BERLIN, March 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
coalition government extended by six months an embargo on weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, instituted last October in response to the murder of
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The ban has faced opposition from within the German government and the EU, but has the support of rights groups.
“The order to halt authorised weapons exports to Saudi Arabia is extended
by six months from March 31 to September 30, 2019,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
Berlin reacted to Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
last October by declaring a freeze on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries involved in the Yemen war.
It has since faced protests by EU partners because the ban has impacted
joint defence projects such as the Eurofighter and Tornado jets.
While France and Britain have urged Germany to end the export halt, human rights groups argue it should stay in place — a view that has many backers among the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners to Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc in the coalition government.
“We oppose defence exports to dictatorships and into active conflict
zones,” SPD deputy leader Ralf Stegner said on public TV.
Merkel’s bloc favoured resumed sales, at least for joint European defence
projects.
At least 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Yemen war
since March 2015.
This week more than 20 non-government groups operating in Yemen wrote to Merkel to urge her to maintain the freeze, citing the “great risk” that the
arms would be used to “facilitate violations of international humanitarian
law and human rights”.
Germany is among the world’s top arms exporters, a group led by the United States that also includes Russia, China, France and Britain. — NNN-AGENCIES
