Military Exports from Canada (1990-1999)
Year
Military Value of
Equipment Military
Types Exports
1999
21 920,208
1998
- 0
1997 616
1996
1,9,11 81,810
1995
11 1,389,665
1994
- 0
1993
11 357,992
1992
- 0
1991
- 0
1990
- 0
Total $2,750,291
Sources:
Export of Military Goods from Canada, Annual Reports 1990-1999. Published by
the Export Controls Division, Export and Import Controls Bureau, Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Government of Canada. Web site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/~eicb/
-----------------------------------
Examples of Canadian Military Exports (1990s)
Atlantis Aerospace Corp.
* Naval
tactics simulator
$4.1
million (Jan. 1996-June 1997)
Ploughshares Monitor, Sept. 1997.
-----------------------------------
"Canadian Opportunity: Large companies (Northern
Telecom, SPAR and Canadian Marconi) should participate in large switching,
satellite station and defence communications markets."
Source:
"Sector Study on Telecommunication and Information Technology in
Bangladesh, Commercial Prospects for Canadian Companies," Canadian High
Commission in Bangladesh, August 1998. <http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/geo/html_documents/76120-e.htm>
-----------------------------------
Human Rights Violations (1999)
Institutional weakness, political instability
and unchecked police brutality were major factors in continued widespread human
rights violations. Hundreds were injured and dozens killed, some as a result of
police action, in strikes called by opposition parties in 1999. Political party
activists and student groups with links to ruling and opposition parties
continued to perpetrate acts of violence, including beating political opponents
to death. Apparent corruption within the police and the lower judiciary, and
burdensome bureaucracy, facilitated impunity for perpetrators of human rights
violations and impeded access to justice for those without money or political
influence.
Political
confrontations between the major opposition parties and the ruling Awami League
were at times violent. A coalition led by the largest opposition party, the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, accused the government of political and economic
mismanagement, boycotted sessions of parliament and local elections and resorted
to nationwide strikes that brought the country to a standstill. Violent clashes
between government and opposition were a regular feature of these strikes. The
government offered to negotiate and proposed early elections. It accused the
opposition of not responding and said it would complete its term of office.
Disproportionate use of force by the police
against demonstrators continued to be reported. Scores were injured when police
indiscriminately beat anti-government protesters or journalists covering the
strikes. Torture, consisting mostly of beatings by the police, was reportedly
routine throughout the country. It was used to extract bribes or information,
or to inflict punishment. At least three reportedly died in custody as a result
of torture.
Women were subjected to an increasing number
of violent attacks, highlighting the government's failure to take adequate
measures to protect women and address underlying gender discrimination.
Custodial violence against women was reported, with at least three cases of
women being raped by police. In the wider community, hundreds of women and
girls were scarred and maimed in acid attacks and scores were murdered in
dowry-related incidents. The failure of
police to prevent, investigate and take action on acts of violence against
women meant perpetrators were rarely held to account.
In May, tribal leader Shantu Larma finally
took charge of the interim Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, after
delays caused by disagreement over three government-nominated members. Almost
two years after signing a peace accord, some of its main provisions had not
been implemented. These included the rehabilitation of all returned refugees,
settlement of land confiscated from the tribal people and withdrawal of
non-permanent army camps from the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Tension
between pro- and anti-peace accord tribal groups and between tribal inhabitants
and Bengali settlers often erupted into violence.
Source:
Amnesty International Report 2000. http://www.amnesty-usa.org/ailib/
-----------------------------------
Labour Rights Violations (1999)
Teachers, nurses, professional and managerial
staff, workers on government farms and most public sector workers cannot join
unions. Some have associations or
unregistered unions, but cannot bargain collectively.
Export Processing Zones (EPZs)
Unions do not exist and no collective
bargaining takes place in the two EPZs, where more than 90,000 (90% women) are
employed. Foreign investment (mostly
South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, U.S., Britain, Italy) is primarily in
textile, apparel, electronics and leather industries. The EPZs are exempt from labour laws giving rights to association
and collective bargaining and setting occupational safety and health
standards. A 1999 study reported on
sexual and physical abuse, unpaid overtime, child labour and unsafe conditions
in EPZs. The government said it would
stop restricting unions by 1997 and apply labour laws in EPZs by 2000. When local and foreign businesses protested,
investors threatened to withdraw and the government sought two years to amend
the law.
The government does not allow unions in
textile, metal and garment sectors.
Employers discourage unions with violence or by working with
police. Requests for registration
frequently result in dismissal. Unions
are rare and there is little collective bargaining. Laws impede collective bargaining in small business. Garment sector workers trying to organise
unions have been threatened, intimidated and dismissed.
The
government has wide powers to interfere in union affairs. Legal protection against discrimination is
inadequate. Workers suspected of union
activities are victimised. Many court
decisions have been the result of corrupt intervention by employers. The government can ban strikes that last 30
days. Illegal strikers may be
imprisoned. Ten unionists were detained
for four months.
In
January, the National Garment Workers' Federation said over 800,000 of their
1.5 million workers had not received their bonuses. Some 15,000 went unpaid for months.
During
strikes organised by political parties, the armed forces sometimes victimize
workers by clearing backlogs at the ports, in loading and unloading.
In
June, jute, yarn and textile mill workers went on a 48-hour strike demanding a
1991 wage commission recommendation.
Workers took to the streets when police tried to remove their
barricades. The police baton-charged
them injuring 20 strikers.
Source:
Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (2000), International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
-----------------------------------
* 6,584,000
aged 5-15, are working. (ILO-sponsored National Survey)
* 496,000
children are in slavery. (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Oct. 1996)
* Children
drive rickshaws, break bricks, carry produce to market and work in the shrimp
industry. Some are trafficked to the
Mid-East as camel jockeys. (U.S. Dept. of State, Human Rights Report, 1999)
* Domestics:
More than 20% are aged 5-10; 25% receive no wage (UNICEF Bangladesh, Nov.
1998). 300,000 in Dhaka. (UNICEF).
* In
garment and cigarette factories, workshops, restaurants, construction, transportation, as street
vendors or on tea plantations. 300 Dhaka leather factories employ young boys
[in hazardous conditions]. (N.Priyangika, World Socialist Website, Nov.3, 1999)
* There
are an estimated 10,000-29,000 child prostitutes. (U.S. Dept. of State, Human
Rights Report, 1999)
* More
than 9,000 girls are trafficked annually from Nepal and Bangladesh into bondage
in India and Pakistan, often with state officials' acquiescence or cooperation.
(AI, April 22, 1998)
Source: http://www.globalmarch.org/worstformsreport/world/bangladesh.html
-----------------------------------
A Government of Canada website, links
businesses directly to Free Trade Zones like "Bangladesh Export."
This huge database says
"Bangladesh is a country where manpower is very economic. This will make
an importer much more competitive in his/her market."
Source: http://exportsource.gc.ca/
---
"EPZ's offer tax breaks, a relatively secure
power source, duty-free import of capital machinery, warehouse facilities and
other benefits to 100% export-oriented industries."
Source:
"Bangladesh: A Business Guide for Canadian Companies," June 2000.
DFAIT website http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/geo/html_documents/76123-e.htm
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