This is the first document I could stumble up on, regarding the latest arms deal by the UPA administration with the Zionist Israel. I believe the concerns expressed there is worth sharing on several counts, though not without criticism on the very basic premises of peace,war , better or poorer striking efficiency of the new gadgets to be acquired, and so on. That sense, it also throws open lot of questions worthy of being asked to the very people who claim to represent the interests of the working class and in turn, to the masses themselves, particularly, the oppressed! It is not just the kind of tailing of the mainstream Left to a neo- liberal global order that is to be pulled up for criticism. What this tailing ultimately implies for their line of thinking on important issues such as countering terrorism, viewing military conflicts against neighboring sovereign powers only as the last option or no option at all, stopping huge scale diversions of resources to such things, purposeful efforts for arriving at negotiated settlements which would prefer restoration of a semblance of peace in many conflicts artificially created in the world, etc etc. Opposing the US-Zionist axis which is a primarily identifiable threat to peace and again, already on its dangerous path of alignment with the Hindutwa, is very crucial. In this respect , Left parties with all their notable commissions and omissions, certainly have to stay Left and should really respond to such concerns! And this post was just a "neutral" attempt to place things under focus. Thanks, Venu.
On Mar 29, 3:46 pm, damodar prasad <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 > > ... > > read more » --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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