Here in northern germany the German Armed Forces the bundeswehr is holding its open day. Fun and games for the entire family say the organizers and a chance for the arms industry to show off its web is especially for munitions john try and metal there is hardly a german Weapons Project that does not involve drawing meton by. The German Company goes back a long way and this is one of its main or cations like. Five thousand kilometers away bombs are being dropped on civilians in a war that makes a mockery of International Law and despite apparently strict export rules run mittal has made. Being a killing out of it. If it is described gravity and they if cities are expanding and they are all getting new customers as well for the bot this is an infamous game with dubious rules in terms of legality ethics and morality what would you call that the dutch attention or German Technology and expertise are being used to deal in death we have to do all we can to stop this justify. Every two years the british capital attracts military delegations from around the world they come to the london docklands to attend a d s e i alms fact that countries may be at war with each other but here they can bury the hatchet while they buy new weapons. One of the biggest stands of the trade fam belongs to ron matal germanys leading arms manufacturer would just hold off base Company Sells three billion euros worth of military equipment tanks cannons Simulation Systems guns and ammunition. Shall most for mortar launchers soft tillery guns tanks and old munch on display like precious museum exhibits looking so shiny and pretty that an observer could forget that these instruments of death. Many of those inside all familiar with this man on the outside Andrew FeinsteinInternational Arms trade expert and former South African parliamentarian hes not allowed in fortunately my name is well known to me will be nice is off the office fat and so im never granted a trade its a shame to come. Inside the sphere since he uncovered a huge arms scandal in his country he has been operating from london for his own safety his Research Also focuses on german arms exports germany plays a role through the export of weapons especially into regions that are unstable where there is conflict where there is repression most obviously today the middle east and plays a role in ensuring that those conflicts are remarkably bloody. Like the campaign in yemen it was originally touted as a short aerial intervention led by saudi arabia to defeat the militias who were allegedly terrorizing the country. More than a thousand days later theres been no sign of a let up the who thieves have put up stiffer resistance than expected and the saudis and their allies have responded by raising much of yemen to the ground they bombed schools hospitals and residential areas they destroyed infrastructure and apparently aim to starve the country into submission its a war thats claimed thousands of lives and led to a humanitarian catastrophe. Going by the book the german arms industry should have nothing to do with this war. For example it is forbidden by german law to export arms to countries where they can be used to disturb the peace. As the German Security and Defense Industry we completely accept that. But there are ways and means to turn a profit that all the same one of those ways is by an island in the mediterranean familiar to many germans as a holiday destination. Mount openly is one of saudi indias best known politicians he was regional president before he was elected to the Italian Parliament and run a politician who conducts a lot of his research personally including research into ryan met top. It all began just over two years ago when he got a tip off that something incredible was happening at kalyani apple where planes full of vacationers land and take off. That he stays at this area here was full of bombs it was quite a show of course the people who saw it got excited at the countless bombs being loaded onto a cargo plane they demanded our courses for then the ball mikati got then they took out of. The cell photos of the operation the weapons of war being loaded up next to the tourist carriers. U. S. General purpose bombs from the mock eighty series being loaded onto a plane belonging to silk way and azerbaijani and one that specializes in transporting weapons to crisis hit regions. What was going on. We got his boss that the only answer i got was from the operators of the airport people you know who said that all the flights were authorized that they dont use but chief no further details both liberal and i asked the same question in parliament and was told the same thing that isnt that it that the flights were authorized. This was official confirmation that bombs were being transported by the dust bowl to the bomb but the bombs are assembled here in rural sardinia about forty five kilometers west of. In. Valley near the town of domas no less is an unassuming looking factory that makes bombs by the thousands. It belongs to a Company Called italia the abbreviation stands for rhine matal weapon and munition and it is a one hundred percent subsidiary of german manufacturer run mittal. But it kept the days this is a german factory on italian territory that makes a deadly product. Bombs that are sold all over the world by a measurement here germany is exploiting it disadvantaged area this will just something with its high unemployment. Or arms are being manufactured for huge profits not that but a brute i did not is what is