patth@ccnysci.UUCP (Patt Haring) (09/04/89)
W.GERMAN-DESIGNED SUBMARINES 'NOW BEING BUILT IN DURBAN' West German attempts to stifle further revelations about the sale of submarine plans to South Africa are under fresh challenge after the release of a letter which indicates the alleged existence of a disinformation campaign from the early days of the deal. Such a campaign would have been designed to hide the intention to construct German-designed submarines in Durban. Jane's Defence Weekly reported on November 21 1987 that South Africa had "indefinitely postponed" plans to build the submarines, and the then-President PW Botha also went on record to the same effect. But information released this month in West Germany indicates that South Africa is in fact now busy constructing the submarines. In May, the West German government declined to prosecute two companies involved in the sale - Howaldtwerke/Deutsche Werft (HDW) and Ingenieurskontor Luebeck (IKL) (SouthScan v4/25). The secret deal for the sale of the plans to South Africa was signed by the two companies within 10 days of a meeting between Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the then Prime Minister P W Botha in June 1984. When the deal became public in 1986, company officials said they had been given the green light by the Kohl government. The Bonn government told the UN in January 1988 that the kind of plans provided by the companies to South Africa were not of a kind which would permit the actual "construction of submarines or functioning submarine parts". But the 'Monitor' programme of WDR TV in Cologne disclosed new evidence on August 15 this year alleging that South Africa is now, in fact, building submarines in accordance with the plans and alleging that a third company, Thyssen Nordseewerke of Emden, is also involved in the secret project. 'Monitor' disclosed the contents of the alleged secret letter from the South African who negotiated the deal with the West German companies, W Venter of Pretoria, to IKL. Dated October 22, 1984 -- some four months after the deal was signed - the letter suggests a strategy apparently intended to disguise the fact that the deal has given South Africa the capacity actually to build submarines. The letter specifies the company should be part of "a process of subtle release of disinformation" by which "the impression must be created that the build phase of this programme has been indefinitely delayed". The letter adds: "IKL/HDW are requested to selectively inform individuals in the West German administration about this matter and in particular to reassure them that this procedure is being implemented to eliminate any possible risks of exposure and that there is in fact no delay in the programme. On the contrary it is hoped that the build phase may be expedited." The West German weekly, Der Spiegel (August 21), has added that HDW submarine engineer Gerd Rademann, who left for South Africa in 1986, took with him a container with equipment to work on specially hardened submarine steel 'HY 90'. The cost of transporting the container was accounted for under the same number as the entire HDW submarine deal with South Africa. 'Monitor' tracked Rademann - HDW engineer-in-chief - to a house in Durban. The programme alleged the submarines were being built under Rademann's supervision and direction, adding that the construction of the first submarine at the South African Sandock Shipyards in Durban has reached an advanced stage. Director of the World Campaign against Military and Nuclear Collaboration with South Africa, Abdul Minty, has now sent an urgent cable to West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher warning of potential "further damage to the FRG's international relations" and urging him to encourage and support investigations into the violation of the arms embargo against South Africa. The Arms Embargo Committee of the UN Security Council has also been informed of the new evidence. --- Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=- -- Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-