Controversy mars German police deployment in Saudi Arabia

Berlin, April 3, IRNA -- The Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday linked the deployment of German elite police officers in Saudi Arabia to the signing of a major German-Saudi arms deal.

According to the report, the Saudi government agreed only to a two-billion euro high-tech military equipment contract with a subsidiary of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) unless Berlin would give green light to sending 25 federal police troopers to the Arab country to train Saudi border guards to track down rebel fighters.

The highly sensitive German police mission comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is facing a growing popular unrest.

The German-Saudi military agreement was sealed in 2009 following lengthy negotiations with the help of then-German interior minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

In 2009, Saudi Arabia was ranked sixth on the list of German arms exports with 167.9 million euros.

German military gadgetry to the Arabian country included airplanes, spare parts for combat jets, missile parts, refueling aircraft, grenades, sea mine removal instruments and communication systems.

Critics have slammed German arms exports to the volatile Middle East region since the German constitution bans the sale of weapons to a crisis-hit area./end