Government Announces Tax Breaks for Business

Workers' Daily Internet Edition : Article Index :

Government Announces Tax Breaks for Business

Statement of British Jews Says Occupation is Moral Betrayal
Bethlehem Action against Israeli Occupation
Occupation the Most Comprehensive and Pervasive Cause of All Violations and Injustices

NATO Strong Resolve War Exercises Held Close to Russia’s Borders

It is shocking to note the direction of events since the Labour government was re-elected on June 7 last year.

Immediately it intensified the anti-social offensive, stepping up its agenda to deliver social programmes to big capital through giving the private sector the leading role. This is now crystallised in the programme of "investment with reform", which is a programme to further wreck these social services and deny the government’s responsibility to provide health, education and other needs, while branding the opposition to these measures themselves as "wreckers". Furthermore, on September 11 the government arbitrarily and unilaterally declared the main objective of the nation as "eliminating the evil of mass terrorism", embarking on the most reactionary programme of attacks on sovereign states abroad while attacking the rights of the people at home. Just recently, Tony Blair and other government ministers have been blaming both parents and children for unruly behaviour in and out of school. This reads like a sick joke in the context of the government’s contempt for national and international law and its stepped up anti-social offensive. And while hundreds of thousands of workers are being thrown out of work, the government washes its hands and even has the gall to claim that such pain is necessary for the long-term health of the economy. The neo-liberal agenda reigns, but still the government presses ahead and finds time to liberalise gambling as though this is going to boost the economy. At the same time as criminalising dissent, it is acting to "crack down" on crime, and further turn the youth into "criminals".

In this context, on Tuesday the Treasury announced, after "extensive consultation with business since November", that large companies were to get a £500 million tax cut.

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said that this would include tax exemptions to allow large companies to "restructure quickly in the global market; new relief to allow companies to take opportunities in the knowledge-based economy; and a tax credit to encourage R&D spending".

In a break with past precedence, the Chancellor confirmed the measures ahead of the budget, as the budget falls a month later this year than usual. "Since they were already in the public domain, we wanted to remove the element of uncertainty for business,'' Rachel Gibbons, a Treasury spokeswoman, said. The measures take effect April 1.

Furthermore, the government on Tuesday published the Enterprise Bill, which, according to the Department of Trade and Industry, "will benefit business and consumers by putting in place a modern framework of pro-enterprise measures to drive up productivity in the UK".

At the same time, the government is urging companies to retain staff aged over 50 as it tries to curb the cost of funding pensions, according to Alistair Darling, the minister responsible for work and pensions.

The issue is that, along with the other attacks on the livelihoods of workers, including attempts to boost their productivity so as to ensure that businesses can compete in the global market, and pushing up hand-outs and tax cuts to big business, the government is withdrawing state pensions as a component of the increased anti-social offensive and the negation of the conception that society is responsible for the welfare of its members. Pension policies are being "reformed" to encourage people to save and fund more of their own retirement. It should also be remembered that pension funds are a huge pool of resource for finance capital.

The wife of Tony Blair’s Middle East envoy, Lord Levy, is among some 300 British Jews who have signed a statement urging Israel to pull out of the Palestinian occupied territories. Lady Levy said, "I happen to believe in what it says. My views on both Britain and Israel are known to be on the left." She felt the only answer to the present conflict was for renewed dialogue. "What is happening now is a disaster," she said.

Drawn up by the British Friends of Peace Now, the statement accuses Israel of a "betrayal of its moral foundations" which "affects the whole Jewish people". Describing Passover as an "ancient festival of national liberation" and an inspiration to all oppressed and enslaved peoples, it says it is a "tragic irony" that "we should now be in the position of occupiers and oppressors".

While condemning "the use of terror by extremist Palestinian groups", it says that "this should not blind us to the deeper issues posed by Israel’s occupation of, and current behaviour in, the Palestinian territories".

The statement – published as an advertisement in last week’s Jewish Chronicle – suggests that by denying Palestinian aspirations for equality and self-determination Jewish people are denying their own self-image and heritage. "In order to save both the Jewish state and the spirit of the Jewish people, we all have a duty to speak out against the occupation," the statement says.

