Transcripts For DW DocFilm - Bombs For The World - How Germa

DW DocFilm - Bombs For The World - How Germany Profits From Wars And Crises October 30, 2018

Because. Here in northern germany the German Armed Forces the bundestag this holding its open day. Fun and games for the entire family say the organizes and a chance for the arms industry to show off its west especially for munitions john to run metal there is hardly a german Weapons Project but does not involve rodman taught by. The German Company goes back a long way and this is one of its main locations like. Five thousand kilometers away bombs are being dropped on civilians in a war that makes a mockery of International Law and despite apparently strict export rules run mittal is making a killing out of it. Tonight they use this playground to be the citys all expanding and. They are all getting new customers as well it will go for the bottom this is an infamous game with dubious roles in terms of legality ethics and morality what would you call that the dutch edition or German Technology and expertise are being used to deal in death we have to do all we can to stop this. Every two years the british capital attracts military delegations from around the world they come to the london docklands to attend the d. S. I ams fact that countries may be at war with each other but here they can bury the hatchet while they buy new weapons. One of the biggest stands of the trade fam belongs to ron matal germanys leading arms manufacturer would just hold off base Company Sells three billion euros worth of military equipment tanks cannons Simulation Systems guns and ammunition. Shells from mortar launchers soft hillary guns tanks and ordnance on display like precious museum exhibits looking so shiny and pretty that an observer could forget that these instruments of death. Many of those inside all familiar with this man on the outside Andrew Feinstein International Arms trade expert and former South African parliamentarian hes not allowed in fortunately my name is well known to be nice is off the obvious fact and so ive never grown to try to take a shine to come inside the sphere since he uncovered a huge arms scandal in his country has been operating from london for his own show. Safety is Research Also focuses on german arms exports germany plays a role through the export of weapons especially into regions that are unstable where there is conflict where there is repression. Most obviously to day the middle east and plays a role in ensuring that those conflicts are remarkably bloody. Like the campaign in yemen it was originally touted as a short aerial intervention led by saudi arabia to defeat the militias who were allegedly terrorizing the country. More than a thousand days later theres been no sign of a let up the who thieves have put up stiffer resistance than expected and the saudis and their allies have responded by raising much of yemen to the ground they bomb schools hospitals and residential areas they destroy infrastructure and apparently aim to starve the country into submission its a war thats claimed thousands of lives and led to a humanitarian catastrophe. Going by the book the german arms industry should have nothing to do with this war. For example it is forbidden by german law to export arms to countries where they can be used to disturb the peace. As the German Security and Defense Industry we completely accept that its all for titles or slaves for. But there are ways and means to turn a profit that all the same one of those ways is by an island in the mediterranean familiar to many germans as a holiday destination. Come out openly is one of saddam is best known politicians he was regional president before he was elected to the Italian Parliament and run a politician who conducts a lot of his research personally including research into ryan met top. It all began just over two years ago when he got a tip off that something incredible was happening at kalyani apple web planes full of vacationers land and take off. That these days that this area here was full of bombs it was quite a show of course the people who saw it got excited that the countless bombs being loaded onto a cargo plane demanded a casus for them the moment that he got their way out of. The cell photos of the operation the weapons of war being loaded up next to the tourist carriers. U. S. General purpose bombs from the mock eighty series being loaded onto a plane belonging to silk way and azerbaijani and one that specializes in transporting weapons to crisis hit regions. What was going on. When he got his balls havent got the only answer i got was from the operators of the airport people you know who said that all the flights were authorized that they dont use but chief no further details both liberal and i asked the same question in parliament and was told the same thing that isnt that it that the flights were authorized. This was official confirmation that bombs were being transported to the bomb but. The bombs are assembled here in rural sond india about forty five kilometers west of. Me in a valley near the town of goma snow bus is an unassuming looking factory that makes bombs by the thousands. It belongs to a Company Called wm italia the abbreviation stands for ryan mittal weapon and munition and it is a one hundred percent subsidiary of german arms manufacturer run mittal. But it kept the days this is a german factory on italian territory that makes a deadly product bombs that are sold all over the world by measurement here germany is exploiting it disadvantaged area this will just something