Thursday 27 April 2006

Andijan massacre raises questions over UK arms trade


Photo: AFP


By Jerome Taylor

Published: The Independent 27 April 2006.

The British Government has failed to close a "massive loophole" in its arms trade laws which allowed the Uzbek authorities to use UK-designed vehicles in the Andijan massacre. More than 500 people were killed in May last year when Uzbek troops opened fire on protesters from two columns of armoured cars. Pictures emerged after the massacre showing that Defender vehicles, designed by Land Rover, were used by troops to fire on the crowds. The Defenders used in Andijan were manufactured by Otokar, a Turkish company, and donated to the Uzbek authorities by the Turkish government, but the chassis design and technology is British. A loophole in current legislation means the vehicles, some of which would be classified as military equipment and require a licence if sold directly from Britain, are not covered by arms export laws because they are not assembled in the UK.A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry said that while the Government took allegations of flaws in the UK export control regime seriously, the onward sale of Defender kits was beyond its control because the chassis are civilian technology.Land Rover has said the vehicles used in Andijan were "the same as that used by farmers and four-wheel drive enthusiasts" and that what happens to the vehicles after they have been sold is "clearly outside the control of Land Rover". But a former senior manager from Land Rover said many of the kits sold to Otokar incorporated a military chassis that would normally be licensable in the UK. But he did not know whether the Andijan vehicles had such chassis. "There is a military version," he said. "If we were actually to put the whole vehicle together on a military chassis in the UK and try and sell it to someone that would then be licensable."Neither Land Rover nor the Government has broken the law by selling equipment to Turkey but campaigners want the chassis licensed to stop countries such as Uzbekistan, now under an EU arms embargo, from obtaining British technology through third parties. Anna Macdonald, director of the control arms campaigns at Oxfam, said: "These vehicles are made from 75 per cent British parts, but simply by assembling them overseas, a company can completely avoid British export controls. The Government must urgently close this loophole, and... kick-start negotiations on an arms trade treaty. Whether a weapon comes in pieces, or is ready-made, the suffering it causes ... is exactly the same."Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, expressed the UK's strong support for an international treaty at a speech to the Lord Mayor's Easter Banquet last night.Turkey has donated 50 Otokar Defenders, which can be fitted with an array of weaponry and armour, to President Islam Karimov's regime in Uzbekistan.Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK's director, said: "For years we have called for these loopholes to be closed. We saw at Andijan what happens when these calls are ignored."



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Monday 3 April 2006

Sweden's pungent herring treat is grounded by airlines



By Jerome Taylor

Published: The Independent, 3 April 2006


Surstromming, the highly pungent but much-loved Swedish dish of fermented herring, has a habit of offending the uninitiated with its peculiar taste and overpowering smell of rotten garbage.But now the national favourite, traditionally devoured in the summer months with large quantities of highly alcoholic liquor, has fallen foul of the airline industry which has asked passengers not to take it on board, saying it poses a safety risk.

Much to the chagrin of local producers, shops at Stockholm's Arlanda airport were asked to stop selling the notorious delicacy after airlines, including British Airways and Air France, became concerned the tins could explode midflight and shower customers with noxious odours that would take many days to fumigate.

Jan Lindqvist, head of corporate communications at Arlanda airport, said the decision to remove surstromming from the shelves was a purely practical one.

"It's nothing to do with terrorists," he told The Independent. "We're not saying Bin Laden is going to start using surstromming as a weapon ... but it is a practical consideration for the airlines."

Airlines are worried that the swollen tins of fermented fish are particularly vulnerable in the air because of pressure changes during take-off and landing.

To make authentic surstromming, herring from the Baltic is caught in the spring and fermented in barrels for a number of months. It is then placed in tins and left to ferment for a further year, bloating the container and creating the noxious gases for which the dish is so renowned.

"The cans swell up like a football." said Mr Lindqvist. "If it breaks inside a plane it would take two or three days to clean out the aircraft."The decision to remove the pride of Swedish cuisine from Arlanda airport has angered producers of the dish who have called the move "culturally illiterate".

Swedes are renowned for their love of pickled sea life, particularly during the long summer months where tons of crayfish and pickled herring are quaffed with equally large quantities of schnapps. But no dish is as unforgettable as the foul-smelling surstromming.

Historians believe the origins of surstromming lie somewhere in the 17th century as Sweden needed to keep its troops fed with their favourite fish far from home. Surstromming is served straight from the tin on crisp barley bread with boiled new potatoes, chopped onion and sour cream.But despite surstromming's long cultural heritage, not all Swedes are sold on the idea of the rotten-smelling fish.

Mathias Tornblzm, a self-confessed surstromming lover from Stockholm, admits many Swedes find the smell over-powering. "It does smell like hell but it's really rather tasty when you try it," he said.

He conceded Swedes were unlikely to be protesting on mass about the airport ban: "A lot of Swedes don't like it, to be honest. It's very popular in the north but the majority haven't even tasted it." A British Airways spokesman said that while it had not banned surstromming, it would be asking customers to think twice about bringing the swollen tins of fermented fish back home.


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