REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BERLIN - Germany has made an arms deal to export over 100 Leopard 2 battle tanks as well as 60 military vehicles to Indonesia, according to Press TV on Sunday. The German Security Council granted defense firm Rheinmetall to sell 104 of the tanks and 60 military vehicles to the Southeast Asian country.
The German government was forced to reveal the details of the agreement last week after Green Party lawmaker Katja Keul filed a formal inquiry regarding the arms deal. Human rights activists have been concerned about the deal since the Leopard 2 tanks can be used in street fighting in residential areas.
The German Security Council, which consists of Chancellor Angela Merkel and other selected cabinet members, has approved several controversial deals in recent years. The council granted an arms deal worth 1.89 billion euros with Qatar in April. It justified the deal by saying, “Qatar is in many areas an important partner for Germany and the European Union in the region. In addition, it has legitimate security and defense interests.”
On February 27, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said arms deals with the Arab littoral states of the Persian Gulf are aimed at protecting the Israeli regime. Germany is the world’s third largest exporter of weapons after the United States and Russia.
According to a report published by Amnesty International, German weaponry including small firearms, ammunition and military vehicles have been massively deployed to the Middle East and North Africa to suppress peaceful protests.
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