with its high unemployment i dont hear arms are being manufactured for huge profits but a brute i did not is what is happening in this area. When it comes to the course of the. Book where of the bombs made by ron matal inside dania deployed in twenty fifteen an employee of the ngo Human Rights Watch snapped these photographs of bomb components. They were found in sabah in northern yemen city with a population of fifty thousand shortly after a saudi bombing raid. The bomb bears a code number that indicates the type of aman and its origin. The italian island of sardinia. When queried ryan mittal intell dolph admitted that the n. S. A. And code thirteen twenty five fifteen one five zero fifty eight twenty four indicates that it was made by w. M. Italian gradually a coherent picture is emerging he seems to sequester the chain obviously lots of people said nothing yeah i know first the government in rome. In the Regional Government and anyone else who knew what was going on. This factory was all. Used to make explosives but they were used for civilian purposes like the plant used to supply the local mines that once existed here in sardinia. But at some stage the factory was repurposed more or less secretly. Kwesi. Central berlin in may twenty seventeen protesters take to the streets to demonstrate against ron metal as it holds its annual Shareholders Meeting. Despite not lets be clear i never buy shares in ryan mattel to make a profit is guilty of complicity with arms exports and with murder throughout the world. Works for an Italian Foundation he is part of a network that buys run Mittal Shands not for the dividend but to ask difficult questions that shareholder meetings he has heard them run mittal plans to invest heavily in its factory unsought india. To me to get a frog visa i would like to ask why these facilities are being expanded in dont most know of us as we read that there is going to be a new testing range we dont understand exactly what is going on what is being tested and what for which weapons. Where these weapons being exported to. These have often explode. At previous annual meetings of run mental photographs were allowed these are from twenty fifteen. This show rahmatullah chairman baca and behind him the other directors and Supervisory Board members now photos are prohibited when the chairman gets up to talk business his message to this meeting all the trends point to growth especially for rye matal defense the weapons. Sales of almost three billion euros in twenty sixteen fourteen percent year on year growth and a new order for munitions to the tune of four hundred nine eleven Million Euros. The destination is in one of the most conflict regions in the world the middle east and north africa right mittal wont say exactly which country has placed the order. Be fun what did you make of the numbers. At the moment the company is in good shape and it was all very correct and democratic perfect but would you do well the dividend is not bad at all its certainly better than the interest the local bank pays it doesnt although you the palms may buy rahmatullah being used in yemen at least a dozen other me. Thats the wrong question if bombs are being dropped there its not right mattel dropping them. How was the Shareholders Meeting it was good good but what did you like in particular off because the whole atmosphere the whole package is im tight as it is what did you make of the numbers they presented yes promising sorry i have to guess my boss at a time was that does it bother you that bombs made by rahmatullah being dropped in yemen you know. To me yeah it does not everything is put to the right news but there are positives to back you know qantas. Motto major lotto now has confirmation that the plantain sobbed india is growing in importance for run mittal. You flog a new but you know they answered some of our questions about plans to expand the plant and dont most know of us so they said they would invest seventeen to twenty Million Euros in two thousand and seventeen and the same again in two thousand and eighteen. Thousand oxen also it will be. Most know of us is a. Small town with high unemployment and the dwindling population business is booming for one fun run meant tals bomb factory. It is dramatic this is a business based on death. The more people are killed the more weapons are bought macone the more you kill it the more weapons you need its a perverse mechanism that a Democratic State should not tolerate neither for moral nor economic reasons. But have come to a small town in southern sobbed india play such a big role in the International Arms trade lets take a look at a complicated contract from twenty twelve that formed the basis for a major export do. The Saudi Arabian Defense Ministry orders bombs from us from raytheon its british subsidiary subcontracts the rime a town subsidiary w. M. Italia to produce them contract is worth more than sixty three million euro news. The order was delivered from dormice nov us to jeddah islamic seaport from where it was taken to the end customer the Royal Saudi Air force this contract ran until mid twenty seventeen and covered thousands of m k eighty three bombs. Since the start of the saudi at campaign in yemen in twenty fifteen at the very latest it is being doubtful whether the arms exports are in line with italian law. Is that the deep vein these are sales to a country at war two a conflict that has been condemned by the United Nations on numerous occasions yet the italian constitution which condemns war and a law on arms exports totally pretty. With this kind of export. How