Significant support to Argentina from British personalities against vulture funds A large cross-party group of British parliamentarians, renowned economists, intellectuals, journalists, public opinion leaders, trade unionists and activists added their names to a statement of “Solidarity with Argentina against vulture funds”, which they handed on to the Embassy of Argentina in London. Additionally, on June 4, more than one hundred British MPs submitted an Early Day Motion against the actions of these speculators and in favour of Argentina. This solidarity statement condemns the recent United States Supreme Court decision to reject Argentina’s appeal in its case against vulture funds; warns of the danger that this ruling entails for future debt restructuring and calls on the relevant international regulatory bodies to reject the Court’s decision and begin work to create a fair, independent and transparent arbitration mechanism for sovereign debt. The complete text of the statement can be found below. // Solidarity with Argentina against vulture funds // We, the undersigned, condemn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 16 June 2014 decision to reject Argentina’s appeal in its case against vulture funds. Such funds buy up devalued debt at rock-bottom prices from the original creditors and then pursue repayment through legal means where even a tiny success rate can bring them considerable gains on their small initial ‘investments’. Earlier lower court rulings in favour of the vulture funds had already elicited criticism from many sources. More than 100 British MPs expressed their concern that “vulture funds are preventing the fair implementation of debt restructuring”. They urged the UK government to share its experience on legislating on vulture funds with the US administration, bring forward legislative proposals to prevent vulture funds ignoring international agreed debt restructuring for Argentina and Greece in UK courts, and supported the creation of “a fair, independent and transparent arbitration mechanism for sovereign debt.” The G 77 plus China Group, a multilateral bloc formed by 133 countries, also states that “We stress the importance of not allowing vulture funds to paralyse the debt- restructuring efforts of developing countries or to deny states the right to protect their peoples under international law.” In upholding the interests of a small minority of rogue speculators, the Supreme Court has endangered the orderly repayment of Argentina’s debt to over 90 percent of its creditors who accepted a substantial write-off of their debt in the wake of the country’s sovereign default over a decade ago. The verdict has rejected any notion of creditor responsibility of bad debt and therefore any onus on creditors’ part to renegotiate it. If the verdict forces another Argentine default, it will undo years of government effort to re-enter capital markets as a borrower in good standing. Finally, the Supreme Court claims to have acted in the interests of preserving New York’s status as a major capital market. However, the effect may well be the opposite, driving away borrowers to more orderly markets. This decision poses a serious threat not only to Argentina and its people, but to all developing and developed countries. We join this international body of opinion in calling on relevant regulatory bodies to reject the court’s decision and begin work to create a fair, independent and transparent arbitration mechanism for sovereign debt. Signatories: JEREMY CORBYN (MP Labour) ROGER GODSIFF (MP Labour) ANDREW GWYNNE (MP Labour) JOHN McDONNELL (MP Labour) GRAHAME MORRIS (MP Labour) GEORGE GALLOWAY (MP Respect Party) JOHN LEECH (MP Lib-Dem) NEIL FINDLAY (MSP Scottish Labour Party) ELAINE SMITH (MSP, Presiding Officer, Scottish Labour Party) COLIN BURGON (Former MP Labour) KEN LOACH, Director / Film Maker ALAN FREEMAN (Economist) COSTAS DOUZINAS (Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London) JOHN KING (Professor of Latin American Studies, University of Warwick) ANDY DENIS (Department of Economics, City University London) GUILLERMO MAKIN (Cambridge University) BEN FINE (Professor of Economics, University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS) JOHN WEEKS (Economist, SOAS, University of London) TERRY MCKINLEY (Director, Centre for Development Policy and Research, SOAS) MALCOLM SAWYER (Department of Economics, University of Leeds) COSTAS LAPAVITSAS (SOAS, University of London) CARLOS OYA (Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London) JAN