/ 24 July 1997

SA will sell arms to Rwanda

WEDNESDAY, 5.30PM

SOUTH Africa is to resume arms sales to Rwanda, National Conventional Arms Control Committee chairman Kader Asmal said on Wednesday.

Asmal said the decision was prompted by changed circumstances in Rwanda and the need for that country to restore peace and order.

Asmal also confirmed that the committee in August last year approved a contracting application from arms manufacturer Denel for the sale of a number of G6 artillery pieces to a Middle Eastern country. He would not name the country. No export permit has yet been approved, Asmal said.

He added the government is to carry out what he described as a far-reaching policy of maximum disclosure on arms sales. Disclosure to the general public will include the total value of contracts, and general descriptions of the weapons supplied.