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China abolished freedom in Hong Kong. Beijing is gradually dismantling the autonomy of the Special Administrative Region. First the massive protests of the population were repressed with violence, now China is consolidating its influence with new laws. Repression instead of democracy.
The SonntagsBlick investigation shows that it was precisely at this delicate stage that the Swiss arms company Ruag wanted to arm the Hong Kong police. Those officials who have brutally repressed young democracy activists for months, and have also fired dramatically in the process. Protesters and human rights activists repeatedly accused them of endangering the lives of protesters.
The handover could jeopardize regional peace
Regardless, Ruag wanted to deliver ammunition to law enforcement officers there last year. Specifically, it involved the export of 338 caliber cartridges. Ammunition, which is used mainly in military sniper rifles.
But the federal government stopped the deal. In May 2020, a control group with representatives from various departments decided that there was too great a risk that the munitions could be used against the civilian population and that the handover would jeopardize regional peace and stability.
The federally owned arms company Ruag and the Secretary of State for the Economy (Seco) confirm the ban. “At the end of 2019, Ruag International submitted an export request to Seco for a smaller shipment to Hong Kong,” says Ruag spokesman Clemens Gähwiler. The application was rejected in spring 2020 “due to the assessment of the regional situation.”
GSoA calls for a handover ban
It was not always like this. Switzerland has been arming the Hong Kong police for years, with the blessing of the federal government. Between 2012 and 2018, Seco approved deliveries of material worth almost 200,000 francs. Rifles, ammunition and night vision devices were exported, most of them in the years 2012 to 2014.
The Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA) has long been calling for a ban on the delivery of military and police equipment to Hong Kong. The location in the Chinese economic metropolis is an excellent example of the fact that the export of repressive items is fundamentally problematic. The conflict shows how quickly the situation in a country can change.
So has the federal government reacted to the crackdown in Hong Kong and issued a blanket ban on the export of war material? El Seco says no. Export requests are still being verified in each individual case, spokeswoman Antje Baertschi said.
Armaments worth more than 901 million Swiss francs were delivered.
Neither El Seco nor Ruag want to reveal the extent of the prevented ammunition delivery. However, one thing is clear: 2020 was a record year for the Swiss defense industry. Never before have local arms companies exported so much war material.
With federal approval, more than 901 million francs worth of weapons were delivered to 62 countries, 24 percent more than in 2019.
The top three customers were Denmark, Germany and Indonesia. But the weapons also went to warring states like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Everyone is involved in the Yemen war.
Published: 03/21/2021, 12:27 am
Last updated: 21.03.2021, 28 minutes ago
