In the wake of the cyclone in Burma it was being reported the other day that Britain will be sending a donation to support efforts in the country. Of course this is the right thing to do. But I was a little shocked to hear that Britain is a long term donor to Burma and has been for some years.
When you take in to account that we send millions each year to Zimbabwe, it makes you wonder how many other dictators are sustained and aided by the the British taxpayer.
Some will argue that the aid the UK sends keeps people from starving, and it is hard to argue with that, but you could also make the point that the UK aid enables ruthless dictators to get away with what they do because they are subsidised by the UK.
Shouldn't British foreign aid be linked to supporting democracies ?
2 comments:
In an ideal world we should not, but this is the real world and we should not judge other cultures by our standards. They are not like us they have different standards and values. We can try and influence and there are limits to what we should condone. I think we have to deal with the world we find and not fight everyone elses battles for them. We do not want sudo colonialisam.
The UK only sends aid to countries that we have a vested interest in, such as Commonwealth nations or those who want to buy lots of large weapons from us.
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