happening in this area. When it comes to the course of the. Book where of the bombs made by iran mittal insaan tinian deployed in twenty fifteen an employee of the ngo Human Rights Watch snapped these photographs of bomb components. They were found in sabah in northern yemen city with a population of fifty thousand shortly after a saudi bombing raid. The bomb but as a code number that indicates the type of bomb among and its origin. The italian island of sardinia. When queried ryan mittal in total golf admitted that the n. S. A. Encode thirteen twenty five fifteen one five fifty eight twenty full indicates that it was made on wm italia gradually a coherent picture is emerging he seems just a course of ha obviously lots of people said nothing yeah i know first the government in rome. In the Regional Government and anyone else who knew what was going on. Because factory was always used to make explosives but they were use for civilian purposes ok the plant used to supply the local mines that once existed here in sardinia. But at some stage the factory was repurposed more or less secretly on a. Quest. That. Central been in may twenty seventeen protest does take to the streets to do. Demonstrate against ryan metal as it holds its annual Shareholders Meeting. But despite not lets be clear i never buy shares in ryan mattel to make a profit is guilty of complicity with arms exports and with murder throughout the world. Im out o. Major lotto works for an Italian Foundation he is part of a network that buys run Mittal Shands not for the dividend but to ask difficult questions that shareholder meetings he has heard that ryan mittal plans to invest heavily in its factory in south india. To me to get a for these and i would like to ask why these facilities are being expended in dont most know of us as we read that there is going to be a new testing range we dont understand exactly what is going on what is being tested and what for which weapons. Where these weapons being exported to. These have often exposed to it. That previous annual meetings are run mental photographs were allowed these are from twenty fifteen. They show rahmatullah chairman baca and behind him the other directors and Supervisory Board members now photos are prohibited when the chairman gets up to talk business his message to this meeting all the trends point to growth especially for rye matal defense the weapons. Sales of almost three billion euros in twenty sixteen fourteen percent year on year growth and a new order for munitions to the tune of four hundred eleven Million Euros. The destination is in one of the most conflict torn regions in the world the middle east and north Africa Ryan Mittal wont say exactly which country has played. The order. The fun what did you make of the numbers it was at the moment the company is in good shape and it was all very correct and democratic perfect but not going to do well the dividend is not bad at all its certainly better than the interest the local bank pays it doesnt have all the you that balms may buy rahmatullah being used in yemen at least a dozen other maybe. Thats the wrong question have bombs are being dropped there its not right mattel dropping them to the powers the Shareholders Meeting it was good good but what did you like in particular because the whole atmosphere the whole package is im tight weve got what did you make of the numbers they presented. Yes promising sorry i have to guess my boss at some was does it bother you the poms may buy rahmatullah being dropped in yemen. Does not everything is put to the right use but there are positives to buy for now qantas. Malo major lotto now has confirmation that the plant in sardinia is growing in importance for run mittal. If im going to but you know they answered some of our questions about plans to expand the plant and dont most know of us so im good stock that they said they would invest seventeen to twenty Million Euros in two thousand and seventeen and the same again in two thousand and eighteen. Thousand oxen also we dont. Know about us is a small town with high unemployment and the dwindling population business is booming for one fun run meant tals bomb factory. It is dramatic this is a business based on death. The more people are killed the more weapons are bought and the more you kill it the more weapons you need its. Perverse mechanism that a Democratic State should not tolerate neither for moral nor economic reasons. But how come this small town in southern sardinia play such a big role in the International Arms trade lets take a look at a complicated contract from twenty twelve that formed the basis for a major export do. The Saudi ArabianDefense Ministry orders bombs from us from raytheon its british subsidiary subcontracts the rahmatullah subsidiary w. M. Italia to produce them contract is worth more than sixty three Million Euros. The order was delivered from dormice nov us to jeddah islamic seaport from where it was taken to the end customer the Royal Saudi Air force this contract ran until mid twenty seventeen and covered thousands of m. K. Eighty three bombs. Since the start of the saudi akram ban in yemen in twenty fifteen at the very latest it is being doubtful whether the arms exports are in line with italian law. Is that the venues are sales to a country at war or to a conflict that has been condemned by the United Nations a numerous occasions the italian constitution which condemns war and a law on arms exports totally prohibit this kind of export. How is it possible for