Week 43 in #wapenhandel25tweets

(Gaarne 'liken' of delen als je het nuttig of interessant vindt.)

F-16's naar Jordanië

Photo: Neergestortte Jordaanse F-16 in Narjan bij de grens met Jemen. bron

De eerste zes F-16's zijn weg (zie ook tweet) naar Jordanië. Dat is een land dat onderdeel is van de Saoedische coalitie tegen Jemen. Jordanië zet daarbij F-16 in.

Een Jordaanse luchtmacht generaal vertelde in november 2015 een Nederlandse journalist dat vier F-16's werden ingezet voor de strijd in Jemen. Maar ook in januari 2017 zijn ze nog ingezet aldus Parstoday dat een aanval op een Jordaanse F-16 beschrijft. Volgens de Nederlandse regering (opent pdf, zie ook week 42) gaat het slechts om een ondersteunende rol.

Nederland heeft bovendien een afspraak gemaakt met Jordanië dat de geleverde exemplaren niet zullen worden ingezet in de strijd boven Jemen. Maar wat betekent zo'n afspraak?

“Een garantie van welke regering dan ook is waardeloos,” zegt de Britse minister van Materieelbeleid onder de Britse premier Thatcher, Alan Clark, begin jaren negentig al tegen journalist John Pilger. Eerder deze maand citeerde Defense News (een onafhankelijk, maar aan het Pentagon gelieerd weekblad) Rachel Stohl van het Stimson Center “... als je wapens geeft aan een land of organisatie, dan kan je niet meer controleren hoe ze gebruikt worden.”  

“Hoewel een dergelijke clausule als onderdeel van de wapenexportregeling opnemen naïef is, biedt ze wel handvatten om achteraf gefundeerde kritiek te leveren op de inzet voor oneigenlijke doelen en dat mee te wegen in de verstrekking van latere exportvergunningen,” schreef ik in 2003 in Explosieve Materie; Nederlandse wapenhandel blootgelegd. Om die controle vorm te geven is het van belang dat het publiek of tenminste Parlementariërs – vertrouwelijk indien onvermijdelijk – kennis kunnen nemen van dergelijke afspraken.

Als Jordanië zo'n kleine tachtig F-16's bezit en 15 mogen er niet worden ingezet boven Jemen dan kan het dat met passen en meten de Nederlandse F-16's inzetten voor taken die wel mogen en zijn de andere F-16's vrij om mee te doen met Saoedi's en Emiraten. Wat voor afspraken zijn er eigenlijk voor eerder door Nederland geleverde F-16's gemaakt? En hoe zit het de negen geleverd door België?

Nederland (zie ook 17, 23-24, 25, 27)

1 – 241017: retweet @Argosradio1 - Kees [van den Bosch] vertelt over zijn wereldprimeur in 2005, een verhaal over een Pakistaan die een atoombom ontwikkelde. #Argos25jaar https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/922733167731204098

2 – 241017: Documents on A.Q. #Khan & #Pakistan's nuke collected after #FOIA requests by @CTWnl @frankslijper. See @Argosradio1 http://broekstukken.blogspot.com/2017/10/stukken-over-aq-khan-wobdocuments-on-aq.html

3 – 251017: Q&A how to prevent & control #Dutch sales for #WMD by private companies. Military intelligence signals low awareness https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/kamerstukken/2017/10/25/beantwoording-kamervragen-over-kopen-van-onderdelen-voor-massavernietigingswapens

4 – 271017: Dutch technology may have been used in weapons of mass destruction: ministers http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/10/dutch-technology-may-have-been-used-in-weapons-of-mass-destruction-ministers/

5 – 261017: #Jordan takes delivery of ex-#Dutch #F16s | Jane's 360 http://www.janes.com/article/75226/jordan-takes-delivery-of-ex-dutch-f-16s

