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German arms sales controlled by small, secret club

02 March 2013 18:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Head of Amnesty International in Germany has harshly criticized lack of transparency in the country’s weapon exports which is controlled by a “small and secret club”, APA reports quoting Press TV.

In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Selmin Caliskan said a “small, secret club” should not decide which country receives German tanks and guns, urging more transparency in arms exports.

Calling on the German parliament to approve a legally binding human rights clause on arms exports, Caliskan said the weapons sales should be better controlled by the German government.

Germany has been strongly criticized for the dramatic increase in arms sales to Arab states like Saudi Arabia, despite their poor human rights record.

According to a report published by the Munich-basedSuddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on February 22, Germany's weapons exports to the Arab states in the Persian Gulf reached 1.42 billion euros (USD1.88 billion) in 2012.

The report added that Saudi Arabia was the biggest buyer of arms among the Persian Gulf states including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

According to a report published by the London-based Amnesty International, German weaponry including small firearms, ammunition and military vehicles have been massively deployed to the Middle East and North Africa to suppress peaceful protests.

On Wednesday, Germany’s Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Berlin’s arms sales to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf region are aimed at protecting Israel.

De Maiziere added that defending Israel against Iran is more important than the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.

The Chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Germany’s parliament Volker Kauder had earlier defended his country’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

He told the German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag that although freedom of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia and there are anti-Semitic tendencies in the country, the Arab state has a major role in the region and is a counterweight against Iran.