Brown calls for world action on slavery of ignorance

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http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en & DSNO=939400

Brown calls for world action on " slavery of ignorance "

LONDON, Jan 4 (KUNA) -- British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Secretary) Gordon Brown Thursday called for this year's 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade to mark an end to the modern " slavery of ignorance " .

In an article for today's Guardian newspaper, Brown said the best commemoration would be making universal access to basic education " a global reality " .

He said that education could be the " greatest gift " of the world's richest nations to the poorest.

He also warned that the alternative was allowing " fundamentalist indoctrination " by extremists to fill the void created by the West's failure to act.

Brown's first political intervention of 2007 is likely to be regarded as the latest stage in a campaign to highlight his status as Prime Minister-in-waiting and to boost his profile in the international arena, commentators said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to retire sometime this summer and Brown has emerged as the only likely successor.

Britain has already pledged 8.5 billion pounds over 10 years to fund 15 million new primary school places.

But the Chancellor, who has made free schooling for every child a personal political goal, urged rich countries to go further.

" In the last few months, 22 African countries have committed to developing plans to ensure all their children have the facilities and teachers to complete primary education by 2015 " , he wrote.

" The cost is not prohibitive, an extra 10 billion pounds a year by 2010 is probably the most cost-effective investment the world could make. This is only two pence a day for each person in the richest nations " .

Meanwhile, the Guardian said that Brown will seek to rid the British Government " of the political stain from the war in Iraq " by diverting attention to other major international issues such as combating climate change and the universal education campaign.

Amid fears in the " Brown camp " that his time in Number 10 Downing Street may be blighted by Blairs support for US President W Bush in toppling Saddam Hussein, the Chancellor is eager to broaden Labours international focus into 2007.

In the meantime, the Guardian quoted insiders in Browns camp as stressing that he had no plans for a " cut and run " strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Britain retains a sizeable military presence, and that peace and stability in the Middle East would remain a foreign policy objective.

Last April, Brown visited Mozambique to promote the " Global Campaign for Education " .

He called on other developed countries to spend 100 billion dollars (57 billion pounds) over the next decade to create 200 million primary school places in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

An estimated 100 million children currently lack any formal education.(end) he.