This is a surprise forward from Venu!! On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 8:20 AM, Venugopalan K M <[email protected]>wrote:
> > > Press Statement > > > The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued > the following statement: > > > Investigate the Israeli Missile Contract > > > The Rs. 10,000 crore missile production deal with an Israeli company, > the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has now been exposed as a deal > involving massive kickbacks besides being an unnecessary contract. The > Left parties had asked in a letter to the Prime Minister in March 2008 > that the $ 2.5 billion deal for developing a medium range surface to air > missile with the IAI should not be proceeded with in view of the fact > that the earlier Barak missile deal with the same company is being > investigated by the CBI for kickbacks. The Defence Minister replied to > this letter that if there is any impropriety or violation of law, action > would be taken (letters attached). > > > An investigative report by the DNA newspaper has exposed the fact that > the Israeli missile deal involves a "business charge" which is six per > cent of the total value (approximately Rs. 600 crore). This makes it a > scam of ten-fold magnitude compared to the Bofors Rs. 64 crore > kickbacks. > > > The Left parties had written to the Prime Minister again in February > 2009 barely three weeks before the contract was signed once again urging > the government not to proceed with the deal (letter attached). The > reason cited was that the DRDO had already developed a missile system > which was superior to the one being offered by the IAI for > co-production. The letter also reiterated that IAI should have been > blacklisted just like the South African firm Denel which is also under > investigation for kickbacks . > > > Given the seriousness of the charges the government has to answer the > following questions: > > > 1. The IAI had got the contract for the supply of Barak missile in 2000 > during the NDA regime. The FIR lodged by the CBI in October 2006 names > IAI as an accused besides naming the Delhi-based arms dealer, Suresh > Nanda and other family members as agents of the Israeli firms IAI and > Rafael Corporation. Why was the IAI not embargoed from further supplies > till the case was disposed off? > > > 2. Was the Government not aware that the Israeli authorities had > investigated the IAI for malpractices in contracts with other countries? > Such charges led to the head of the IAI stepping down in 2005. > > > 3. Was the Ministry of Defence not aware that an Indian agent of the > Israeli company replaced by another petitioned the Israeli defence > ministry claiming additional commissions were due to him? > > > 4. What does the Manmohan Singh government have to say about the DRDO > having developed and field proven its Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile > capacity? Why was the DRDO compelled to enter into the so-called "joint > development" of the IAI air defence missile when it already has its own > superior AAD missile? > > > 5. Was the Manmohan Singh government not aware of the fact that like in > the Barak missile deal, there are middlemen and intermediaries involved > who are being paid commissions/kickbacks? Was the government not aware > of identity of these agents? > > > 6. How does the Manmohan Singh government explain the six per cent > "business charges" on the total value of the deal? Is this not contrary > to the stipulations against engagement of agents and payment of agency > commissions? > > > 7. Why is it that the contract was signed on February 27, 2009 and the > fact was kept a secret? The information about the date of signing has > now become known from the IAI which has claimed that the Indian > government wanted the signing of the contract to be kept secret. > > > 8. Why did the government get the contract signed on February 27, 2009, > just two days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections? > > > The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands that the missile contract with > the IAI be suspended and an investigation be ordered by the CBI into the > contract with the IAI which should be a follow up of the investigations > into the earlier Barak missile deal. > > > > end of statement > > > annexures > > Annexure1 > > March 17, 2008 > > Dr. Manmohan Singh > > Prime Minister > > Government of India > > > Dear Shri Manmohan Singhji, > > > > We have been noting with growing concern the manner in which arms deals > with Israel are being conducted. Israel is already the second largest > supplier to India. It is now clear that Israeli arms manufacturers, > including government-owned entities, have been blatantly violating > Indian laws by using middle-men and by giving kickbacks to officials > involved in the decision-making process. > > > The scam surrounding India’s acquisition of the Israeli Barak missile > systems manufactured by the state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) > and Rafael corporations is the latest case in point. The original deal > for ship-mounted Barak systems worth about Rs.1300 crore struck in 2000 > during the NDA regime was rife with procedural violations and outright > corruption as emerged during the Tehelka