TOPOROWSKI (Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London) CHRISTOPHER CRAMER (Professor of Economics, SOAS, University of London) DOREEN MASSEY (Professor, Open University) SIMON MOHUN (Emeritus Professor, Queen Mary University of London) JOHN GRAHL (Professor of Economics, Middlesex University) MICHAEL BURKE (Socialist Economic Bulletin) RONALD STAMPER (Professor (r), University of Twente, the Netherlands) HULYA DAGDEVIREN (Professor, University of Hertfordshire) TURAN SUBASAT (Economics, University of Izmir, Turkey) ALEXIS LITVINE (Trinity College, Cambridge) FRANCISCO PANIZZA (Professor, London School of Economics) FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ (Professor, University of Middlesex) MATÍAS VERNENGO (Associate Professor, Bucknell University) JEFF TAN (Economist, Aga Khan University) PRITAM SINGH (Economics Professor, Oxford Brookes University) RADHIKA DESAI (Economist, Professor, University of Manitoba) NICOLA ACOCELLA (Faculty of Economics, La Sapienza, University of Rome) TREVOR EVANS (Professor of Economics, Berlin School of Economics and Law) ENGELBERT STOCHAMMER (Professor of Economics, Kingston University) ANIS CHOWDHURY (Former Professor of Economics, University of Western Sydney) OSLEM ONARAN (Professor of Economics, University of Greenwich) HUGO RADICE, Life Fellow in Economics, University of Leeds JEFF POWELL, Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich RAY BUSH, Chair in African Studies, University of Leeds CHRISTOPHER WYLDE, Assistant Professor of International Relations, the American University in London KATE HARDY, Lecturer in Economics, University of Leeds RICHARD PEARSON, Economist, Transpennine Working Group, UK RONAN O´BRIEN, Economist, Brussels PHILIP G CERNY, Professor Emeritus of Politics and Global Affairs, University of Manchester (UK) and Rutgers University (USA) CHANTAL MOUFFE DE LACLAU (Professor of Political Theory - University of Westminster) JULIAN ASSANGE (Publisher of WIKILEAKS) JOSEPH FARRELL (Ambassador of WIKILEAKS) CLLR MARTIN TIEDEMANN (Labour and Co-operative Councillor, London Borough of Lambeth) ROSE CORWAY-WALSH (Sinn Féin) TARIQ ALI (Writer, Journalist and Filmmaker) RICHARD GOTT (Writer, Journalist) BRIAN PRECIOUS (Journalist) JEREMY FOX (Writer, Open Democracy) JOHN WILSON (President, Anglo Argentine Society) SERGIO SCHUCHINSKY (President, Asociación de Argentinos en Inglaterra, ARENIN) GAVIN MACFAYDEN (Director, Centre for Investigative Journalism, Goldsmiths, University of London) JEFF MADRICK (Century Foundation) BILLY HAYES (General Secretary, Communication Workers Union, CWU) DOUG NICHOLLS (General Secretary, General Federation of Trade Unions, GFTU) FRANCES O’GRADY (General Secretary Trade Union Congress, TUC) BERNARD REGAN (Chair, South East Region International Committee, TUC) NICOLA HOARAU (The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, RMT) MICHAEL CARTY (RMT) DAVID WALLIS (RMT) JACQUE WALLIS (RMT) KAREN MITCHELL, RMT Legal Officer & Vsc Vice Chair. ALEX GORDON (Former President RMT and General Secretary candidate) GABRIEL MOCHO RODRIGUEZ (International Transport Worker´s Federation, ITF) ENRIQUE LOZANO (ITF) YURY SUKHORUKOV (ITF) ROB MILLER (Director Cuba Solidarity Campaign) KEITH SONNET (Cuba Solidarity Campaign) MATT WILGRESS (Venezuela Solidarity Campaign and North London Stop the War Coalition) GLADYS MEDINA, Coordinadora de LARC CARL MADEN , CWU NEC ANDY NEWMAN (Labour parliamentary candidate, Chippenham) MAGGIE BOWDEN (General Secretary, Liberation, formerly the Movement for Colonial Freedom) AARON KIELY (National Union of Students, NEC) RICHARD BAGLEY (Editor, Morning Star) JOHN HAYLETT (Political Editor, Morning Star) LUKE DANIELS (President, Caribbean Labour Solidarity) MIKE PHIPPS (Labour Representation Committee) ROB GRIFFITHS (General Secretary, Communist Party of Britain) CARLOS MARTINEZ (Music Producer) JOHN GREEN (Journalist and author) BRUNI DE LA MOTTE (Academic) TIM SIRET (Comrades of the World) TANIA BRONSTEIN (Chair, Latin American Women's Rights Service) JUAN CARLOS PIEDRA (Director, Movimiento Ecuador en el Reino Unido) ANCIZAR MORALES (The Latin American School of Artistic and Cultural Education, ESFORAL) SUSAN BENN (President Performing Arts Labs) GERONIMO ENRIQUE RAUCH (Actor-Singer) JOHN PILGER (Journalist, film-maker) MABEL ENCINAS (Former Coordinator of the Latin American Recognition Campaign, LARC) MEL GOLBERG (Lawyer, Director of Sport Lawyer Association) LUIS APARICIO (CEO, Emerging Markets Associates of London, EMA) And others... .