Ex-German defense minister urges stopping Saudi tank deal

Berlin, July 10, IRNA -- Former German defense minister Volker Ruehe called on the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel to halt the sale of 200 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Saudi Arabia, the Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday.

'This weapons deal must be stopped,' Ruehe was quoted saying.
The German government is only promoting a 'fictitious stability' when it delivers Leopard 2 combat to the 'authoritarian' Saudi regime, he added.

Ruehe who was Germany's defense minister from 1992 until 98, stressed real stability in Saudi Arabia could not be achieved by German tanks 'but only through far-reaching reforms.'

He cautioned his country against 'finding itself on the wrong side of history' when it comes to Saudi Arabia.

Ruehe's remarks were also echoed by Erich Fritz, a senior lawmaker of Merkel's Christian Democratic Party who also voiced opposition to the Saudi tank sale.

Attending a meeting of the executive committee of the CDU parliamentary faction, Fritz said that as a Christian Democratic party, it should not rearm an 'unjust state clamping down on freedom movements in other Arab countries.'

The German government has defended the highly controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia amid mounting criticism across the country's political spectrum.

Germany's opposition parties have branded the deal 'scandalous,' saying the Leopard 2 tanks could be deployed by Riyadh to crush internal dissent or uprisings in neighboring countries like Bahrain where Saudi troops played a key role in cracking down on the pro-freedom movement in the small Persian Gulf country./end