The Arms Industry in Poland

The influence of the Catholic church in Poland is in decline. Although most
Poles still identify themselves with the religion and even more bear the
marks of its conservative impact on society, the state has shown itself as
ready to take a different course on many and this is supported by many. So
when the Pope, whom most Polish people tend to admire more than any of their
politicians, spoke out against the War, the local churches made little to no
effort to mobilize a peace movement or protest Poland's involvement in the
War. Partly this was due to deep anti-Islamic prejudice. But something
deeper has taken place in society and this is reflected in the concerns of
the church. It is a transformation that was made long ago in much of the
world but only more recently came to influence all aspects of Polish social
life. The fact of the matter is that ethics of humanism has, in a large
part, been replaced by the ethics of the almighty buck; while society at
large can lament about 'lost lives' when discussing abortion issues, there
seems to be nothing wrong with it if some Polish companies stand to make a
buck on them.

The pipe-dream promises of jobs and future wealth made by the state,
business community and media are so sporadic and flimsy that almost every
potential business deal involving a Pole makes headline news. "Opportunities
for Polish butchers in the EU", " Norway wants our nurses", "We have a
chance to win cleaning service jobs over German firms"... ad nauseum; such
headlines, reminscent of both communist propaganda and the third world press
are written with such emotion that it would be comical if it did not belie
sucha serious situation. But, of all the good opportunities opened for the
country, nothing is talked of by the president and media with such pride as
all the money that will come out of the war and Poland's participation in
the arms industry.

It's the kind of topic that in many countries would create a public outcry.
But not in Poland. There is a class issue - that people who have suffered
from long-term unemployment maybe do not have the luxury of refusing to work
in the arms industry is offered such a job. Still, with all sympathy for
those who feel they don't have too many options, I can do nothing but
condemn the aspirations of the Polish business community and the state to
make money off of death.

There is now a proposal to develop an Agency in the Field of Defence
Capabilities Development, Research, Acquisition and Armaments and Poland
would like to have this agency located here. Such is the extent to which the
state plans to capitalize on the industry of war. (The welcoming of American
military bases is another thing which will play an important role in
presenting Poland as a major military player.) But if the Agency is just a
dream for now - the realities of Poland's arms business is much worse.

Even though the arms industry is in 'decline' in Poland, there are still 29
weapons factories in the country. (There are perhaps more than 50 supplier
firms.) A couple of Polish arms industry companies are foreign owned:
aircraft engine producer WSK is owned by American United Technologies, and
Spain's CASA, associated with EDAS aircraft is the majority shareholder in
PZL. Of course this is a far cry from the times when at least 10% of the
working population was employed in the defense industry, but it is still a
significant industry.

In the arms trade, a few companies like Bumar stand out. It has been
actively selling arms, tanks, etc. around the world for years. (Most
recently it concluded a contract with India.) Presently there is a scandal
in the industry about the market; it is mostly controlled by the former
secret services and 'outsiders' are not easily given licenses to trade on
the international market. The industry has taken moves to 'consolidate
itself' - in otehr words, to push outsiders off the market and put the arms
trade in the hands of a few groups controlled by 4 main companies. So Bumar
raised an international scandal when it found out that Ostrowski Arms, which
is outside this cozy group, is a member of a consortium with Nour, which won
a supply contract in Iraq. It has complained that Ostrowski has no right to
sell on the market. In fact, this is not a big problem as we'll see in a
second.

(The Nour contract in and of itself was an example of politics meeting
business. More about it can be found at
: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uschal083671397feb15,0,73
5950.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines
or
 http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/after/2004/0215chalabicontract.htm)

The realities of many tenders are quite a good example of the twisted logic
of capitalism. Nour, who won the tender, will not actually produce the
supplies. Nor, it seems, will Ostrowski. These companies are part of an
intricate chain of middlemen whose services may actually in many tenders
constitute the main part of the price. Nour is now looking for suppliers,
and it seems that top on their list was.... none other than Bumar. So the
loser of the tender may actually wind up being the main supplier. (Of course
with less surplus value for the potential subcontractor than if they had the
contract directly. But then the powers of be wouldn't have had such a good
opportunity to grease the palms of key influencial people.) But Bumar is not
a sure bet, nor does it have to be the only supplier; Nour is actively
seeking out cheaper Bulgarian and Ukrainian suppliers.

And what exactly would Polish producers sell to Iraq? The list is very, very
long but it includes:
2591 Honker ATVs
1861 Star ATVs
1690 9mm guns
20000 AK-47s plus ammo
1249 heavy artillery with ammo
3000 light machine guns
11727 radios
plus everything from goggles to bullet-broof vests to compasses

Akai-47