Bribes of a global scale. How do states bribe each other?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised financial assistance to the first ten countries, which will decide to move their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In this article, we will tell you what other political services each state pays for each other.
The story of the deployment of foreign embassies in Israel has almost sacred significance for the authorities of this country. Contrary to the UN’s decision, Israel traditionally considers Jerusalem its capital. So far, no foreign embassy in the city has been, because the world community believes that the city should be divided between Jews and Palestinians. The discussion began in 2017, when US Embassy President Donald Trump announced his intention to open the embassy in Jerusalem. In Palestine, this decision was met with a storm of indignation, it was criticized by many European leaders, but it was warmly supported in Tel Aviv. The grand opening of the embassy is to be held on May 14 this year.
In order for as many countries as possible to support Israel in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in December 2017 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to create a fund to help countries that will support Israel in the UN. Tel Aviv will finance the states of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific in the fields of water management, agriculture, cyber security, etc.
However, before that, Israel financially helped countries that diplomatically supported it. Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo in December last year voted against the UN resolution on the non-recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Each of these countries receives generous economic investments from Tel Aviv.
Humanitarian blackmail
If Israel pays countries for support in international organizations, the US wants to blackmail other states that do not support their position on the same sites. After the meeting of the UN General Assembly on the status of Jerusalem, on which the US supported Israel, Donald Trump unpleasantly surprised that 128 countries were against the US position at once. The head of the White House said that henceforth Washington will reduce financial payments to states that do not support the American point of view on international issues.
A few days ago the publication of Foreign Policy published the “International Assistance Program” America First “, which was developed by the State Department. It proposes to reduce the financial and humanitarian assistance to countries that have repeatedly voted against US proposals to the UN. For example, it is noted that the Sudan, which turned out to be among the top ten recipients of US aid in 2016, “supports US interests in the UN in only 47.9% of cases,” Iraq, living on American loans, votes against US initiatives in about 60% of cases, and Egypt and “does not always stand on more anti-American positions than Russia, China and Venezuela.”
However, the State Department is likely to overlook the disloyal attitude of Iraq and Egypt over the fingers: they are too valuable for the national and economic interests of the United States. But Zimbabwe (19% of the supported US initiatives in the United Nations), Vietnam (38%) and Ghana (54%) should be prepared: financial assistance is recognized by the US foreign policy department as inexpedient. Zimbabwe’s vocational training programs costing $ 3.1 million, combating climate change in Vietnam ($ 6.6 million) and building schools in Ghana ($ 4.9 million) were under threat of closure.
To buy off from migrants
In November 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened the EU to open Turkish borders and let migrants to Europe in response to Brussels’ policy towards Ankara. At that time, the Turkish authorities were preparing to hold a referendum on expanding the powers of the president of the country. European countries prevented Turkish politicians from conducting agitation among Turkish communities in Europe. In response, Ankara pressed on the sick corn of the EU.
To ensure that migrants from Africa and Asia do not flow continuously to Europe, Brussels has to pay astronomical sums to the states that are on the refugee’s path to a bright European future. This is not only Turkey, but also Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco. In 2016, only Turkey, the EU allocated $ 3 billion (while the Turks required $ 10 billion). Given that the flow of migrants, although it was reduced, but still has not dried up, Brussels has to continue to pay for the inviolability of its borders.
Fee for independence
In 1949, the government of the Republic of China, headed by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan from the communists of Mao Zedong. In fact, at that moment, two China appeared on the world map. Until 1971, the UN represented the Celestial Empire in Taiwan, and the government of communist China was not recognized by most countries in the world. In 1971, with the support of the United States, who hoped to use bad relations between the PRC and the USSR for their own benefit, Beijing replaced Taipei as the only legitimate representative of China in the UN.
Both China and Taiwan since the disengagement have worked hard to gain recognition from the international community. In the course were primarily money. And now Taiwan pays a solid annual maintenance to the island states of the Caribbean Sea, Africa and the Pacific in exchange for official recognition, promotion of its interests in the UN and other international organizations.
So, in 2004, Taiwan officially recognized the Dominican Republic. Only in the first six years, she received $ 110 million from Taipei. Grenada, which recognized Taiwan in 2003, renounced it in 2005. The reason for this was the holding of the Cricket World Cup in the country in 2007. The state budget did not have the money to build the corresponding infrastructure, and Beijing offered the necessary funding.
Many states moved from one China to another several times. For example, the island state of Saint Lucia recognized Taiwan in 1984, but flocked to China in 1997 in exchange for substantial financial assistance. Friendship with Beijing, however, was also not a long one. After 10 years, Taiwan announced a very effective program for the development of agriculture. In 2007, Saint Lucia thanked China for its assistance and again officially recognized Taiwan. Nauru, Nicaragua and Burkina Faso acted in a similar manner: all of them now recognize Taiwan.