ryan mittal to export bombs from soundin into saudi arabia nonetheless when asked to tally in defense minister said it had nothing to do with. What hes or not italian bonds they are covered by a contract signed by a us firm that subcontracted. That company has factories in italy. Numerous written queries to the Italian Government went. Then is responsible for the bombs exported by germanys biggest manufacturer. In berlin the federal Security Council meets in secret to decide what. Can go ahead. Of the chancellor an important minister bases its decisions on the governments political principles which say supplying weapons of war shall not be approved to countries involved in conflicts or when there is a danger of such a conflict breaking out. A flexible principle as the latest figures show twenty seventeen the German Government did indeed approve exports to some countries that dont meet the requirements German Companies exporting nations worth four hundred twenty eight Million Euros to egypt two hundred forty nine Million Euros worth to saudi arabia two hundred fourteen million to the United Arab Emirates in the late one nine hundred eighty s. When helmut kohl was chancellor his defense minister of the Christian Democratic Union was a member of the federal Security Council professor knows the legal and political ramifications of exports. Its a grey area heres one example. To saudi arabia intended for Police Border controls that has nothing to do with the military or military purposes however if the intention is to deploy them for military purposes they do need approval according to legislation governing the weapons of war in other words its a grey area. Grey area or not there should be no question of expo. To saudi arabia for the war in yemen. Arms can be used or intended for use in wars of aggression or for measures that would disturb the peace as the law stipulates then the federal German Government is duty bound to refuse to approve their export time the German Economic Ministry has to say about the bomb. In the matter you describe the assumption that the export of arms took place from italy in this regard germany. Sports from germany very easy for the judge to say these particular. Being produced in italy their responsibility of the to regulate the italian. German and therefore. That the. Kingdom and it is this way that the global trade in weapons remains less regulated than the global trade. Some deals were approved by neither the italian nor the German Government run the town has found another way around the regulations this time by south africa. Since the days of apartheid the country has had a powerful arms industry with close ties to politicians. One of the few politicians who lost critical questions about this is copus marais of the Opposition PartyDemocratic Alliance in twenty sixteen he learned that an entire turnkey arms factory had been exported to saudi arabia. People concerned that you know said saudi arabia has got a good record in terms of human rights and suppression of human rights especially women and then you know the perception that they are supporting isis and even some rebel forces in yemen and other countries it is in conflict zones and we were concerned that whatever gets manufactured the we you know can be used directly or in directly in those in those areas the government did not respond to questions about reportedly unchecked use of the arms factory which added to my raise concern. That were not convinced at all i think as ive stated in the in a previous in earlier that when anything can be used and sometimes in the future so its a Saudi Company now so it makes it even more difficult to monitor and control because they would tell us probably i suspected but be doing is not good nothing to do with you we dont use your products to manufacture anything. Despite the fact that the original plan. Was manufactured and installed because. Fifty kilometers east of cape town on the way to the Somerset West township is the headquarters of the company that built the factory its a huge complex with tight security a site of National Strategic importance which is why filming is actually prohibited to watch trans bad a familiar blue logo bastion of rime atop this branch is called the now munition audi m m presents itself as a premium manufacturing. Precision. Moves. Battle tested you see where every detail. With its Mission Critical there is no room for. Compromise. This is where the ships brutes they make. Their ultimate. Sun transmissions for when you choose right matal to not only initially audi aim is may need an export driven company and one of the most Successful Companies into the africa. Of billions. Every year they employ over two thousand people and they all crying at. The factories of even running double shifts because theyre also busy if any one of. Success stories on the finance industry side of. The story began a decade ago when ron motown started a joint venture with a state run South African Company denounced. In two thousand and eight two. Joint South African owned danell and germanys run matal defense efficiency and quality. Minister was there have been constant scandals around. The whole. Africas military infrastructure is constantly embroiled in scandal so its origins were criminal and its practices since then have remained criminal to be in partnership with a company that is a state owned enterprise in south africa means that you are effectively engaging in the corruption that is taking place in the South African state