Letter from Terry Crawford-Browne

President Thabo Mbeki's use of the race card in his criticisms of the arms deal (Presidential missive, June 3) demeans both himself and the office he holds.

He chaired the cabinet subcommittee that succumbed to pressure from the German, British and Swedish governments selling warships that the SA Navy can't use and warplanes that the SA Air Force doesn't want.

If race has anything to do with it, it suggests that Europeans, not Africans, are the corrupt parties in this saga. The European armaments industry is notoriously corrupt.

On no other issue is government so out of step with the electorate. A survey last year found that 62% of African National Congress voters want the arms deal cancelled, 19% want it cut, and only 12% support it.

The presidential missile has also been directed at the judiciary in an attempt to thwart the judgment on March 26 in the Cape High Court that the international offers negotiating team and financial working group documents be made available to Ecaar-SA (Economists Allied For Arms Reduction SA).

The documents and the British/South African government loan agreements will show conclusively that Finance Minister Trevor Manuel failed in his responsibilities when he signed the documents that gave effect to the arms deal.

The cabinet had been warned repeatedly of the risks involved, but recklessly proceeded with the arms deal. Manuel has ceded control of SA's economic and financial policies for the next 20 years to the British government and the International Monetary Fund.

Like the Watergate scandal in the US, the cover-up attempts in the arms deal scandal have proved even worse than the original crime. Introduction of racial agendas is an issue on which Ecaar-SA, as applicant for cancellation of the arms deal, refuses to be drawn. 

Terry Crawford-Browne
Economists Allied For Arms Reduction, Cape Town

With acknowledgement to Terry Crawford-Browne and Business Day.