Anglican Communion News Service

(ENI/CPSA)The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town this week sharply criticised a South African deal which will supply military aircraft to Algeria.

The deal, worth about 100-million Rand (US$20-million), was announced on 27 January by South African arms manufacturer, Denel. The South African government has already approved the sale.

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, the leader of South Africa's Anglicans, said today 28 January that Algeria had a poor human rights record, and pointed out that hundreds of Algerians were recently killed during a Muslim festival.

"Africa is already awash with arms and military equipment," Archbishop Ndungane said. "Unscrupulous dealing in such hardware aggravates the problem. It provides no solutions to the challenges facing the continent.

"Denel's arguments that jobs will be saved and that the aircraft will not be used for military purposes are spurious. Why else would a country such as Algeria wish to purchase a remote-piloted reconnaissance aircraft?

"South Africa has many products to export which would enrich the world," the archbishop said. "Military hardware is not one of them. One way or the other military hardware deforms, maims and kills people ... South Africa is compromised in its position as a peace-broker in Africa by such a deal.... I call on our government to cancel the agreement signed by Denel with Algeria, in the interests of peace, stability, and progress on the continent of Africa."