Described as a deadly deal .. French campaign prevented the delivery of arms shipment to Saudi Arabia

Hisham Abu Mariam - Paris

A French rights and political campaign succeeded in forcing a Saudi ship to return empty-handed after it planned to ship sophisticated French weapons from the port of Le Havre in northwestern France.

The campaign is continuing to pressure the French government to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for being accused by several French human rights organizations of war crimes in Yemen.

No to deal diplomacy
Communist Party MP Jean-Paul Lokoc, who represents the inhabitants of the city of Le Havre, where the ship will ship for arms shipments, thanked the people of Le Havre and the human rights organizations who aborted this "immoral and illegal" deal, stressing that the SPLM had won human rights at the expense of diplomacy The money the government is pursuing, as he puts it.

"The people's campaign will continue in the coming days to force the government to cancel the sale of arms deals signed with Saudi Arabia, which have committed horrific crimes against Yemeni civilians because of its dirty war in Yemen," Lokuk said in a letter entitled "Le Havre residents stand against the government" As he put it.

"It will continue to hold the government accountable in the corridors of the House of Representatives. It will not allow France to be complicit in massacres committed against defenseless civilians in Yemen," he said. "Deal diplomacy will not be allowed at the expense of human rights."

Demonstrations at Le Havre Port
Leftist parties - including the Communist Party, the Green Party and a number of French human rights organizations - held a demonstration in the heart of the port of Le Havre to denounce the Saudi ship that was stationed near the port to ship French weapons, including the sophisticated Caiser.

Hundreds of protesters waved banners denouncing the sale of lethal weapons to Saudi Arabia, including "blood, money", "food aid, not weapons", "one Yemeni dead every five minutes" and "no arms sales to Saudi Arabia."

Nicolas Gue, a member of the French Human Rights League and a participant in the Le Havre rally, said the human rights campaign had foiled the "deadly deal" that Saudi Arabia would use sooner or later by using sophisticated French weapons to kill civilians in Yemen.

The human rights activist told Al Jazeera.net that the French government must comply with the international treaties it has signed, especially with regard to banning the sale of weapons to countries in a state of war, for fear that they will be used against civilians. This is the case of Saudi Arabia involved in war crimes in Yemen.

French President Emmanuel Macaron defended France's sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates two days ago, which could be used in Yemen, citing assurances that it would not be used against civilians. President Makron stressed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are allies of France in the fight against terrorism.

Violation of international conventions
"The fight against terrorism is not a justification for the sale of weapons to two states (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) who have committed horrific massacres against civilians," said Helen Loege, former head of the anti-torture organization Akat and expert on arms sales disputes. And war crimes in Yemen, he said.

The French government's decision to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia is completely illegal, because it represents a flagrant violation of international treaties on the arms trade.

The human rights activist confirmed that France violates the European position which prohibits the sale and export of arms to the countries participating in the Arab alliance in the war in Yemen, and warned of the criminal consequences at the international level of France in the event of direct involvement in the war crimes committed in Yemen against civilians, It sells to both UAE and Saudi Arabia.

A number of French human rights organizations, including the anti-torture organization Akat, filed a complaint with the French judiciary on Thursday to prevent the Saudi vessel from docking and shipping French arms at the port of Le Havre. This prompted the French authorities to reverse their decision to hand over arms to Saudi Arabia , And ended the return of the ship on Friday.