• by IPS Correspondents (bonn)
• Saturday, December 24, 1994
• Inter Press Service

BONN, Dic 24 (IPS) - A Roman Catholic Church peace organisation this week strongly criticised the Bonn government for its decision to modify its arms export policy.

Their criticism came in the wake of a recent decision of the coalition government headed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl to relax controls on export of 'dual use' goods -- which can be deployed both for civilian and military purposes.

The decision came more than two and a half years after the controls had been tightened in a bid to curb the proliferation of mass destruction weapons which can be easily produced in the Third World with the help of items bought in Germany.

Since April 1, 1992, dual-use goods have been closely scrutinised before being shipped to any of the 30 Third World listed in an official government document.

The list included countries such as Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Syria and South Africa where German weapons have been deployed in the past.

Controls have been relaxed now for dual-use goods being sold to Algeria, Pakistan, India, Angola and Vietnam -- and this, as an economics ministry official said, to "harmonise" Germany's arms exports guidelines with those of the European Union (EU).

In a statement the German branch of the Catholic international commission "Justitia et Pax' said the revised policy did not take into account that some of the countries removed from the control list were in the so-called "conflict regions" or did not observe human rights. It did not name any country.

In doing so, the Bonn government was ignoring that it bore "responsibility in respect of helping reduce" weapons of war. "Decisions on trade in goods which are useful for military purposes, should not be taken primarily under economic viewpoints," Justitia et Pax noted.

It went on: "In view of a large number of wars and armed conflicts in several regions as well as the horrible consequences for the civilian population resulting therefrom, the relaxation of controls on export goods which can be used for purposes of war, sends out a false signal."

Bonn should actually be increasing its efforts for removal of poverty, promoting disarmament and backing the conversion of arms into civilian goods. It should also be helping "the development of the countries whose poverty has increased in the wake of wars".

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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