Arms for Apartheid

southern af rica #8/77 PERSPECTIVES ARMS FOR APARTHEID ...Souhth African Aice Miraqets UN/Contact by Sean Gervasi The UN arms embargo against Nations arms embargo against South of weapon and type of equipment, South Africa has in no way deterred Africa, instituted through resolutions from tanks and radar to helicopters and Western countries, notably the US, 181 and 182 of 1963, is in practical fact self-propelled guns. Britain, Italy and France,from selling non-existent. An exhaustive examina It was generally believed until now major weapons systems to South tion of both governmental and confi that France had supplied South Africa Africa. The following Special Report dential industry sources reveals that a with most of its imported arms in outlines the basisfor this claim by pro thriving international trade in arms to recent years. However, this now viding Southern Africa readerswith an the apartheid state has been underway seems doubtful. While figures on the edited version of Sean Gervasi's testi for nearly a decade. As a result, South value of the arms trade are not yet money before the Subcommittee on Africa has been able to build a power available, it appears that Great Britain, Africa, Committee on International ftil modern military machine based on the United States and France have Relations, House of Representatives, foreign weapons-the very outcome accounted for the bulk of sales to South 14 July, 1977. Gervasi, an economist the UN embargo was designed to Africa since 1963, with Italy as a fourth who has worked for the Office of the prevent. principal supplier. As the South Afri Commissionerfor Namibia at the UN, According to American journalist can defense import figures indicate, called on Congress to investigate US Jim Hoagland (Washington Post, 16 the volume of the arms trade with arms sales to the apartheid regime, January, 1977) the South African gov South Africa has been far larger than it and received a particularly sympa ernment has in recent years been was thought to be, with French sales thetic hearing from Congressmen spending the equivalent of two-thirds accounting for only a part of that trade. Diggs, Whalen and Bonker. of its annual defense budget on mili It goes without saying that, for the A telex from the Rand Daily Mail to a tary imports. With a defense import most part, western arms sales to South correspondentin Washington dated14 bill of $450 millions and more than Africa, in particular, those involving July, 1977, relays a South African De .800 millions in 1973 and 1975 respec Britain, the US, and Italy, have been fense Department request suggesting tively, South Africa's projected de shrouded in secrecy. that South Africa is more than a little fense import bill for 1977 is, according A thorough analysis of this "invisi concerned about the information pro to US Senate sources, in excess of ble" trade must begin with an accurate vided by Gervasi. The Department re $1,200 millions. description of the present South Afri quested no publication of the report, can arms inventory. The difficulty up noting that "...any publicity given to Prepared to Pay the Price to now has been that published figures this testimony could result in embar Almost all of this money has been on this inventory were inaccurate. rassment to countriesfriendly to South spent, and is being spent, in Western Specifically, data generally regarded Africa and therefore affect South Af countries, or in countries used for the as authoritative published by the Lon rica's security." trans-shipment of Western arms, who don-based International Institute for have been willing to sell South Africa Strategic Studies (IISS) and indicating almost anything it wants for a price. the quantities of different kinds of mili Evidence has recently come to light Prepared to pay that price, South tary equipment held by most countries which makes it clear that the United Africa has been purchasing every kind has provided a misleading view of -The Africa Fundo198 BroadwayoNew York, NY 10038 has had very serious consequences. Perhaps the most serious is that South TABLE A Africa has been able to build a modern DELIVERIES OF WEAPONS KNOWN TO BE IDI SERVICE military force on the African continent, WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENSE F ORCES a force which in the present circum (END 1976) stances gives it formidable power. When the arms embargo began, Manufactured/ Numbers South Africa had a relatively small ITEM Licensed by Deliveries IISS* military establishment, with less than Mirage III fighter/bomber 13,000 men in the Permanent Force trainer/recce France 95+ 57 and total military expenditures of ap Mirage F-I all weather proximately Rand 120 million. The