The Democratic Alliance (DA) has renewed its call on President Thabo Mbeki to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry into certain aspects of the arms deal.

DA public accounts spokesman Eddie Trent said yesterday he had again written to Mbeki "in an attempt to jog his memory" about an alleged meeting he had with French arms company Thomson-CSF senior executives in Paris in 1998 when he was deputy president.

Trent said he had written the letter after Mbeki was quoted in a Sunday newspaper saying he "honestly cannot recall" whether he had met the senior executives during a highly sensitive stage of the arms procurement process.

"I have also sent him the contents of two encrypted faxes which appear to confirm that such a meeting did in fact take place ... ''.

Trent said the first of these faxes was from Pierre Moynot to M Denis and B de Bollardiere, all Thomson-CSF employees.

In this fax, dated November 28, 1997, reference was made to the "person responsible for the short-list".

The fax also referred to the fact that this person "repeated that he had obtained the assurance from the deputy president that we would be awarded the combat system and sensors".

The second fax was from B de Bollardiere (senior vice-president of Thomson-CSF) thanking then SA ambassador to France, Barbara Masekela, for arranging a meeting between the "deputy president of your government, Mr Thabo Mbeki with Messrs Jean-Paul Perrier, Michel Denis, and myself".

Trent asked Mbeki to clarify whether any assurance was given to Thomson-CSF that it would be awarded the corvette combat suite contract, and whether a meeting of the nature referred to in the second fax did in fact take place.

With acknowledgement to Cape Times and Sapa.