Africa's imperial plunder and tragedy have been turned into a circus for the benefit of the G8 leaders due in Scotland next month and those of us willing to be distracted by the barkers of the circus — the establishment media and their “celebrities”.

The illusion of an anti-establishment crusade led by pop stars — a cultivated, controlling image of rebellion — serves to dilute a great political movement of anger. In summit after summit, not one significant promise of the G8 has been kept, and the “victory for millions” is no different. It is a fraud — actually a setback to reducing poverty in Africa. Entirely conditional on vicious, discredited economic programs imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the “package” will ensure that the "chosen" countries slip deeper into poverty.

Is it any surprise that this is backed by Blair and Brown, and US President George Bush (even the White House calls it a “milestone”)? For them, it is a useful facade, held up by the famous and the naive and the inane. Having effused about Blair, Geldof describes Bush as “passionate and sincere” about ending poverty. Bono has called Blair and Brown “the John and Paul of the global development stage”. Behind this front, rapacious power can “reorder” the lives of millions in favour of totalitarian corporations and their control of the world's resources.

There is no conspiracy — the goal is no secret. Brown spells it out in speech after speech, which liberal journalists choose to ignore, preferring the Treasury spun version. The G8 communique announcing the “victory for millions” is unequivocal. Under the section headline “G8 proposals for HIPC debt cancellation”, it says that debt relief will be granted to poor countries only if they are shown to be “adjusting their gross assistance flows by the amount given”. In other words, their aid will be reduced by the same amount as the debt relief. So they gain nothing.

Paragraph two states that “it is essential” that poor countries “boost private sector development” and ensure “the elimination of impediments to private investment, both domestic and foreign”.

The “$55bn” claimed by the Observer comes down, at most, to £1 billion spread over 18 countries. This will almost certainly be halved — providing less than six days' worth of debt payments — because Blair and Brown want the IMF to pay its share of the “relief” by revaluing its vast stock of gold, and passionate and sincere Bush has said “No”.

The first unmentionable is that the gold was plundered originally from Africa. The second unmentionable is that debt payments are due to rise sharply from next year, more than doubling by 2015. This will mean not “victory for millions”, but death for millions.

At present, for every US$1 of “aid” to Africa, $3 are taken out by Western banks, institutions and governments, and that does not include the repatriated profit of transnational corporations.

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Rest copylefted @ Green Left Weekly, July 6, 2005 @
 http://www.GreenLeft.org.au/back/2005/632/