29 October 2011
Berlin - A leading legislator of the opposition Green party has filed a lawsuit against a German arms company over the sale of around 200 Leopard 2 combat tanks to Saudi Arabia, the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday. The move by Green MP Volker Beck is aimed at forcing the German government to reveal details of the highly controversial arms deal with the Saudi regime.
Berlin has kept tight-lipped on the tank exports, citing confidentiality.
There is still no confirmation by the German government, if the sale has already taken place.
It remains also unclear how many tanks would actually be sold to Riyadh.
German opposition parties have repeatedly argued that the tank deal violated arms export regulations which ban the sale of weapons in conflict-stricken regions like the Middle East.
Earlier this month, German opposition lawmakers called on the government to rescind a decision to sell the battle tanks to Saudi Arabia.
A senior Green legislator, Hans-Christian Stroebele, urged fellow MPs of the ruling Christian Democratic and Free Democratic Party to press the co-governing coalition to cancel the planned multi-billion euro sale.
Authorizing the tank export would not only be a 'sellout' to German export guidelines, but also a 'grave violation of human rights,' he added.
Meanwhile, a leading Social Democratic parliamentary deputy, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said the imminent deal would be a 'catastrophe,' pointing out that Saudi tanks were deployed to crush the Bahraini uprising in March.
Berlin - A leading legislator of the opposition Green party has filed a lawsuit against a German arms company over the sale of around 200 Leopard 2 combat tanks to Saudi Arabia, the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday. The move by Green MP Volker Beck is aimed at forcing the German government to reveal details of the highly controversial arms deal with the Saudi regime.
Berlin has kept tight-lipped on the tank exports, citing confidentiality.
There is still no confirmation by the German government, if the sale has already taken place.
It remains also unclear how many tanks would actually be sold to Riyadh.
German opposition parties have repeatedly argued that the tank deal violated arms export regulations which ban the sale of weapons in conflict-stricken regions like the Middle East.
Earlier this month, German opposition lawmakers called on the government to rescind a decision to sell the battle tanks to Saudi Arabia.
A senior Green legislator, Hans-Christian Stroebele, urged fellow MPs of the ruling Christian Democratic and Free Democratic Party to press the co-governing coalition to cancel the planned multi-billion euro sale.
Authorizing the tank export would not only be a 'sellout' to German export guidelines, but also a 'grave violation of human rights,' he added.
Meanwhile, a leading Social Democratic parliamentary deputy, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said the imminent deal would be a 'catastrophe,' pointing out that Saudi tanks were deployed to crush the Bahraini uprising in March.
© IRNA 2011