6 – 271017: Dutch #SP asks government to pressure Israel, Ukraine, China and Russia to end arms sales to #Myanmar. https://www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/document?id=a31fd849-cb5e-4fbe-ab62-709a9535be70&title=Conceptverslag%2520Myanmar%2520.docx

EUROPA (zie ook 22)

7 – 261017: retweet #EU under mounting pressure to ban arms sales to #Saudi Arabia. @_ENAAT https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/26/eu-under-mounting-pressure-to-ban-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia

België (zie 25)

Denemarken

8 – 231017: Q&A Dutch MP's @SadetKarabulut @HanTenBroeke forced labour of North #Koreans at construction of #Danish naval vessel https://www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/document?id=2e7c4f0a-e460-45ec-b0ea-dd1beef2a45c&title=Antwoord%20op%20vragen%20van%20de%20leden%20Ten%20Broeke%20en%20Karabulut%20over%20het%20bericht%20dat%20Noord-Koreaanse%20dwangarbeiders%20in%20Europa%20zouden%20hebben%20gewerkt%20aan%20de%20bouw%20van%20een%20Deens%20marineschip.docx

Duitsland (zie ook 12)

9 – 231017: #German government continues sale of #submarine to #Israel after #corruption hurdle. http://www.badische-zeitung.de/deutschland-1/merkel-genehmigt-u-boot-deal

Finland

10 – 231017: #Finish arms exports, major destination #MENA-region. #Qatar #UAE http://eu.janj.eu/n/80157

Frankrijk (zie 15-16, 26)

Turkije

11 – 241017: #Turkey’s #kamikaze #drones ready for action https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2017/10/22/turkeys-kamikaze-drone-is-ready-for-action

12 – 241017: Annalena Baerbock, (Grünen) "man [sollte] endlich #Waffenexporte und #Hermes-Bürgschaften für die #Türkei beenden" http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/jamaika-sondierungsgespraeche-merkel-gegen-abbruch-der-eu-gespraeche-mit-ankara/20502316.html

VK (zie 21)

Zwitserland (zie 21)

REST VAN DE WERELD

Azerbeidzjan

13 – 241017: Despite support for #ATT #Canada considers to sell to weapons #Azerbaijan despite the conflict with #Armenia. https://horizonweekly.ca/en/canadian-mp-garnett-genuis-raises-concern-regarding-the-arms-sales-to-azerbaijan/

Australië

Botswana

Canada (zie ook 13)

14 – 261017: #Canadian military reviewing whether to provide weapons to #Kurds despite fighting with #Iraqi forces. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-reviewing-whether-to-provide-weapons-to-kurds

Ecuador (zie 17)

Egypte

15 – 241017: Rights groups blast #Egypt's human rights record and #French weapon deals (involving others like #Thales Nederland) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/rights-groups-blast-egypt-human-rights-record-171023095106374.html

16 – 261017: It seems the more human rights considerations, the more efforts to sell #arms. #France ready to sell more to #Egypt. https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2017/10/26/france-ready-to-sell-more-weapons-to-egypt-reports-indicate

Iran (zie 3-4, 20)

Irak (zie 14)

Israël (zie 6, 9)

Jemen (zie 5, 7)

Jordanië (zie 5)

Myanmar (zie 6)

Noord-Korea (zie 8)

Oekraïne (zie 6)

Pakistan (zie 1-2, 3-4)

Qatar (zie 10)

Rusland (zie 6)

Saoedi-Arabië (zie 7)

Syrië (zie 3-4)

Taiwan (zie 26)

VAE (zie 10)

DEFENSIE-INDUSTRIE

Damen

17 – 231017: #Ecuadorian Navy commissions first #Damen Stan Patrol 5009 #OPV | Jane's 360 http://www.janes.com/article/75131/ecuadorian-navy-commissions-first-damen-stan-patrol-5009-opv

Thales (zie ook 15, 23)