It endorses calls by Israeli groups like Peace Now for the government to take a range of steps including an announcement of "its intention to end the occupation" and the immediate dismantling of settlements in Gaza and near major Palestinian towns on the West Bank.

Other signatories include politicians, artists, writers, academics, lawyers, Jewish community figures, and Progressive rabbis.

Among them are Local Government Association chairman Sir Jeremy Beecham; Nobel Prize-winner and former Royal Society president Sir Aaron Klug; the Labour peer and former government minister Lord Clinton-Davis; Poale Zion secretary Judith Bara; and Leeds MP and Labour Friends of Israel vice-chairman Fabian Hamilton.

The rabbinic signatories include David Goldberg of St John’s Wood Liberal Synagogue, Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues honorary life president John Rayner; and Jacqueline Tabick, a vice-president of the Reform movement.

From the arts and showbusiness world, the statement is backed by television personality Esther Rantzen, writers Bernard Kops and Arnold Wesker and actress Miriam Margolyes.

The director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, Dr Edie Friedman, and the world president of the International Council of Jewish Women, June Jacobs, are also among the signatories.

The International Solidarity Movement will start from March 29 for two weeks to protest against occupation and human right abuses against Palestinians by the Israel Defence Force. This movement is mainly organised by Palestinian peace activists and some international activists, and the various activities will be done by non-violent direct action. Possibly over 60 people will join the ISM this time.

Following is the full statement of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat before the 58th Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, March 26, 2002. It was delivered by Dr. Hanan Ashrawi on his behalf.

May I first convey my deepest appreciation to you, Mr. Chairperson, and to the indomitable global defender of human rights, High Commissioner Mary Robinson, whose dedication and integrity have set the highest standards for this office. Her candour, tenacity, independence of spirit and unwavering commitment have reached the darkest corners of this globe with that rarest of gifts – the promise of succour and hope. We all regret her decision not to renew her tenure, but remain confident that, in whatever capacity, she will continue to make a difference. May I as well extend my respects to the distinguished members of the Commission – this assembly that collectively represents the conscience of the world and the guardians of the silenced and the victimised, the invisible and the oppressed, the excluded and the marginalised. As such, I am honoured and deeply touched for this opportunity to join you and to engage in a forthright discussion on the plight of the tormented Palestinian people yearning for freedom, dignity, independence and peace in their own land and throughout the region as a whole.

Allow me also to express our appreciation for the February 13 statement of the High Commissioner on the human rights situation in the Middle East, for the report of the UN Special Rapporteur, Mr. John Dugard, whose recommendations form the reliable road map for concrete action by your esteemed Commission, and for the comments of the UN Secretary General that are distinguished by their moral force and courage of conviction. In addition, we recognise the valuable work being undertaken by the office of the High Commissioner in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, specifically in the Rule of Law Programme, and would like to press upon you the urgent need for the expansion of the mandate and activities of this Office. We remain confident that the focus and direction of these efforts combined will bear fruit in alleviating the plight of the Palestinian people and in rectifying their ongoing victimisation.

Mr. Chairperson, I address you today with a heavy heart, bearing with me the pain of a nation in captivity – a people deprived of the most basic rights and fundamental freedoms and bereft of the protection of international law both individually and collectively.

Languishing under the last remaining military occupation in history, the Palestinian people are besieged, bombed, shelled, assassinated and terrorised in every possible way. Our lands, our homes, our crops, our trees, our infrastructure, our economy, the very fabric of our lives – all have become targets of persistent Israeli military assaults. This unbridled violence, deliberately unleashed on an already captive and besieged nation, exceeds all forms of collective punitive measures to enter the realm of a premeditated infliction of pain as a brutal expression of a cruel and immoral policy and as an active instrument of coercion.

