Green Light for Capital During G20 Africa Summit
"Germany has staged a kind of looking for the bride for capital within the framework of its G20 presidency. The summit did not regard the interests of the people in Africa", declares Niema Movassat, spokesperson of DIE LINKE in the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development in Bundestag at the close of the G20 Africa Summit in Berlin. Movassat further:
"While the federal government builds fences and borders in Africa as protection against migration, the capital gets a free ride. During the G20 conference it praised private investments in Africa as ultimate saviour for development. Yet, one looks in vain for a committment to adhere to human rights or environmental and social standards. This approach does not fight the reasons of flight, it creates new ones.
The reform partnerships with Ghana, Tunisia and the Cote d'Ivoire, announced yesterday, are no good news. Focussing cooperation on few "reform champions" fuels the regional desinteration and opposes the construction of regional economic areas in Africa. Instead of further heating up a fierce competition between the African countries, the federal government should establish the effective implementation of the right to food, health and education as basis of a contributory development policy."