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Helga Zepp-LaRouche Interview with China Radio International "People in the Know"

September 2014


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Thursday, September 4, 2014

CHINA'S NEW SILK ROAD POLICY IS THE NEXT FORM OF EVOLUTION OF MANKIND, THE BEST POLICY FOR THE PLANET RIGHT NOW

ANNOUNCER: This is People in the Know, a weekday forum for in-depth coverage of the news shaping China, the world, and your life. Now here's your host Zheng Chenguang.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: The world is now undergoing some profound changes. Nowhere are these changes more prominent than in the global financial order as well as regional and world security.

BRICS countries are now taking the initiative to establish their own development bank as reforms on the governing structure of the IMF and the World Bank still leave a lot to be desired.

The infamous rise of ISIS in Iraq, which has drawn in a large number of fighters from the West, notably Britain, the U.S., Australia and Belgium, has prompted U.S. President Obama to order air strikes to halt its further advancement. While Britain has become the first major Western country to raise security levels on their home soil.

In Ukraine, the meddling of U.S.-led NATO has precipitated strong reaction from Russia. As of Wednesday [Sept. 3], Russia and Ukraine have reached a long-term cease-fire deal over the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But the future is still far from certain.

While in the East China Sea, the growing assertiveness of Japan militarily is now putting itself and China on a collision course.

So what risks are these highly fluid issues posing to regional and global security? How can we contain the potential crisis that arises from them?

Ni Hao, you're listening to "People in the Know," presenting you with insights into the headlines news in China, and around the world; I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.

In this edition of the program, we speak to Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, an international political and economic think tank. [http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/09/04/3621s842967.htm]

Helga, welcome again to CRI.

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EIRNS/Christopher Lewis
Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s interview in Xinhua and other Chinese media on her concept of the New Silk Road is now circulating widely in China. Here, Zepp-LaRouche in an earlier interview with Xinhua, last May.

HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Yes, hello.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: You were here almost half a year ago. Tell us what have you been doing in the past six months, especially with the Schiller Institute?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, in these six months, tremendous developments have taken place. You had the strategically extremely important summit between President Xi Jinping and President Putin in Shanghai in May, and then you had in July, the equally important BRICS meeting in Brazil, which was then followed by a summit between the BRICS countries and the heads of state of Latin America. And what has emerged out of this series of meetings is a fantastic development, namely, the shaping of a new financial order and a new economic system. And this is extremely important, because this has given tremendous hope to many other countries to finally go for the kind of development which is in their self-interest. Like, for example, Egypt: The new government of el-Sisi is now making a new widening of the Suez Canal, they're building agro-industrial complexes, new cities, a nuclear plant on the coast for power and irrigation.

Also many other countries are now building projects, like China is helping Nicaragua to build a second Panama Canal through Nicaragua. Many countries have agreed to cooperate with China, Russia, and India on the development of nuclear energy. It's almost like a tremendous revolution is taking place, where countries who have been intimidated by the IMF and the World Bank not to do these things and to fulfill all kinds of conditionalities, they somehow basically say, "No, we are not being afraid any more, we are now doing finally what is in our self-interest."

