LAST WEEK Socialist Action published the appeal the Sandinista trade union CST, for aid for Nicaragua following US president Reagan's economic HOLLAND, Labour shadow minister for overseas development cooperation, TURNER how Labour could be doing more to support the popular government of Nicaragua from the American threat.
AMERICA'S economic blockade of Nicaragua is scallualous. demonstrates the double standards the US is applying to one of the weakest and the BUULCOL allegedly on the basis that is At the very time that president Reagan, at the Bonn summit, is arguing tor a noeralisamon or Lade offer markets to he 1s simultaneously seeking to unilaterally sancI0IFUSC tions on Labour's position is well illustrated by my statethe House Commons challenging this.
We demanded of Timothv Raison. of overseas development, inat ne dissociate himselt from support for sanctions given by Geoffrey Howe Margaret Unsurprisingly, we got no such commitment him. Britain's position especially interesting. Not only the government coat-tailing the Americans wherever they go on Nicaragua, it has also has invented technical reasons for not supporting the British aid programme to first took this up when I was in Nicaragua in November 1983. 1 followea il up agal in une sun 1984, when I asked the details of the aid prothe World Bank They first The Nicaraguan National Centre for Economic and Social Research (CRIES headed Xavier federation, the blockade. STUART told CAROL Gorstiaga, a Jesuit and a Cambridge-trained He is one of the HULLESL most outstanding economists in Latin America, who was the minister of planning in the first Sandinista government.
Aid Nicaragua utilises people like Jorje Sol, EI Salvador's ex-executive director on the International Monetary Fund These are people of world. class standard. Their sub. missions are as good as any.
grounds for report by Observer repor, nOW that an ficial Overseas parable to the Ponting case but less has been seeking mislead House been lying.
We've Commons, challenging Raison outside but ly high weeks on trade embargo, but the aid em bargo is going almost unSUI. It's important tha the national secretary of the Sandinista trade union has made the statement he has, DULL the cost of the war to Nicaragua running over $500 million - and the cost to projects from aid cuts.
The reality is that the United States has been leaning on both the World BankR the InterDevelopment Bank to cancel lending to the Bank committed million to Nicaragu: just under $50 million. In 1982 *84 it committea nouin: at all.
The Inter-American Development Bank granted over $100 million in 1979, 58 million in 1981.
million in 1983 Now nothing at all.
The administration claim this showed willingness support aid programmes. That is unSHIS money is for programmes already agreed by the Carter administration.
People who argue should leave the World Bank have a very strong point. is dominated by the US. At a increase our quotas to the Bank while it's behaving like this.
These issues should be fully considered the Labour Party. My own inclination is to say that were we in government, insicad of increasing our contribution to the Bank we should make bilateral contributions to such countries.
Party policy is agains tied aid. But even if you cent the generated likely to benefit first world coun Loes should not be tied. But the problem isn't solved simply by untying the aid.
What desperately needed in Counte like Nicaragua is support for their needs gramme: housing, education, social services, food even qualify for Bank lending. Party policy should focus on giving sizeable aid to countries such as Nicaragua for HUE COULD well as economic projects.
Support Another area where it's ference takes a position is on the scale by which a future Labour government would be committed to in The party is already ing at one der cent which would actually double the aid programme around billion to £2 billion a year in current prices.
what countries like Nicaragua desperately need is not ald toi non-economic mes, but also credit lines. The point is that countries like Nicaragua are now ir such a chronic balance of Davittens situation that they literally can't afford to buy essentials.
In the immediate term statement of the ST ahe possible support within the party I'll be doing the best I can to help gain that.
We have our own difficulties here - with antilegislation. with rate-capping, with other acts by which the Thatcher government is trying TOl frontiers of the organised working class - but these pressures are insignificant in term! of what Nicaragua is facing. One of the most effective acts solidarity come the movement macades an cial contributions for pro jects development work and the assistance of activists