In essence, ladies and gentlemen, we have been systematically violated in the very core of our being – our lives and dignity as human beings, our homes as shelter, our livelihood as survival, our health and educational services as basic rights, our freedom of movement as a fundamental life requisite, and our national identity as an expression of our right to self determination. Our human space has been invaded and denied, compressed to the size of a high velocity bullet or a tank shell or an Apache gun ship and F 16 trajectory that finds its way into bedrooms, schools, streets, gardens and any other environment in which vulnerable human flesh seeks refuge.

Reduced to the level of abstract statistics, Palestinians have been systematically dehumanised and their lives devalued. The 1,246 murdered victims (of whom 435 are children) since September 28, 2000, are all individuals with identities, loved ones, hopes, and dreams. Each one is unique and irreplaceable. The 18,488 wounded (around half of whom are children) are the ones who have to bear the scars and disabilities for the rest of their lives, while many would require the special care, attention, and resources that would tax whole families and communities for generations to come. All violent deaths are tragic, but the cruelty is compounded by the wanton and needless death of those wounded who were denied medical services, most of whom bled to death as ambulances and medical staff were denied access or deliberately shot and shelled on their way to provide their vital assistance.

Our narrative as well has been denied, and eyewitnesses have been silenced. During the latest incursions into Palestinian towns, villages and camps, the Israeli occupation army targeted members of the press corps (murdering one Italian journalist and wounding several others) while censoring even their own coverage in Israel. Over 50 international and Palestinian journalists have been wounded and four killed in the past 18 months. Wilful ignorance and imposed blackouts are the enemies of truth and justice, and ultimately they serve to perpetuate the conflict while undermining the prospects of genuine peace.

Nor are we a "demographic problem", as the prevalent racist ideology among some circles in Israel is trying to depict us, threatening the Jewish majority or purity of the state of Israel. We are the people of the land of Palestine, with a historical, cultural and human continuity that forms the sum total of our collective memory as well as future aspirations. Ours has always been an inclusive and pluralistic society with a powerful tradition of tolerance and hospitality. The state that we are intent on building will not only maintain these principles, but will also enhance them within new global values and realities to generate a comprehensive, human-based development plan, firmly grounded in the practice of an active democracy and the rule of law as the essential requirements of good governance. Such an independent, sovereign, viable and democratic state of Palestine is not only a right and a redemption of the inequities of the past, it is a pledge for, and an investment in, the future. Arab Jerusalem, as its capital, is at the centre of a revitalised human reality wherein all values, cultures, religions, and hopes will converge.

Tragically and ironically, the current Israeli government seems bent on regression into fundamentalist Zionism. However, the ethnic cleansing that was perpetrated against the Palestinian people in 1948 must not and will not be repeated. The myth of "a land without a people for a people without a land" has been debunked forever. It is now imperative that the historical compromise of the two-state solution be recognised – a solution that would establish the State of Palestine on 22% of our historical homeland (the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip or the territories occupied by Israel as a result of the June 5th, 1967 war). The state of Israel would then have defined boundaries on 78% of historical Palestine or the 1967 lines that would constitute the "secure and recognised boundaries" repeatedly called for by the international community and in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, the latest and most compelling being SC Resolution 1397.

It is not coincidental, Mr. Chairperson, that the vulnerable and defenceless refugee camps have borne the brunt of Israel’s most recent raids and incursions. Dispossessed, expelled, and dispersed the Palestinian refugees remain the most compelling human embodiment of the grave historical injustice committed against the Palestinian people. Denied even the most humble of shelters in the squalor of the refugee camps, they were helpless before the tanks that demolished their homes, destroyed their meagre infrastructure, and brought violent death to their loved ones. It is thus imperative that any peace agreement should include a just and legal solution to the refugee question based on UN resolution 194 and consistent with other precedents pertaining to the forced displacement of populations in times of war and armed conflict.

The same applies to the issue of the land itself, particularly if we are to uphold a global rule of law and the applicability of international humanitarian law and the 4th Geneva Convention to the occupied Palestinian territory. All forms of land confiscation, annexation and settlement activity, for whatever pretext, must cease. Jerusalem, in particular, must be rescued from prejudicial unilateralism, greed and acquisition. We, as Palestinians, have consistently sought the implementation of UN resolutions and the upholding of international legality as the basis of any agreement and the framework for an equitable solution.

