(September 23, 2004) The Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) has awarded a further $377 million in reparations against Iraq, reports debt campaigner Jubilee Iraq. The 53rd session of the commission brought Iraq’s reparations total to approximately $48.9 billion, of which $30.3 billion remains unpaid. Jubilee Iraq argues that while some of the reparations represent genuine damages, the Iraqi people should not have to pay for crimes committed by Saddam Hussein’s regime. Jubilee Iraq charges that the "reparations, like the odious debt, threaten not just the Iraqi people but the whole region.
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Swiss government to release N66.5b Abacha loot
(September 22, 2004) After verifications, the Swiss government has agreed to release to Nigeria about N66.5 billion ($500 million) looted from Nigeria by the government of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Havens that have become a tax on the world’s poor
(September 22, 2004) London, England: Billions of pounds, enough to pay for the entire primary health and education needs of the world’s developing countries, are being siphoned off through offshore companies and tax havens, according to a new group called Tax Justice Network.
Pinochet fortune ‘at $23m’
(September 22, 2004) A probe by Chile’s top prosecutor into secret accounts kept by General Augusto Pinochet at a US bank has disclosed that the former dictator accumulated a fortune of nearly $US16 million ($22.9 million), according to a report published today.
Canada eases African debt load ahead of UN speech
(September 22, 2004) Hours before Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to make Africa a central part of his first address to the United Nations, his government announced that it has cancelled the debts owed Canada by three more African countries.
Richest nations may drop debt of 33 poorest
(September 22, 2004) The world’s wealthiest governments will decide on Oct. 1 whether to back a proposal by Britain and the United States to write off tens of billions of dollars in debt owed by 33 of the world’s poorest nations to international financial institutions.
Monumental plunder (editorial)
(September 21, 2004) It is clear that the Marcos dictatorship plundered and destroyed the Filipino economy. Justice demands that the government continue its efforts to recover every peso of the money stolen by the Marcoses from the people.
U.S. and Europe expect to reach pact on Iraq debt by end of year
(September 20, 2004) U.S. and European officials said they expect to hammer out a deal by year-end to forgive most of the loans Iraq owes industrialized nations, giving a big boost to the new Baghdad government’s ability to sort out its tangled finances.
Allawi insists Iraq elections on schedule
(September 20, 2004) On Sept. 28, Cato will release a new policy analysis, "Iraq’s Odious Debts, by Patricia Adams. She argues that an open arbitration process is a more fair and equitable way to handle Iraq’s debts.
Iraq’s economic and security problems must be solved
(September 20, 2004) Not just for us but for the world.
Washington to spend less on Iraq aid, more on police, business, debt
(September 17, 2004) The Bush administration has officially proposed to shift money away from Iraq’s reconstruction effort toward internal security, the oil industry, "economic development" in Iraq’s private sector, and paying back Iraq’s debt to the U.S.
It’s morally right to forgive debilitating Third-World debt
(September 16, 2004) The United States Congress is currently considering the Jubilee Act, legislation that promotes one-time debt cancellation for poor developing countries.
Debt relief: Obasanjo berates U.S. on Nigeria
(September 16, 2004) President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday chided on the United States government over what he described as the country’s discriminatory policy on granting debt relief to debtor countries which favour even richer countries.
Pinochet and ‘the most important bank’
(September 15, 2004) Will the federal government seize the assets of Washington, D.C.-based Riggs Bank and its affiliates in response to the bank’s role in supporting international terrorist Augusto Pinochet?
Paris Club favors ‘individual treatment’ of Iraqi debt cut
(September 14, 2004) The Paris Club of creditor nations didn’t arrive at a consensus on the exact amount of Iraq’s debt to be canceled, but agreed in principle to an individual treatment of the debt cut.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 