When will we see real disarmament?

News Mondays - Alexandre Wälti

A press review, why not. A column, better. Perhaps both, or something approaching both. A definite opportunity to question the UN's (dis)armament policy, but also the question of armament in Switzerland.

Trump made it official the amazing-great-nobel prize meeting with Kim Jong-un on March 9, 2018 - ah bon - for which he immediately pressed a commemorative medal, It was then cancelled on May 24, 2018, and reconfirmed on May 1, 2018.^er June 2018. Everything's under control, don't worry. The summit between the two leaders is set to take place on June 12, 2018 in Singapore if the American president doesn't change his mind for the umpteenth time. Nuclear and peace issues will be at the center of talks between the two parties.

A statement by UN Secretary General António Guterres goes in the same direction. Disarmament (rerere) thus becomes a non-negotiable priority for peacekeeping. He detailed his intentions in a intervention at the University of Geneva on May 24, 2018. This information is of particular interest to us.

A confrontation rather than a diplomatic discussion

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) takes place in Geneva from June 4 to 8 at the Palais des Nations. It will be chaired for a month by (drum bearing)...by (unbearable suspense)...by Syria, of course! We all know that its government is without doubt a perfect example of (dis)armament, as are all the states involved in the never-ending Syrian confrontations, both in the field and in the production of weapons. So, of course, the presidency of the CD is decided by an alphabetical rotation, as in reminded him RTSinfo, Tuesday May 29, 2018. Syria having logically succeeded Switzerland.

Le Nouvelliste (repeating a dispatch from the’ATS) relays the same information. The Valais daily does, however, highlight the fact that Robert Wood, US Ambassador to the CD, left the room when his Syrian counterpart, Hussam Edin Aala, took the floor.

Isn't the purpose of diplomacy to discuss and find a solution despite the sometimes abyssal disagreements between two parties? When confrontation arises even in diplomatic circles, then it's already a little desperate and, above all, not at all reassuring.

At the same time, each participant in the CD «negotiates on nuclear disarmament, the prevention of nuclear conflict, the prevention of an arms race in space, and the guarantee of the non-use of nuclear weapons», as it goes on to say. Visit Nouvelliste. Joking? No, it's not.

Arms and the United States

What about firearms? The trumpery mentioned at the beginning of this article is reminiscent of the impulsive behavior of its representative at the CD and of any other diplomat who would avoid dialogue, seek to provoke and show muscles for lack of new ideas.

As you're no doubt aware, Uncle Sam is quite effective at (dis)arming himself. There's the recent case of a very cheerful FBI agent doing a backflip in a Denver nightclub, losing his service weapon and wounding a night owl in the process. Which makes the presenters of’ABC News. In short, the banality of everyday life, apparently. Yet another example of the extremely peaceful and healthy relationship Americans have with firearms. They only arm themselves to protect themselves, but also to have a bit of fun at the shooting range, of course. The golden M16 in this regard goes to citizens who are affiliated or close to the powerful NRA (National Rifle Association, around 177,000,000 francs have been spent on pro-armament political lobbying since 2004, equivalent to some 12,600,000 francs a year).

Yes, the friendly association explains Eddie Eagle and his Wing Team friends teach children the safest way to handle a firearm. Rather than calling the police when we find a beretta under a basketball bench, let's run away and warn an adult. Great song! The implication is that guns are everywhere, even in people's homes. Nothing to worry about.

Let's shift our focus from UN nuclear disarmament to civilian and military armaments. A simple equation before continuing: without firearms, there can be no war. In the United States, it's (online article from Release, published February 15, 2018): 18 (too many) sometimes victimless school shootings in 2018, 36,252 people killed, 2 million gun permits distributed in Florida alone for the 21 million inhabitants of the American state and a 24.2% increase, in ten years, in the training that schools organized to prevent killings. There, it's done. Congratulations! The world is pink and colorful. Children are having fun. The birds are singing and the lake is rustling. Listen, yes, listen to them sing, it feels so good.

