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GERMANY-SAUDI-YEMEN-POLITICS-DEFENCE-EXPORTS
Germany extends Saudi arms export freeze till end-March
BERLIN, March 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Germany on Wednesday extended a
temporary, disputed ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, but only until the
end of the month.
In October, Berlin froze sales of military equipment to countries involved
in the Yemen conflict following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi.
It has since faced protests by EU partners because the ban, originally
imposed until March 9, has impacted joint defence projects such as the
Eurofighter and Tornado jets.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Wednesday that the export ban had
been extended by three weeks until the end of March.
“We decided this with a view to developments in Yemen,” he said after a
meeting of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet. “We believe that the Yemen war
must end as soon as possible.”
About 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Yemen war
since March 2015, though rights groups say the death toll is much higher.
Germany has a troubled relationship with foreign arms sales, a legacy of
its dark past. Polls show that around two thirds of German citizens reject
weapons exports.
Merkel’s government has faced political pressure at home over weapons
sales, which include Leopard tanks used by Turkey to fight Kurdish militias.
But it has also faced increasing protests from European partners including
France and Britain over the issue.
French President Emmanuel Macron last year dismissed Germany’s call for
other countries to join in an export freeze to Saudi Arabia, saying it was
“pure demagoguery to call for a halt”.
And British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt last month voiced “deep concern”
that Berlin’s stance damaged Europe’s defence industry and its “ability to
meet its NATO commitments”, in a letter to Maas reported on by Spiegel
Online.
Despite all the agonising, Germany is among the world’s top arms
exporters, a group led by the United States that also includes Russia, China,
France and Britain.
Merkel’s governments have approved tens of billions of euros worth of arms
exports, including to nations outside EU and NATO that are accused of human
rights abuses or are engaged in conflicts.
BSS/AFP/RY/1850 hrs