So what the Schiller Institute has been doing in this period, first of all, we were extremely happy, because if you look at our earlier reports from the '70s and early '80s, these were all projects which were on our books. And now, it's happening! So we were so enthusiastic, about the New Silk Road, about the BRICS countries, and what we have been trying to do is to try to convince the United States, Germany, France, Italy, to join the BRICS and to support this development and not be hostile to it. Fortunately, there is some hope that that may be possible, because, for example, German industry right now would like to join this developments.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: You singled out the establishment of some new global financial institutions as one of the major development in the past six months, and I assume you're talking about the AIIB in Asia, and the BRICS Development Bank worldwide. But how would you look at the feasibility, and especially financially speaking, for these banks to really get off the ground? And now we have the IMF and the World Bank in existence for several decades: How would you see the future relationship between the financial institutions spearheaded by BRICS countries and all these already-established institutions?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: First of all, there are many people in Europe and in the United States who are pointing to the fact that the so-called "too big to fail" banks are today more bankrupt than in 2008 before the Lehman Brothers crisis. They have 40% more debt, they have outstanding derivatives of $2 quadrillion, which is a sum which is so unbelievably big, it never can be paid. So these banks are in terrible shape, and the critics of the AIIB and the New Development Bank are saying it's too small, it takes too long, who should pay all of this? But that is a wrong thinking, because it is sovereign government to create credit for production. And what is so good about the AIIB and the New Development Bank is that they are entirely devoted to the financing of projects, not speculation, and that will prove in the future that they are the superior financial system. And we are trying to get the United States to go back to their own American System of economy, which was established by the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who created a National Bank, and that National Bank had the power to give credit for production.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: And you also talked about Europe. Are you saying that Europeans should also establish another bank to help with other projects? We understand the IMF is controlled by the European side.

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Yeah, I mean, the problem is that this financial present system which is associated with globalization is finished. They are so bankrupt; what is happening right now is a swindle. You can see it in the case of the fight between Argentina and the vulture funds. Now, the NML [Capital] vulture fund bought in 2001 Argentine bonds for a dumping price, of I think altogether $48 million. And after six years, they want to have $850 million from the Argentine government, which would mean a profit of 1,608%, which is usury! I mean, they have not worked for that money, they have just invested in speculation, and they're now trying to bankrupt Argentina. And fortunately Argentina, which is inspired by the BRICS development and by the summit which took place in Argentina and also the visit of President Xi Jinping, Argentina is insisting on its sovereign right to pay the debt according to terms which allow the survival of Argentina. So this is very good.

But it is interesting that the same vulture funds have brought up similar bonds, in Portugal, in Spain, in Italy, and they're trying to give the European nations the same treatment as they are trying to do with Argentina.

So, I think this will head to a confrontation and a dramatic change, because there is no way how the nations can survive if they capitulate to these vultures!

ZHENG CHENGUANG: Let's talk about global security and the political situations: We are seeing many things taking place in today's Arab world -- it's really worrisome. Notably the rampant military groups and terrorism; the rise of ISIS, which is not just comprised of the Arab terrorists, but also people with Australian, British, and American passports! Many entities are blaming the U.S. for these existing problems in the Arab world because of this Iraq War and the interventions, say in Syria and Libya. What is your take?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, this is the curse of the evil deed, that it must permanently create more evil deeds. It was the war initiated by Tony Blair and George Bush against Saddam Hussein which was based on lies. There were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no threat to cities around the world in 45 minutes, it was all based on lies which were produced under the guidance of Tony Blair by MI6 at the time, and this was basically part of the effort of regime change against any country which would not be submissive to the idea of globalization.

Now, that war has caused tremendous hardship, not only for Iraq, but if you look at the long series of wars, look at Afghanistan today, look at Libya, look at the situation in Syria, look at the Gaza Strip, look how this terrorism has spread to most of Africa: Northern Africa into Central Africa. You can say that that entire policy, even from a narrow American interest, is a complete failure.

So now, basically, the problem exists: ISIS is having American weapons, you know, where do they have these American weapons from? This was, that is at least a good hypothesis, these were the weapons which were given by the CIA from Libya to the Syrian opposition, and then they fell into the hands of these even more radical elements, more radical even than al-Qaeda, and now it's a big problem.

So I think that this shows that the present confrontation, which is pushed by NATO and the U.S., and the EU against Russia, is very stupid. Because there must be an international cooperation between Russia, China, India, Iran, the United States, and Europe; they all have to work together to solve such a problem. So I think that when Xi Jinping talked about that a security order must be inclusive, that you cannot have peace for some countries and chaos in other countries, that is absolutely correct: There must be an inclusive security architecture.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: So far for all these Western governments, the only available solution to solve the ISIS is just bomb them, but that will not solve the problem its roots. So you were talking about some more cooperation and coordination from different countries to solve the problem. Can you put your finger on some of the more concrete efforts that can be made to contain...