18 – 251017: #European naval defence-industry consolidation. Stakes high 4 #Thales it may loose its position on Combat Data Syst. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2017/10/24/naval-airbus-in-europe-could-lead-to-industry-shake-up/

WAPENS

Drones (zie ook 11)

19 – 251017: New face of war: #DARPA contracts to develop #drones swarms for urban combat environments. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/uas/2017/10/24/darpa-we-want-autonomous-drone-swarms-for-war-fighters/

F-35

20 – 251017: Sentenced for attempt to transfer to #Iran material relating to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (#JSF) Program. http://www.exportshh.com/second-circuit-upholds-sentence-for-attempt-to-export-f-35-technology-to-iran/#page=1

Luchtvaart

21 – 231017: Most attractive economies for aeronautic industries. Top 3: US, Switzerland and UK. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industrial-products/publications/assets/pwc-aerospace-manufacturing-attractiveness-rankings-2017.pdf

Observatie technologie (IT)

22 – 261017: #MEPs want human rights safeguard on #surveillance tech exports @EURACTIV https://www.euractiv.com/section/cybersecurity/news/meps-want-human-rights-safeguard-on-tech-exports/

Onderzeeboten (zie 9)

Raketschild

23 – 241017: NATO missile defence. Dutch pride, the #Thales Smart-L #radar is missing in the story. #Raytheon stealing the show. https://www.defenceonline.co.uk/2017/10/23/raytheon-nato-ballistic-missile/

24 – 241017: Agitprop "Terrorists have a growing no. of Ballistic missiles that's why Dutch navy is involved in Missile Defence" https://www.rovid.nl/def/km/2017/def-km-20171016-idd3sk51y-web-hd.mp4

Wapenbeurzen

25 – 221017: In 2 weeks Defense Security Asia #DSA in #Thailand: FN Herstal (BE), DSM (NL) and 6 from Germany, 2 UK and 6 France. http://apps.ubmasia.com/exhlist/AsianDefense-2017/en/#

WMD (zie 1-2, 3-4)

OVERIG

Corruptie (zie ook 9)

26 – 261017: #Thales, #Dassault, #Safran fined 227 mln euros in #Taiwan dispute on arms sales and #bribes. https://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/World/20171025/3206930.html

Defensiebudget (zie ook 24)

27 – 241017: Complains Dutch military must shout PANG! when firing rifle & hasn't protective cloths. Buys 26 AMRAAM $360.000 each http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/government-netherlands-aim-120-c-7-advanced-medium-range-air-air-missile-amraam

Onderzoek en activisme (zie ook 2)

28 – 241017: Helpful tool to develop quickly a basic understanding of the arms trade, defence industry and its surroundings. http://www.housmans.com/blog/?p=2792

This is a selection from a larger amount of tweets. Tweets with a relation the Netherlands, arms trade and defence-industry weight heavier in the selection. If you want to have them daily see http://twitter.com/martinbroek

Dutch surplus arms to Jordan

The Dutch government should reconsider its arms export policy to Jordan seen the recent scandals and developments in the region. It should also provide more detailed information on its surplus sales in general, so a more elaborate opinion can be formed by MPs and civil society.

Over the past years a constant flow of information has been published by the international media on Western arms in the hands of IS and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. The most remarkable recent example was a story investigated by the New York Times and Al Jazeera on a large volume of arms and ammunition sent by the CIA to Jordan for Syrian fighters. The weapons were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market.

At a subsequent NYT-blog it was stated that: “Sceptics of American efforts to arm anti-government rebels in Syria have long worried that weapons could be diverted to opposing forces or terrorists. But they did not expect diversion by members of Jordan’s vaunted intelligence service, which was working with the United States to train the rebels. Revelations, by The Times and Al Jazeera, of just such theft have shown how even a supposedly stalwart ally can undermine American interests and aid its enemies.” Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch, Executive Director, Middle East and North Africa Division sighed in a tweet: “Seen this movie a 1000 times.”