is it possible for ryan metal to export bombs from sandton into saudi arabia nonetheless when asked the italian defense minister said it had nothing to do with. These are not italian monks theyre covered by a contract signed by a us firm that subcontracted to german firm. That company has factories in italy. Numerous written queries to the Italian Government went. Who then is responsible for the bombs exported by germanys biggest alms manufacturer. In berlin the federal Security Council meets in secret to decide what. Can go ahead. Of the chancellor and important ministers bases its decisions on the governments political principles which say supplying weapons of war shall not be approved to countries involved in Armed Conflict or when there is a danger of such a conflict breaking out. A flexible principle as the latest figures show twenty seventeen the German Government did indeed approve oms exports to some countries that dont meet the requirements German Companies exported submunitions worth four hundred twenty eight Million Euros to egypt two hundred forty nine Million Euros worth to saudi arabia two hundred fourteen million to the United Arab Emirates in the late one nine hundred eighty s. When helmut kohl was chancellor his defense minister Rupert Schultz of the Christian Democratic Union was a member of the federal Security Council the former law professor knows the legal and political ramifications of arms exports. Its a grey area heres one example. Patrol boats to saudi arabia intended for Police Border controls that has nothing to do with the military or military purposes however if the intention is to deploy them for military purposes they do need approval according to legislation governing the weapons of war in other words its a grey area. Grey area the should be no question about exports to saudi arabia for the war in yemen. If arms can be used or intended for use in wars of aggression or for measures that would disturb the peace as the law stipulates then the federal German Government is duty bound to refuse to approve their export time the German Economic Ministry has to say about the bomb sold by iran mittal the matter you describe the assumption is that the export of alms took place from italy in this regard german law petain some sports from germany very easy for the German Authorities to say these particular munitions and equipment are being produced in italy their responsibility of the italians to regulate the italians on the other hand. And therefore will assume that the. That and it is in this way that the global trade in weapons remains less regulated than the global trade. Some deals were approved by neither the italian nor the German Government run the town has found another way around the regulations this time by a south africa. Since the days of apartheid the country has had a powerful arms industry with close ties to politicians. One of the few politicians who lost critical questions about this is copus monterey of the Opposition Party Democratic Alliance in twenty sixteen he learned that an entire time key arms factory had been exported to saudi arabia. We were concerned that you know subs saudi arabia has got a good record in terms of human rights and suppression of human rights especially women and then you know the perception that they are supporting isis and even some rebel forces in yemen and other countries it is in conflict zones and we were concerned that whatever gets manufactured they we you know can be used directly oh in directly in those in those areas the government did not respond to questions about reportedly unchecked use of the arms factory which added to my raise concern. That were not convinced at all i think as ive stated in the in a previous earlier that you know anything can be used and sometimes in the future so its a Saudi Company now so it makes it even more difficult to monitor and control because they would tell us probably i suspect but be doing is not good nothing to do with you we dont use your products to manufacture anything. Despite the fact that your original plan. Was manufactured and installed because. Fifty kilometers east of cape town on the way to the Somerset West township is the headquarters of the company the build the factory its a huge complex with tight security a site of National Strategic importance which is why filming is actually prohibited to watch transparent a familiar blue logo bashing of ryan mittal this branch is called the now munition augie m m presents itself as a premium manufacturing. Procedure. From a. Battle tested you see where every detail to see. When its Mission Critical there is no. Compromise. This is where this should stay in. Their ultimate with. Some transmissions for we should use little to no munition adi aim is may need an export driven company and they are one of the most Successful Companies into africa they have got a lot of billions. Every year they employ over two thousand people and they all crying at. The factories all even running double shifts because theyre also busy. One of staff because Success Stories on the Defense Industry side of. The story began a decade ago when ron metron started a joint venture with a state run South African Company denounced. In two thousand and eight two for middle forces joint South African the now and germanys run matal defense efficiency and quality. Initiative was full there have been constant scandals around. The whole. Africas military infrastructure is constantly. Scoundrel so its origins. And its practices since then

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