Furthermore, and since the convening of the Madrid Peace Conference, the PLO and the Palestinian National Authority have welcomed all initiatives and interventions that have attempted to bring about a peaceful and just solution to the conflict, including the latest Saudi initiative currently under discussion in the summit meeting of the Arab League. We have repeatedly called for international monitors and co-operated with all third-party constructive participation.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chairperson, the fatal and tragic dynamic of the occupation has been allowed to prevail, threatening to spiral out of control and to engulf the whole region in yet another period of instability and violence. While the Arab world has made a strategic commitment to peace, we are still witnessing an obsolete and anachronistic mentality among hard line extremists in the Israeli government that suffers from the illusion that military superiority is sufficient cause for claiming superior rights. Such a mindset lies at the root of the conflict. All attempts at demonising, humiliating and brutalising the Palestinians (and Arabs as a whole) will not only fail, but will also backfire within Israel itself.

Despite the pain and loss, we have never accepted or "normalised" the murder of the innocent. And even though our innocent civilians have been killed with impunity, we have repeatedly deplored all attempts that targeted Israeli civilians. Mr. Chairperson, the occupation is killing us all! Instead of dealing with the latest violation or atrocity, instead of repeatedly blaming and bashing the victims, instead of reducing international efforts to the level of crisis management and damage control, and instead of trying to find remedies for the symptoms, I call upon you to deal with the root causes, with the fatal disease itself. This can be summed up as the misguided and immoral notion that one state can dictate its will on another nation by force of arms, that in the third millennium a colonial situation of enslavement can be maintained, that the will of the Palestinian people can be subdued and broken by brutality and bloodshed, or that different values can be ascribed to the lives and rights of people on the basis of their religious affiliation, ethnic origin or national identity.

It is time to speak out courageously on the issue of terrorism, Mr. Chairperson, whereby state and non-state actors must be held accountable for their actions pertaining to the exercise of all forms of violence and violations against innocent civilians for the purpose of achieving political gains. No individual, group or nation must be held hostage to the violent agenda of others. By the same token, defining terrorism and identifying terrorists can never be the monopoly of the strong nor the unilateral exercise of power by the dominant force. Subjectivity and self interest have often tainted the drive to protect the innocent by the convenient handing out of labels and the brandishing of stereotypical charges that have often served to distort issues and prevent solutions. Objective criteria, reliable evidence and universal instruments must be available for a global rule of law to prevail on the basis of fairness and parity.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairperson, we may be held captive by a brutal physical siege, but the human spirit and will can never be besieged or degraded. We grieve equally for all loss of life and rights, and we seek the liberation of both oppressor and oppressed from this fatal and abnormal proximity of the occupation. While we call upon you to intervene, to dispatch your observers, to prepare and disseminate accurate facts and assessments, to enforce all relevant laws and conventions, and to adopt your own pro-active resolutions, we appeal to you not to lose sight of the occupation itself as the most comprehensive and pervasive cause of all violations and injustices. Ultimately, only a just peace will provide the comprehensive solution, and only such a peace can become the genuine expression of the ultimate right of humanity as a whole – the right to a qualitative life nurtured by human security, dignity and freedom.

The Strong Resolve 2002 war exercises of the aggressive NATO military alliance, the largest in the past decade, were held on the north-western borders of Russia for two weeks in March. They involved over 26,000 troops from 15 NATO countries, up to 50 warships and auxiliary vessels, and over 70 aircraft. The area of the exercise included a part of Norway and Poland (it was for the first time that NATO exercises were held in Poland), as well as the Norwegian, Northern and Baltic seas. The main goal of the games was to check the plans and possibilities of the multinational group of forces in simultaneous settlement of two crisis situations in different parts of the world.

