In the package, customers are also countries that do not respect the human rights .With one hand we send humanitarian aid, the other selling machine guns and tanks. The great hypocrisy of Italian foreign policy (and throughout the West) against the third world has been ruthlessly stripped from a report for members of Congress, entitled "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing World, 2002-2009" analyzing trends and numbers of deliveries of arms to countries in the developing world.
Last year our country has signed military contracts for $ 2.4 billion, a figure that puts him in 4th place in the ranking of conventional arms exports to poor nations. In front there are only U.S., Russia and France. The business for factories tricolor is a sharp increase, considering that in 2008 the export was of "only" 1.3 billion. Italy produces 9.16% of arms exports in the world: more than half of these (59.3%) ends up in the arsenals of nations in the developing world. Between 2006 and 2009, the beautiful country gave weapons to African armies for 500 million dollars. But the emerging market is the Middle East over the past three years, contracts were signed for 3 billion and 700 million. Important markets in Asia, where orders rose from 300 million in 2002-2005 to 1 billion 300 million in the last three years.
Italy is in good company: in 2009 alone, sales of arms to the Third World earned $ 45 billion to the West. U.S. and Russia, major suppliers since the Cold War continue to dominate the market, but European manufacturers are now formidable competitors. According to the report, Germany, France, Britain and Italy are able to provide a "wide variety of highly sophisticated weapons." To convince buyers are on the field and prime ministers. European countries, insisted the dossier, "have increased their competitiveness through a strong marketing support from governments." An example? The visit made by Silvio Berlusconi in Kazakhstan last year. Shortly thereafter, the Selex Galileo (Finmeccanica group) completed a major contract to equip the old Soviet T-72 tanks with advanced optical systems. An agreement to which the company prides itself on its website. But the deal appears to conflict with the Code of Conduct adopted by the EU in 2005, which sets strict conditions for the export of weapons. Among these, in paragraph 2, there is respect for human rights by the buyer. It does not seem to happen in Kazakhstan, where Nazarbayev has been in power for 20 years and whose only members of parliament sitting president's party-master.
The code, moreover, often remains a dead letter, overshadowed by economic considerations. No one has too many scruples in selling airplanes, ships and guns to the Gulf countries, which do not stand for civil liberties. Between 2002 and 2009 Saudi Arabia has spent more than anyone else: 40 billions of petrodollars. The tensions in the Middle East are the main driving force of a market in which to do a roaring trade, mainly the U.S. F16 fighter jets that sell to both Israel and Egypt, while Black Hawk helicopters are selling in the UAE. Russia instead looks to Asia: in 2009 he sold to Vietnam six Kilo-class submarines to 1 billion 800 million. China is the emerging exporter in Africa, where it is needed especially small arms and hunting less sophisticated than Western. In this way, Beijing increases its power status in the area and takes advantage in the scramble for natural resources of the African continent.
The cake is very rich and all the powers involved in the banquet in the third world are sent weapons, land, water and sea. One thing above all: the last three years the U.S. has sold 446 tanks to the third world, Russia 420, the "big" European 230. The demand never stops, despite the economic crisis. And the West is always ready to satisfy it.
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