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, already in November 2012, the Schiller Institute organized a conference in Frankfurt, where we presented a comprehensive peace and development plan for the entire region, from the Caucasus in Central Asia to Afghanistan to the Gulf, to the Mediterranean. So this entire region must be taken as one. Then the Silk Road must be extended to all of these countries. And if Russia, China, India, Iran, hopefully the United States, the European countries, cooperate and declare a war on the desert -- like if you look at the map you can see that from the Atlantic coast in Africa, the Sahel zone, Sahara, the Saudi Peninsula, Iran, to China, you have one big strip of desert. This is practically not livable for people, there is no agriculture, no cities.

So we have prepared a development plan, which basically would extend the Silk Road, or as we sometimes call it, the Eurasian Land-Bridge, into this area to develop the desert by three methods: You can use the water from the aquifers, you can redirect some rivers, you make dams, but most importantly, you have to have peaceful nuclear energy for large-scale desalination of ocean water, and then use this desalinated water to green the deserts. And that way, you can have also agriculture, industry, you need to build up infrastructure in this entire region, as densely as it is, for example, in Germany. Germany is a very good example of well-coordinated infrastructure, where rivers, canals, high-speed rail and roads are integrated, which is very good for industry and cities.

So if you have that kind of approach, that way you give a perspective of future economic prosperity for the young people in this region, because many of them would not be joining the terrorists if they had some economic hope for the future. So the solution has to be peace through development. And the only hopeful thing I can say, that the present policies of Egypt is very, very quickly moving in this direction already: So, between Iran, Egypt, there are already polls of hope in this region.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: We'll be back right after this...

ANNOUNCER: "People in the Know," the in-depth current affairs show with insights on the news that shapes China and the world. People in the Know wants you to know the world better.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: Ni Hao, you are listening to People in the Know, offering you insights into the headline news in China, and around the world. I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing. In this edition of the program we are taking a look at the prominent changes taking place in the world financial and security order. Now we continue our discussion with Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, an international political and economic think tank.

This Eurasia bridge has been, you know, proposed a long time ago. Last year, we're seeing the Chinese President Xi Jinping also proposed this New Silk Road economic belt, connecting China all the way through Eurasia and then to East Europe and perhaps to West Europe, taking Rotterdam, as the final sea out [?]

How would you look at this proposal? Do you think that this has some similarities with the Eurasia Land-Bridge?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Absolutely. I think the New Silk Road is the basis for a peace order of the 21st century. As you know, we have proposed the Eurasian Land-Bridge when the Soviet Union collapsed, because then the Iron Curtain was no longer existing, and we proposed at the time, to combine the population and industry centers of Europe with those of Asia, through development corridors. Therefore, we were extremely happy, when Xi Jinping announced the New Silk Road last year, because this is what we have been fighting for for 25 years, and in the meantime, we did not only have hundreds of conferences and seminars about it, but we have developed it further to become the World Land-Bridge. I know China has already expressed interest to contribute to building the tunnel under the Bering Strait, and other projects which are part, really, of a World Land-Bridge, like the Second Panama Canal in Nicaragua, that is part of a World Land-Bridge.

So the way to think about the New Silk Road is not just some connection through Central Asia, but it is the next form of the evolution of mankind, by bringing infrastructure to all the landlocked areas of the world, and in that way, uplift the productivity of the population in that region. So it is really something which needs to be done for mankind to reach the next level. So we really are of the opinion that China is doing the best policy on the planet right now.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: All right. We were just talking about Central Eurasia, and one thing, very potential destabilizing in the region is Ukraine, the conflicts in Ukraine has inflicted a huge loss and pain on the Ukrainian people and the crisis seems nowhere near the end, and the EU is threatening more sanctions against Moscow.

