India plans to sell military helicopters to the Burmese junta, according to a new report from Amnesty International. India has no arms embargo against the Burmese thugs, er, I mean "government", so why is this news?
The news is the helicopters, India's "Advanced Light Helicopter", are bolted together from a mishmash of Western European components. Loaded up with guns and engines from France, gearboxes from the UK, rocket launchers from Belgium, brakes from Italy, and design elements from Germany (among others), this is, by no stretch of the imagination, a solely "Indian" weapons system.
All of the above-mentioned EU countries DO have trade embargoes against the Pyinmana hoods. If that's the case, shouldn't systems using components from the EU also be embargoed? Especially since Than Shwe and his minions will likely use their new toys directly against their beaten-down populace?
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