Newsletter

GN-STAT NEWSLETTER 02      1. APRIL 2020
 
++ Worldwide most comprehensive “CRITICAL COMPANY CHRONICLE:

HECKLER & KOCH as a global player” published today 

in four world languages on the GN-STAT-Website ++

++ German TV will show explosive films by D. Harrich to an audience

of millions today in the 2nd theme night on the illegal arms trade ++

++ Review of successful arms-critical film days "Mercato di Morte 

- Deadly Trade" in Merano with the participation of GN-STAT ++

 

 
Dear friends of peace, ladies and gentlemen
 
++ Today GN-STAT is publishing the CRITICAL CHRONICLE HECKLER & KOCH as a 71-page long version in German and as a concise standard version in Spanish, English, Portuguese and German. In contrast to the official histories of the company, our CRITICAL COMPANY CHRONICLE also names the dark sides of their arms export and licensing policy spanning decades. We give a name and face to the perpetrators and a voice to the victims.  > See www.gn-stat.org > Company overview > H&K ++
 
++ Today German public television stations are broadcasting the 2nd theme night on illegal gun exports to Mexican provinces of conflict for an audience of millions. Their focus is on the scandalous court case and - finally! - also the victims of illegal arms sales: 8:15 pm: feature film "Master of Death 2" (90 min., ARD) + 9:45 pm: documentary "Deadly Exports 2 - Arms Managers in Court" (30 min., ARD) + 11:30 pm: above-mentioned documentary in the 60-minute long version (SWR) - directed by Daniel Harrich. It is of course also pleasing that our criminal charges - J. Grässlin against H&K and RA H. Rothbauer against the control authorities - have set the ball rolling! ++
 
++ For the first time in Europe, in February 2020, on the initiative of GN-STAT, in partnership with the Municipality and Academy of Merano, the University Platform for Human Dignity and Human Rights (EUPHUR) and other partners, a film festival on the international arms trade entitled "Mercato di Morte - Deadly Trade" was held in Merano, Italy. Wolfgang Landgraeber, filmmaker and member of the GN-STAT coordination team describes the successful course of the festival  > see www.gn-stat.org > Peace, Art
 
Peaceful regards,

Ruth Rohde, Wolfgang Landgraeber and Jürgen Grässlin

 

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Contact: ArmsInformationCentre / RIB e.V. with the GLOBAL NET, Freiburg Email: contact@gn-stat.org, web: www.rib-ev.de, phone: at present 0049-(0)761-7678208
 
In cooperation with: International Peace Bureau / Bureau International Permanent de la Paix, Berlin/Geneva, with 300 member organizations in 70 countries, Email: info@ipb-office.berlin, web: www.ipb.org

GN-STAT NEWSLETTER 01 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020

 

++ The GLOBAL NET – STOP THE ARMS TRADE is from now on publishing an approx. bi-monthly newsletter ++

++ GN-STAT-CASE 05: “The Arms Trade and Corruption on The Example of the Italian Defence Company Leonardo S.p.A.” ++

++ Invitation to the“Meran Film Festival: Deadly Trade – Traffico letale” ++

++ JOIN THE GLOBAL NET ++

 

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends of peace,

 

with our new NEWSLETTER we address those people who are working with us all over the world to stop the international arms trade. Using the power of non-violence we are committed to a peaceful, solidarity-based, just, and thus better world.

 

Since spring 2018 we have been providing information on thus far 5 cases of legal and illegal arms exports worldwide on our website gn-stat.org. In doing so, we give a name and a face to the perpetrators and a voice to the victims.

 

The basic language of our network is English, additionally we publish our articles in German, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian, as required. Recently, some articles have been translated to Arabic. Depending on the countries concerned by a case study, we also translate into the respective national languages (Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish or Italian).

 

With this NEWSLETTER 01 we would like to inform you about the current development of the GLOBAL NET, more will follow at irregular intervals (approx. every two months).

 

<< ATTENTION: If you do not wish to receive this GN-STAT-NEWSLETTER or if friends or acquaintances of yours also want to receive this newsletter, please notify jg@rib-ev.de or graesslin@dfg-vk.de >>

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

GN-STAT NL 01-1

In our most recent CASE 05 "The Arms Trade and Corruption on the example of the Italian Defence Company Leonardo S.p.A." our authors Andrew Feinstein and Helmut Lohrer inform you about the worldwide helicopter business of the Italian arms giant Leonardo (formerly Westland Helicopters in Great Britain). In Italy, Francesco Vignarca from the organization "Rete Italiana per il Disarmo" has done excellent research.

 

We show the methods Leonardo uses to market its products, for example in Asia and Central America. We document how the company uses agents, middlemen, and influential local personalities to assert itself against the competition. In many cases, corruption is not only the means of initiating a planned arms deal, but in many cases the real reason why weapons are sold all over the world.

 

You will find the long version of CASE 05 in English, German and Italian on our website, as well as summaries in other languages.

 

CONTACTS:

 

Helmut Lohrer, GN-STAT coordinating team,

International Councillor IPPNW Germany

E-mail: Helmut.Lohrer@virgin.net

 

Andrew Feinstein, GN-STAT coordinating team,

Executive Director, ShadowWorldInvestigations

E-mail: andrew@shadowworldinvestigations.org

Web: https://shadowworldinvestigations.org

 

Rete Italiana per il Disarmo

E-mail: segretaria@disarmo.org

Web: https://www.disarmo.org/

 

GN-STAT NL 01-2

You are cordially invited to the "Meran Film Festival: Deadly Trade - Traffico letale" from February 11th to 14th 2020, in which we are actively involved. In Merano, South Tyrol, films critical of armaments will be shown, among others by Daniel Harrich and Wolfgang Landgraeber. Discussion panels and speeches will feature Lisa Clark, Katharina von Schröder, Paul Holden, Ralf Willinger, Innocent Opwonya (former child soldier from Uganda), Francesco Vignarca, Giorgio Beretta and Alex Zanotelli.

 

CONTACT:

 

Wolfgang Landgraeber, GN-STAT film coordinator

Phone: 0049-(0)89-17 87 78-02, mob: 0049-(0)173-75 40 613

E-mail: w.landgraeber@t-online.de

 

GN-STAT NL 01-3

We experience a lot of encouragement and support for the GLOBAL NET, which makes us very happy because we want to vigorously oppose the military-industrial-political complex of the arms trade. Therefore, we want to strengthen and expand our worldwide network against arms exports which we are currently building.

 

Our requests: Cooperate with us, join the GLOBAL NET – see CONTACT details below. And/or support our research, publications, criminal charges and actions with a donation, see https://www.gn-stat.org/support-donations/de/

With peaceful greetings, your editorial team

Jürgen Grässlin, Ruth Rohde and Wolfgang Landgraeber

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

GN-STAT CASE 06: “Murderous Walls. How Arms Companies are making a killing of border security systems – and what we can do about it” (March 2020)

 

GN-STAT CASE 07: “How Child Soldiers are Forced to Fight with Small Arms. Case Studies from Myanmar, Columbia, and Uganda – Including Starting Points for Countering the Abuse of Children as Soldiers” (May 2020)

 

CONTACT:

 

ArmsInformationCentre / RIB e.V. mit dem GLOBAL NET, Freiburg

Email: contact@gn-stat.org, web: www.rib-ev.de, phone: 0049-(0)761-7678088

 

PARTNER:

International Peace Bureau / Bureau International Permanent de la Paix, Berlin/Geneva, Email: info@ipb-office.berlin, web: www.ipb.org

 

Translation: Ruth Rohde