The scenario of the war games stipulated two crisis regions: the Northern (Norway) and the Southern (Poland, Germany, the Czech republic, Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine and the Kaliningrad Region of Russia). In the northern area NATO troops trained in repelling an aggression launched by a conventional adversary against a member country. In the southern area an international "peacekeeping" operation was held on the territory of conventional states, where the situation included a basic package of crisis problems.

The essence of the scenario was that a crisis develops on the ruins of a formerly integral state, leading to a bloody conflict between the different sides. One of the sides (in this case the proponent of "western" democracy), suffering defeat in an armed conflict, seeks the assistance of the UN. The UN Secretary General asks NATO to launch an operation to settle the crisis there. And NATO resorts to the Yugoslav experience of "appeasing" the warring sides and punishing the guilty parties, using the tried and tested standards and procedures.

The Russian General Staff believes that Russia and Belarus were given the role of "aggressors" in these war games, according to a report in Parlamentskaya Gazeta. The position of Minsk is even harsher, as the Polish part of the war games envisaged the operation of NATO troops directly on the territory of Belarus, where according to NATO generals the people revolted against the regime. The Belarussian military acquired information according to which the first day of the NATO war games provided for NATO "peacekeeping" actions directly in Minsk.

The troops involved in the exercises consisted mostly of "rapid deployment forces" (commandos, frogmen, reconnaissance and subversive groups), units that were to covertly deliver these forces to the site of operation and give them fire support from the sea and the air. It is evident that these forces are designed above all for offensive operations, according to the newspaper.

"It is shocking that these NATO war games, the largest in the past decade staged on the border of Russia, were held to train in exclusively offensive operations," says Admiral Vladimir Valuyev, commander of the Baltic Fleet.

The Baltic part of the NATO exercise stipulated a series of tasks which the joint group of NATO forces may have to fulfil in an armed conflict with a country that has powerful armed forces. These tasks included naval control of navigation, a mine war, tactical aviation strikes at naval targets, the use of missile strike boats, a comprehensive combat training of minesweepers, and broad use of special operations and psychological warfare units.

The Strong Resolve 2002 war exercises were yet another example of US policy of maintaining US domination in Europe and reviving the Cold War, the newspaper concludes.

This is in line with the report that Russia is on the Pentagon's list of countries against which the US may use nuclear weapons.

However, Russia's military doctrine views the contemporary military-political situation as determined by the opposition of two trends, according to a signed article in Kommersant-Vlast. "One of these trends is the creation of a unipolar world based on the dominance of one superpower, and military solutions to key problems in global politics. The second trend is formation of a multipolar world. The Russian Federation holds that social progress, stability, and international security may be gained only within the framework of a multipolar world..."

"The practice of carrying out military operations despite generally-acknowledged principles and standards of international law, and without the approval of the UN Security Council" is viewed as "one of the main destabilising factors in the military-political situation" by the doctrine. According to the doctrine, the main foreign threats include "formation of a group of armed forces leading to destruction of the current balance of forces along the borders of the Russian Federation, its allies, and seas surrounding Russia; expansion of military blocs that endanger military security of the Russian Federation and its allies; deploying foreign troops without permission from the UN Security Council in countries which are allies of the Russian Federation."

These NATO exercises have taken place in the context of the "war against terrorism" and the move to establish a foothold for US imperialism in Central Asia. Here also the imposition of the US’s unipolar world is coming into contradiction with Russia’s own geopolitical aims.

The contention can also be seen in the struggle to control the world’s oil production. According to estimates compiled by the Paris-based International Energy Agency, in February Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to become the world’s biggest oil producer. It pumped 7 million barrels per day in February compared to Saudi Arabia’s 6.9 million barrels per day.

However, Russia only exports half as much – 3 million barrels per day compared to Saudi Arabia's 6 million. But if exports of refined petroleum products are taken into account, Russia beats Norway to become the world's number two exporter behind Saudi Arabia, according to the US Energy Department.

It is reported that some officials from the United States – the world's largest oil consumer – are evaluating the possibility of importing crude oil from Russia if supplies from OPEC countries are cut off.