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Global and Local Analysis & Action ... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] [Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Cor Groenendijk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;> Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:54 PM Subject: [mobilize-globally] Fw: [AL-AWDA-News] Germany, in Protest, Suspends Arms Sales to Israel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jess Ghannam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 5:53 AM Subject: [AL-AWDA-News] Germany, in Protest, Suspends Arms Sales to Israel > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22313-2002Apr9.html > > Germany, in Protest, Suspends Arms Sales to Israel > Decision May Foreshadow European Trade Sanctions as Criticism of West Bank > Incursions Mounts > By Peter Finn > Washington Post Foreign Service > Wednesday, April 10, 2002; Page A15 > > BERLIN, April 9 - Germany, long Israel's most steadfast supporter in Europe, > has suspended arms sales to the Jewish state to protest its military action > in the West Bank, officials here said today. At the same time, some senior > German politicians have used harsh language to publicly criticize a country > that the Holocaust legacy has often put almost beyond reproach. > > In interviews today, officials in the government of Chancellor Gerhard > Schroeder declined to use the word embargo to describe its action. But the > government has refused to act on planned weapons sales to Israel, > effectively suspending them, and other European countries have taken similar > actions, officials here said. > > The move signals a growing impatience with Israel in Europe. In recent days, > the 15-country European Union has issued call after call for Israel to end > its military offensive, to no discernible effect. Senior EU officials who > flew to Israel last week to seek a settlement were denied access to > Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and stayed less than a day. > > Holding up weapons sales is the first known sanction that Europe has applied > to try to bring muscle to its words; officials are also talking about some > other kind of trade restriction. > > Israeli officials today played down the action, but did not deny that > weapons sales were not going forward. > > "I can categorically say this is not an embargo," said Shimon Stein, > Israel's ambassador to Germany, in a telephone interview. "There are some > problems that need to be resolved and that is subject to ongoing discussion. > We hope that we can overcome the difficulty." > > The German press agency DPA reported, however, that the Israeli Defense > Ministry filed a letter of protest with the German government over its > refusal to allow sales. > > In 2000, the last year for which figures are available, Germany sold about > $170 million in military equipment to Israel, including torpedoes and parts > for tanks and armored cars. > > The revelation that Germany is blocking weapons sales followed meetings in > Berlin last week between German officials and Dore Gold, foreign policy > adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel. The Frankfurter Allgemeine > newspaper described the meeting as "cool" and said that German officials > labeled Gold "intransigent." > > The government's frustration has begun to spill out of Schroeder's cabinet, > whose members are normally circumspect in their statements on Israel. > "The occupation against the resolution of the U.N. Security Council, the > adherence to the occupation, and the reports about the Israeli troops' > conduct are shocking," Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Schroeder's minister of > development aid, told German media. > > German officials today called for the early creation of a Palestinian state, > followed by negotiations on key issues such as Palestinian refugees, the > status of Jerusalem and the final borders of Palestine. The Germans also > called for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from positions they > seized in the current offensive. > > In a significant change of mood in Germany, leading parliamentarians from > the center-right opposition have cast Israel as the aggressor and, in one > case, employed language associated with the Nazis to describe the incursions > into Palestinian territory. > > In a widely publicized letter to the Israeli ambassador, Norbert Bluem, a > labor minister under former chancellor Helmut Kohl, described the Israeli > offensive as a "war of annihilation" - the very term employed by Adolf > Hitler to describe his 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. > > And Juergen Moellemann, deputy chairman of the right-of-center Free > Democrats, a likely coalition partner in the next German government, said of > Palestinian violence, "I would resist too, and use force to do so . . . not > just in my country but in the aggressor's country as well." > Such language was once heard only in far-right and far-left circles here. > > Some analysts view the political mainstreaming of anti-Israeli sentiment as > more than an immediate response to the crisis, and as a deeper expression of > Germany's desire not to be shackled by history as the unified republic > assumes a greater role on the world stage. > > "There is no question there has been a shift," said Deidre Berger, director > of the American Jewish Committee office in Berlin. "This is critical issue > for Germany. They are trying to assert themselves: We are a European player > and while we are mindful of history, we don't need to feel constrained by > it." > > "The current situation is the immediate trigger," said Stein. "But the > Israeli issue is a symptom of something more fundamental. Since the end of > the Cold War and unification [of East and West Germany], there has been an > ongoing soul-searching, and we are the 'victims' of that. . . . There is a > reexamination of the German role and, part and parcel of that, they are > redefining their relations with us." > > German cities have been the scene of a number of recent demonstrations in > solidarity with the Palestinians. But what is unusual is that much of the > strongest language is emanating from Christian Democrats, the bulwark of the > pro-Israeli policy of recent decades. > > After World War II, the Christian Democratic government of Konrad Adenauer > staked the restoration of Germany's reputation, in part, on good relations > with Israel, and his successors in his party elevated a pro-Israeli stance > to something of an article of faith. > > But Bluem said recently that it was now time to break the "taboo" of > criticizing Israel. > > In an interview, Karl Lamers, foreign policy spokesman for the Christian > Democrats in Parliament, said: "Not in spite of our special responsibility > to Israel's security, but because of it, we should not say 'Yes' to > everything that happens. This policy of the present Israeli government could > lead to a catastrophe, first for Israel, but then for the region and the > West. > > "Germany used to not look out beyond Europe," he added, "but it must now." > > The opposition's candidate for chancellor in national elections this > September took a more traditional line during a recent interview with > American journalists. > > "The sovereignty, the right of Israel to exist, is unimpeachable, and that > includes the right to life without terror," said Edmund Stoiber, governor of > Bavaria state and leader of the Christian Social Union, the Christian > Democrats' sister party in Bavaria. "Therefore, we do not confuse, as others > do, cause and effect." > > 2002 The Washington Post Company > > > > West Bank and Gaza Emergency Relief Fund: > http://al-awda.org/wb_fund.htm > ================================================================= > Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is the largest network of grassroots activists dedicated to Palestinian human rights > To subscribe to Al-Awda-News, send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe, send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To find out how to join an Al-Awda action committee in your area, please visit our website at http://al-awda.org > ================================================================= > Unless indicated otherwise, all statements posted represent the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! 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