Religious leaders urge G–8 to forgive poor nations' debts failed

New York: G–8 Nations' leaders response to a plea placed to them by a multi–religious leaders to forgive poor nations' debts is met with disspointment.

Multi–religious leaders from across the world had sent a letter to officials of the Group of Eight meeting in the United States this week, asking them to forgive the debts owed by the world's most impoverished countries in the world, had not born good fruits.

Jubilee USA Network and the 50 Years is Enough expressed their disspointment at the outcome of the G–8 leaders meeting held at Savannah, GA, USA from 8 to 10 this month. The two organisations had lobbied hard and had released a letter signed by more than 250 religious leaders, including Jesse Jackson and leaders of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish denominations calling for 100% cancellation of the debts of impoverished nations without harmful conditions in light of the AIDS crisis.

Over the past several days press reports had indicated that UK Prime Minister Tony Blair had put forth a proposal for 100% debt cancellation for poor countries. However, on June 10, the leaders of the Group of Eight wealthy nations instead announced a meager 2–year extension of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative instead of a definitive commitment to full cancellation.

"At this critical moment, when every minute another African child dies of AIDS, the global community needs 100% cancellation of multilateral debt without harmful conditions," said Marie Clarke, National Coordinator of the Jubilee USA Network. "By failing to seize the opportunity, the G–8 has once again chosen baby steps over bold action."

HIPC, even by IMF and World Bank standards, has failed to provide an exit from the debt crisis. After eight years of the HIPC program, two things are clear: when countries have more access to their own resources they use them well, but HIPC has been too little relief, too slow, for too few countries and with too many conditions.

“Indebted countries need 100% debt cancellation without deadly conditions on the occasion of the IMF and World Bank’s 60th Anniversary year, “said Njoki Njehu, Director of the 50 Years is Enough Network. "Cancellation of impoverished country debt by the IMF and World Bank must be financed through their own resources."

Bi–partisan legislation calling for the IMF to cancel 100% of the debts of 50 nations without harmful conditions has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The JUBILEE Act, HR 4511, will legislate what the G–8 has failed to propose.

HOwever, Jubilee USA Network, the 50 Years Is Enough Network, and the broader debt cancellation movement do not give up their fight for the case, "We will turn up the heat on global leaders and the multilateral creditors in the coming months. President Bush and the G–8 might have found it hot in Georgia in June, but we will turn up the heat even more in this election year on the issue of debt cancellation. We will be bringing
our calls for 100% cancellation to pulpits throughout the country, to the halls of Congress with the JUBILEE Act, and to the streets,” said Clarke.

By US Correspondent.