Italy continues arms export to Saudi Arabia
Italy continues arms export to Saudi Arabia despite ban
Dockers from the Autonomous Port Workers Collective union or CALP say ships
carrying cargos of tanks, helicopters and other weapons are continue to be sent
to Saudi Arabia from Italian ports in breach of local laws and the country’s
constitution.
In January this year, Rome introduced a ban on arms sales to
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates due to their involvement in the war
on Yemen, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed so far.
In June, however, some of the restrictions were eased after
Abu Dhabi threatened to evict Italian aircraft and personnel from a key
military base in retaliation for the arms embargo. Dockers say US-built tanks
bound for Riyadh have recently transited through the port of Genoa.
According to the CALP Dockers' union, the ban on arms sales
produced in Italy on Riyadh and Abu Dhabi is circumvented by disassembling the
weapons and sending the pieces separately.
Dockers, unions and The Weapon Watch which is an independent
observatory on arms transfers through Italian ports, say they each time new
shipments of weapons reaches Genoa, they inform the port authorities but no
action is taken.
CALP Dockers have said a new anti-militaristic,
internationalist movement is growing with port workers from several cities
across the world ready to join forces. Unions are working on organizing an
international strike against arms exports towards countries involved in the war
in mid-December.
A new shipment of weapons is scheduled for loading on a
Saudi cargo at the port of Genoa this coming weekend. Dockers will be staging a
protest with hundreds more people marching to the port to support them.
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