

In the Foreign Office's human rights report, the government says of Israel:

"The UK opposes the Israeli policy of targeted killings, which are illegal under international law." Yet, from January 2005 to March 2006, the UK sold Tel Aviv weapons worth GBP27.25m. In the same period, more than GBP1m worth of UK weaponry was sold to Lebanon.

Current and former members of the "axis of evil" are also in receipt of UK military technology. Libya bought nearly GBP42m in UK weapons recently, while Syria has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds getting its hands on so-called dual-use items from Britain. Dual-use goods can be used for either civilian purposes or for military purposes.

Between October and December 2005, Syria spent GBP100,000 acquiring technology for the production of toxins and later bought a consignment of chemicals. It also acquired goods meant for straightforward military application.

Iran has also spent GBP180.5m acquiring dual-use technology such as chemicals, machine tools, animal pathogens and aero-engines from the UK. Even Cuba bought technology for the flight control systems of rockets. Burma was allowed by buy GBP100,000 worth of dualuse chemicals in July-September 2005.

There are concerns that the multimillion pound arms sales to Iraq are not reaching the newly formed security forces, but being diverted to militias and other groups involved in the insurgency.

In its 2005 human rights report, the Foreign Office says that it has "expressed our concerns to the Indonesian government" over attacks on villages in the Papuan Highlands. Yet in the same year, the UK sold GBP28.5m worth of weapons to Indonesia.

Countries plagued by ethnic conflict, internal disorder and poverty are also key targets for the British arms trade.

Between January 2005 and March 2006, Ethiopia spent GBP400,000 on arms and dual-use chemicals from the UK. Haiti spent nearly GBP1m; Sudan more than GBP8.5m; Sri Lanka nearly GBP4.5m; Nigeria GBP39m; and Somalia more than GBP500,000.

The UK has condemned Russia for allowing "the most serious [human rights situation] in the broader European continent" to develop as a result of the conflict in Chechnya. Yet recent arms sales to Moscow totalled around GBP6m. Saudi Arabia - notorious for frequent abuses of human rights - spent GBP31.5m on UK arms.

Almost every imaginable type of weapon is on sale in the UK - from air-tosurface missiles, electronic warfare equipment, radars, machine guns, submarines, handguns, rifles, ammunition, parts for military helicopters and fighter jets and gun silencers.

The UK is also speeding up how quickly it can export armaments. Most licences for weapons exports are now granted in just 11 days. There have only been five successful prosecutions for illegal arms trading since 2000; none resulted in a prison term. In total, the UK made GBP1.4 billion in arms deals in 2005.

Amnesty International said "conflict and human rights abuse go hand in hand and the government needs to operate a safety-first policy - turning off the tap if there is a real risk of weaponry ending up in the hands of human rights violators".