expose. CBI’s FIR of October > 2006 names IAI as an accused, besides naming Delhi-based arms dealer > Suresh Nanda and other family members as agents of the Israeli firms. > The recent CBI raids and consequent arrests of the Nandas and their > associates seem to have added more hard evidence. > > > Evidence has also emerged in Israel of the bribery and corruption, > including payments to agents in India, indulged in by IAI and Rafael. An > Indian agent replaced by another petitioned the Israeli Defence Ministry > claiming additional commissions due to him, and the matter has even been > referred to the Israeli Attorney General. All this has led to the arrest > and impending prosecution of Moshe Keretz, who headed IAI for 20 years > till 2005, and another agent whose name has been concealed under a gag > order of the Israeli authorities. > > A. B. Bardhan > > Genera > > Regrettably, despite all this evidence, the UPA government has shown a > remarkable reluctance to take action against IAI, Rafael and other > Israeli arms companies. The Swedish firm Bofors was blacklisted after > the involvement of middle-men was proved in the notorious deal. The > South African firm Denel was similarly blacklisted in 2005 for resorting > to agents and kickbacks. But demands that similar action be initiated > against IAI and other Israeli firms have been ignored. Some high > authorities have bent over backwards to argue that the cases were not > similar in some unexplained manner. > > > To add insult to injury, the UPA government has further cemented the > alliance with IAI by signing a massive $2.5 billion (Rs.10,000 crore) > deal for co-development of more advanced Barak NG (new generation) and > Barak-8 missiles with longer range and for land-based anti-missile > applications. How can India proceed with this deal in the face of > evident wrong-doing by Israeli firms? > > > By turning a blind eye to systematic violation of Indian laws by Israeli > firms, India is sending out wrong signals to international arms > manufacturers at a time when India is embarking on huge overseas > military acquisitions, with the potential to corrupt and derail the > entire system. These developments also underline the importance of > self-reliance in defence production which has been given low priority of > late. > > > The Left parties urge the UPA Government to immediately take strong > action against the errant Israeli firms, and also ensure that the CBI > pursues the Barak scam case to its logical conclusion and brings all the > guilty to book. > > > > Sd/- > > > Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M) > A. B. Bardhan, Secretary, CPI > Debabrata Biswas, General Secreatary, AIFB > T. J. Chandrachoodan, General Secretary, RSP > > > end of annexure I > > Annexure II is letter from Shri A.K. Antony (soft copy not available) > > > Annexure 3 > > February 9, 2009 > > Shri Manmohan Singh > > Prime Minister > > Government of India > > New Delhi > > > > Dear Shri Manmohan Singhji, > > > > We are writing to you regarding the contract for Air Defence Missile > Systems placed by the MoD on Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The > amount involved is around Rs. 10,000 crore for the supply of around 12 > such systems. This is surprising considering that such a contract has > been given when IAI is already under investigation of the CBI on charges > of bribery and corruption for the anti-ship, ship-mounted Barak missile > system. We had brought this to your notice in our earlier letter dated > March 18, 2008 about the kickbacks and use of middleman in the Barak > deal, which are in violation of Indian laws. In the past India has > blacklisted firms such as Bofors, Sweden and Denel, South Africa for > similar cases of kickbacks and middleman. > > > The deal with IAI is also surprising on other counts. First, it involves > systems that have yet to be even developed by IAI, let alone > manufactured and test proven. Secondly, our Defense R & D Organisation > (DRDO) has already developedand repeatedly field proven DRDO’s Advanced > Air Defense (AAD) missiles capacity. This missile is capable of > destroying incomingenemy missiles as well as aircraftwhereas aircraft > the proposedIAI missile can deal only with enemyaircraft. The DRDO (AAD) > missile is capable of intercepting even ballisticmissiles at altitudes > upto as high as 18 km. Thus the proposed missiles sought to be developed > by IAI appears to be inferior to the DRDO developed missiles AAD on the > counts of technical, cost and operational readiness. > > > Thirdly, to give a “cover” of indigenous involvement and content, DRDO > has been forcedto enter into a so-called “joint development” of the IAI > Air Defense Missile even when it already has its own superior AAD > missile! > > > This deal again brings out the unfortunate influence that Israeli arms > manufacturers including Government owned entities assert on India’s arms > purchases. Nothing else can explain why IAI, which is seriously > implicated in corruption in India and in Israel, should be favoured in > this way. > > > We urge you to get the contract stopped and see that the DRDO’s > indigenous missile programme is not subverted in this way. > > -- > http://venukm.blogspot.com/ > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