Air multi-purpose fighter France 48+ 16 Force had few modern aircraft and Aermacchi MB-326M Imapala I only a few helicopters. The Army had a strike/trainer S.A./Italy 300 145 collection of old British and American Aermacchi MB-326K Impala II tanks, armored cars and artillery. strike S.A./Italy 100 2 Lacking even a small mobile attack Aerospatiale Alouette III armed force, the apartheid regime had an 115+ 40 essentially defensive capability. attack helicopter France Awesome Military Capability Aerospatiale/Westland 330 Puma assault helicopter France/UK 40+ 25 Today the situation is completely 150 141 different. South Africa now has an awe Centurion Mk 7 heavy tank UK some military capability. The- Air Daimler Ferret Mk 2 scout car/ Force possesses more than 600 combat anti-tank armored car UK 450 230 aircraft, including nearly 150 Mirage M-3A1 White armored personnel III and Mirage F-i aircraft, as well as carrier US 400 n.s. some 300 Aermacchi MB-326 strike Saracen FV603 and FV610 armored trainer and strike jets, 40 Lockheed personnel carrier UK 700 n.s. F104G fighter-bombers and 50 North T-17 El Staghound armored car US 450 n.s. American F-51D Cavalier counter *The Military Balance 1976-1977 insurgency strike aircraft. It also has more than 200 helicopters. There are n.s. = not specified well over one thousand aircraft in service with the South African Air Force. The army possesses more than 500 South Africa's strength in two respects: Africa many item s of equipment, not tanks. A large number of these are First, generally believe d to be part of the Centurion Mk 10's, with a 105mm gun the IISS publication, The South African inv Military Balance, 1976-77, fails to list entory. and better armor and engine than the details on the Mk 5 and Mk 7 models which South many major weapon systems currently Table A providees some dAfrica is usually listed as having. The in use in South Africa, including Cen sale of "extra quarntities" of equipment Patton tanks are an improved model turion Mk 10, Patton, Walker Bulldog to South Africa, aind the sources of that fitted with a British 105mm gun. and AMX-13 tanks; Staghound and equipment. Shorland MK 3 armored cars; Table B indicat es that many impor- The army also has nearlv 200 Pan M-113AI, V-130 Commando, Piranha, tant arms deals have been kept en- hard armored cars fitted w ith 90mm Short SB 301, and M3A1 armored per tirely secret until now. It lists weapons guns. These are made in South Africa sonnel carriers; and Sexton 88mm, systems now in t he South African in- under French license. In addition, it M-7 Priest 105mm, and M-109 155mm ventory which are not credited to possesses several hundred other ar self-propelled guns. Not listed among South Africa bv st andard sources such mored cars and nearly 1,000 armored South Africa's combat aircraft and heli as The Military B alance. With one ex- personnel carriers. Some of the latter copters are Impala II jets, F-104G ception, all of thhe arms listed have are very recent American and British Starfighters, F-51D Cavalier COIN, been delivered t(o South Africa since models. It has a large number of self and Iroquois and Gazelle helicopters. the arms embarg o began, and many propelled guns-medium and heavv Second, the IISS figures on weapons have been delive red within the last artillery, of 88ram, 105ram andt which it does list often understate the eight or nine yea rs. Orders for some 155mm, mounted on tank chassis. quantities actually in use. This is the are still on the bo,oks in Great Britain, Portugal and Table C indicates the extent to case with regard to Centurion tanks, Italy which The Military Balance generally Ferret sct/armored cars, Saracen and The data set )ut in these Tables underestimates show that France, South African power, Ratel armored personnel carriers, the US, the UK and giving figures for each type ormajor Mirage II strike interceptors, and sev Italy have failed al together to heed the weapon actually in service. WVeapons eral types of helicopter. Security Council call for an arms em systems now known to be in the South bargo against S(outh Africa. While A there may be "a frican inventory at the end of 1976 Large Quantities Not Reported rms export control" include four times the number of com regulations of som ne kind on the books bat aircraft, twice the number of heli From the evidence now available it in various count ties, they have not copters, three times its many tanks, as is clear that suppliers have been selling stopped the flow of Western arms to well asnore armored cars ald person far larger quantities .ofcertain weapons South Alica over the whole of the last to South Africa than is generally re nel carriers than the IISS lists, and decade.

Load more