Where do you see that this crisis will end? Is this crisis a reflection of today's political schism, or confrontation between Russia and the West? And do you think the West should accommodate the interests of Russia, because they are all interconnected: Russia is the major provider of energy sources which will produce heat to help the Europeans get over this cold winter?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, these sanctions are extremely damaging, not only to Russia, but to Europe! It hurts Germany's industry, which is why there is a rebellion among not only the German industry, the French industry, the Italian industry; the European Business Association just came out absolutely warning against it. But, I blame entirely NATO and the EU for this crisis: You know, even the Council on Foreign Relations of the United States, and many articles now have appeared, which have the same opinion, that this crisis was caused by the breaking of the promises which were given to Gorbachov and Yeltsin at the time, that NATO would never extend its troops up to the Russian border; this was promised in '91 to Russia, and that promise was broken. In '91, there was no reason to create a security architecture which was exclusive of Russia; it would have been very easy to integrate Russia into any kind of security alliance, but because at that time, you had in America the neo-cons, and Margaret Thatcher, and they decided to go for world empire -- globalization is only another word for world empire -- that they step by step decided to extend the borders of NATO closer to Russia, to expand the EU, to encircle Russia, and to make the color revolutions.

There was recently a security conference in Moscow, where the Russia military stated very clearly that the color revolutions are a form of war even if it's not declared. If you are trying to buy with money, activists in a country, with the aim to topple the government, it is a form of war. So the toppling of the Ukrainian government in 2004, the so-called Orange Revolution, was already war, and what they did with trying to make an ultimatum to Ukraine last November, with the EU Association Agreement, was really an effort to make Russia indefensible. Because if you kick the Black Sea Fleet out of the Black Sea and Crimea, Russia is not defensible.

And therefore, this policy is very dangerous and what they will try to do this week, on Thursday, with the NATO summit in Wales, is to try to turn NATO into a complete war machine against Russia.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: Hmm, right. Now, let's get down to talk about China-U.S.: Last year when the Chinese President and the U.S. President met at Sunnylands [retreat in California], they agreed to establish this new model of major country relations, and overall the relationship can be regarded as stable. But are a few hiccoughs: For instance, the U.S. issued an arrest warrant for Chinese military officials, accusing them of launching cyber attacks against the United States, even as the Snowden case is still, you know, being talked about extensively here in China and beyond. Another thing is the U.S. is recent intensifying its reconnaissance operations, along the Chinese borderlines, which has prompted strong opposition from the Chinese side. And more importantly, is the China-Japan relations: It seems for many Chinese people, the U.S. is abetting Japan to take on China! Do you think that the U.S. should act as a more responsible player, to stabilize the region, rather than destabilize or rocking the boat, in the region.

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Yeah! I think that the model which was proposed by China for the new relationship among major powers is a wonderful model, where each country should respect the sovereignty of the other one, respect the different social system, non-interference. Now, I think the United States right now is pursuing a course which is dictated by Wall Street, so it's not in the American interest. Because Wall Street historically was always the dépendance [ph] of the British Empire. If you go back in history, Wall Street was financing the Confederacy against Lincoln. So Wall Street right now is not really an American institution, but it is part of this empire faction of globalization, and I that there is right now a big motion in the U.S. Congress to implement the Glass-Steagall law which was implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, in reaction to the world financial crisis of the '30s. And there are many congressmen and senators right now, who are moving in this direction. And the LaRouche PAC movement is mobilizing the whole country to do that before the crash occurs. Because if the financial crash occurs, which could happen any moment, we could have a blowout of the financial system worse than 2008, so it really is a race against time.

So I think there will be a big battle in the United States, right now: Will the United States go back to being a republic, and obey the Constitution, or does America want to be an empire together with the British? And that battle will decide if there will be world peace or not.

ZHENG CHENGUANG: All right. Helga, thank you very much indeed, for joining us in the studio and talking to us face to face.

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Thank you.