The Swiss example of RUAG Holding AG

And the question of arms in Switzerland? «There are an estimated 3.4 million firearms in Switzerland, or 4 for every 10 inhabitants,» says the company. writes Le Temps October 4, 2017. Just like that. Long live the indispensable militia army (annual budget of 5 billion) and its service weapons in a neutral country! But yes, this army, which has too much money to spend in 2018 as we heard it in 1ère's 12h30 on October 30, 2017. On this subject, and just because some general culture never hurts, read the Service booklet by Swiss writer Max Frisch.

Let's take a closer look at RUAG Holding AG. What's this? Interesting stuff, really, see for yourself. This «limited» company has the status of a public service enterprise, like the Swiss Federal Railways, the Swiss Post Office and so on. The Swiss Confederation is therefore its sole shareholder, and cautiously - or hypocritically, as the case may be - calls it a «technology group». Shouldn't every citizen have a say in the decisions of a state-owned company that produces munitions and other tools of war? RUAG Holding AG should hold an annual meeting of its shareholders - us. Well, we don't!

Although RUAG Holding AG is also very active in the aeronautics and aviation sectors, it still produces war materiel. The Swiss Confederation says on its official website that «these companies linked to the Confederation perform «public tasks or tasks in the public interest», which include «in particular guaranteeing the equipment of the army.» The «in particular» is tasty! Let's just note, in passing, that the summary of the company's 2017 fiscal year management report (take a look, online) says in particular that «with the exception of RUAG Defence, all divisions were profitable».»

A public service multinational

We can understand that this particular department of RUAG Holding AG, which produces mainly for the Swiss army, doesn't make much money. And yet, the company is 100% owned by the Swiss Confederation and should only finance the national armed forces, if we apply its public service role to the letter. However, it equips other military forces deployed in various conflicts around the world (United Arab Emirates, USA, Russia, Hungary, Germany, France, Great Britain, Sweden, USA, Italy and Brazil). All this is quite astonishing for a neutral country. Even if we have to admit that neutrality is relative when it comes to profits and when it suits us best.

But then, where does RUAG Holding AG earn most of its money? A sobering percentage in answer to our question: 62% of 2017 net sales - 1955 million francs, all the same - were made abroad and only 38% in Switzerland. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Is (dis)armament a genuine desire or a mere diplomatic formality?

Finally, let's find something in common between the UN's CD and the example of RUAG Holding AG in Switzerland: firearms. It's obvious. As long as they exist in free circulation, peace will never exist. And so the UN will never achieve its main objective. In the case of the CD, focusing discussions solely on nuclear disarmament does not resolve the issue of arms sales worldwide, nor the deaths that bullets and other bombs cause every day. Even less so if the representative of a major world power doesn't even want to enter the discussion.

We might as well be organizing the next (De)Pollution Conference, at which we'd be trying to solve the problem of micropollutants or plastic, without mentioning the responsibility of the companies that produce them, or proposing less active chemical agents or less plastic-coated packaging to consumers, if necessary. A little sarcastic? Perhaps. But then again, that's where we're at.

Finally, in the case of RUAG Holding AG, the problem lies rather in the structure of the company and its single shareholder structure. How can an arms company be 100% owned by a state, a neutral state at that, and, by extension, by its citizens, without the latter having any say in the matter? What does it bring in for the Swiss Confederation? It's astonishing that questions don't abound as vigorously about RUAG Holding AG as they do about the current scandals of the Swiss Post subsidiary CarPostal.

An under-criticized company?

Especially since the RUAG Ammotec department has recently experienced corruption problems, such as explained the daily 24 Heures on March 22, 2018, echoing initial revelations from the Handelszeitung. A complaint was lodged with the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPC), and the company's premises were searched. Even so, it took a pseudo whistle-blower to alert the Swiss justice system. Why do we hear so little about this state-owned company? Especially at a time when the Swiss media are undoubtedly beginning their coverage of the UN CD.

Apparently, we prefer the story of the behavior of a child with a tie, very moralizing for what he represents in the field of armaments and more particularly in the tragic events in Syria. Don't read any misplaced anti-Americanism into this, but above all a strong desire, however naive, to see a global anti-armament coalition one day.

Write to the author : alexandre.waelti@leregardlibre.com

Photo credits: © Wikimedia Commons / RUAG Schweiz AG