The theft surfaced because the officers bragged about it and showed iPhones, SUV's and other luxuries bought with the illegal earnings. Even after it became known to the Jordan government it was not ended directly, but only a few months ago when the US and Saudi Arabia started to complain about the dangerous malversations.

Jordan is seen as an island of stability in the region and strongly connected to the West. Even its Muslim Brothers are only a moderate nuisance. But others argue stability is not a guarantee. Corruption in the elites is one of the more prominent political issues. Even more so because revenues of the fraud are not drippling down. Ludo de Brabander argues in his last book 'Oorlog zonder grenzen' that loyalty is also low because of the Jordanian government support for US policies in the region. He cites polls to underline his position, like the one of the PewResearchCenter in Washington D.C. It fits into the following worry “Jordan's deepening involvement in Syria—including reports that it is permitting Israeli drone flights over its territory and welcoming deployments of U.S. troops—could feed protests, too.” The hesitance to participate in the war with its neighbours was large for this reason .

Jordan is a close ally for the Netherlands. In the past years it received large quantities of surplus arms (see table above). Then Minister of Foreign Affairs, the current European Union commissioner Frans Timmermans, was quite relaxed on the sale, because of the air warfare aspect of most of the delivered arms, such as the Cheetah. He said: “I do not worry too much about the offensive capabilities of this weapon system.” Ignoring the fact that the weapon is also armed with anti-tank (AT) rounds and that weapons seem to be creatively used in the wars in Syria and Iraq; AT weapons of a wide variety are used (for a list of weapons used by Syrian fighters see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_equipment_used_by_Syrian_opposition_forces.) And to get rid of this laconically attitude a youtube video shows the weapon being used against ground targets.



The Dutch government voiced some concerns on Jordan in connection with the sale of military equipment like trucks, air defence and fighter aircraft. The government wrote in a series of letters (see table above) that the Human Rights situation is better as in most countries of the region, but situation of prisoners isn't good, rights of Palestine refugees are violated as is the freedom of press, opinion and gathering. The death penalty was introduced in December 2014 after a moratorium of eight years and 113 people are now on death row. But these facts were not decisive in granting the export license.

The Jordanian armed forces are not connected to those violations. And despite the regional problems and the influx of large quantities of refugees Jordan is relatively stable and part of the coalition against ISIS. The probability the trucks will be used against the population are minimal (thus not zero, MB). The F-16's and armoured vehicles can not be used against the population, according to the government in The Hague.

This denies the use of fighter aircraft in quelling large civil uprisings, like in the Palestine Territories and Kurdistan. Recently fighter aircraft have been used in the War in Yemen committing war crimes (Jordan participated with F-16's in the Saudi-led mission) . It also shows that nothing is learned from the recent Dutch ill-informed sales to countries in the region using Dutch armoured vehicles against civilians in streets of Cairo and Bahrain. Armoured vehicles are the weapon of choice in this kind of situations.

More specific information should be published to the Parliament in the future, such as which types are exported, with what kind of primary and secondary armaments aboard. YPR is a very vague description of a wide ranging family of armoured vehicles. Are they equipped with machine guns, small or middles seized cannons? This kind of information is essential to have an balanced opinion on the sales.

But seen the situation in the region and the wide dispersed sympathy for Islamist groups and antipathy for the sitting powers in the intelligence, security and military circles the diversion or illegal sale of armaments can not be excluded and sales of today will boomerang tomorrow. They already do. The Jordanian air force is pampered and equipped at the expense of other services, like intelligence. Herewith the loyalty will also erode and thus stability in the country based largely on the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID).

Sales add fuel to the chain of conflicts in the Near and Middle East. The report of the New York Times and Al Jazeera give a kind of peep review of what may lay ahead of us. No time for lacony on the side of the Dutch government when it wants to sell its obsolete weapons abroad.

Written for Stop Wapenhandel