Campaigners from five continents gathered in Edinburgh are saying that the G8 debt relief proposals do not go far enough and have strings attached.

Under pressure from campaigners the G8 has tabled a new debt cancellation proposal. Campaigners say it goes further than previous schemes but is by no means the comprehensive solution that the G8 is claiming. It will not make poverty history.

The proposals cover only a limited number of countries, home to just 5% of the world’s poor. Governments in many of the countries included in the proposal will continue paying debt service to some creditors.

Lidy Nacpil, international coordinator of Jubilee South, said, ‘The conditionalities attached to debt cancellation will exacerbate poverty rather than end it.’

Charity Musamba of Jubilee Zambia said, ‘Debt cancellation is no longer an economic issue but more of a political one. All it requires is the political will of the G8 for it to be achieved.’

Ben Young of Jubilee Scotland said: ‘This deal will leave millions in poverty. The hundreds of thousands of people mobilised on these issues are being cheated by the G8 leaders’.
The press conference is co-sponsored by:

Jubilee South
CADTM International Network
Jubilee Zambia
Debt and Development Coalition Ireland
Jubilee South Africa
Freedom from Debt Coalition Philippines
African Forum on Alternatives
Red Jubilee Perú
Jubilee Debt Campaign UK
Jubilee Scotland
Jubilee USA Network
EURODAD
Jubilee Norway
ATTAC Germany