today. We are back in northern germany in a village of three thousand five hundred residence one to loose is the nerve center of ramattan business with bombs and bullets its also home to the biggest shooting range in europe this is where the subsidiary are w. M. Which owns the plants in sardinia and south africa is headquartered. People here dont like to talk about dodgy dealings abroad as. Much as the town mayor its my job to look after the interests of the municipality of suit and we are very happy to have a company like ryan matel with so many jobs. And to hear. The economic factor for our community is very important. To his. The manner of suit to which belongs and the chairman of the local council agree that activities are rarely questioned. One and im afraid i cannot help you on that i am very very rarely hear criticism in this country to but there is one place in known to loose where does come in for criticism the local church one sunday in june the Lutheran Church is peace commissioner has come to to lend his support to the local pastor. Im an outsider ive just come from hanover traditional for the local parish pastor its a sensitive issue because many in his Community Work there. We have to make clear that we have a position against this. That will be the challenge of todays Service Without rejecting the people themselves. I know tolbert nailed to the cross the desk like piece itself sacrificed sold nailed to the cross. Yes we christians are always good and devout to keep our heads down and stay out of trouble thats the best way to get through life the spic to see i have a lot of respect for anyone attending todays service it is difficult for the parish pastor so it is difficult because many people i dont know if they are here today even rely on the factory for a living still we think something is wrong we must draw the consequences of consequences. Thats easier said than done for many people in a town that has been producing alms for nearly one hundred twenty years and where the church until the one nine hundred ninety s. Was called the Soldiers Memorial charge the and try to. Get in the decision to rename this church the peace church didnt go down well with everyone is i mean there were ryan mattel employees who left the church because of it. Period the local christian democrats say the churchs position is not their business. And. In my opinion its the churchs business. For us its important to have a Strong Economy here and to creating keep jobs to encourage people to live here. And live the folk home here who fought the town of going to loose is proud of this company. And as long as it obeys the law we dont have a problem with it as i listen basically made. Us based in want to lose as a majority stake in the plant in Somerset West what he produces that hes covered by south africa. In theory south africa has very topical asians on what can be exported imported and it is first keep track of all the items that go in and out of the country but the problem with that is that there is no record at all of things like factories cities that all exported. Weve seen. To to which countries exported their factories exporting entire factories is an important aspect of audi ms business strategy. Or impressive product for you includes the comprehensive artillery suite in the world we also empower our clients with to keep current engineering solutions. All in all. Says it has exported a total of thirty nine arms factories the german boss of the rhine metal subsidiary handles the fact that these factories are like plants to make that work. And. Bob it is hard to find out who the custom is being. South africa actually on. What is known is that the ryman town subsidiary was involved in the construction of a factory in the United Arab Emirates and the one in saudi arabia. A group of syrian hackers released confidential documents including a secret document on a bid for a filling plant each shift was to produce hundreds of shells and multiples as well as bombs of the types and k. Eighty two m k eighty four and warheads for launch missiles. The document appears real with a trove of Technical Details and plans for a turnkey factory. Its incredibly dangerous because if a German Company is not controlling production how do they know what being it hit in this production process theyve effectively sold the production process. They are effectively saying especially if its into a region like the middle east theyre effectively saying do what you want. Virus sardinia and south Africa Germanys run mental exam ing the military coalition in yemen with bombs from the mediterranean and the entire factories from cape town saudi arabia the United Arab Emirates are among the customers and egypt as we discovered where an arms factory is on the completion. Of a country where hopes for democracy after the arab spring were put down with guns about toms went dissidents simply disappear. Where the military has seized back power and general Abdel Fattah Elsisi rules with an iron fish. If you dont its especially insidious the man in charge of egypt is mr elsisi who many compatriots say is even worse than Mubarak Egypt is also taking part in the yemen war by helping with marine patrols i dont think we should accept this so its effectively undermining south africas democracy at the same time as being able to get weapons into destinations that might be completely undemocratic that might be engaged in conflict as. We wanted to ask about the allegations and find out about all the other factories but nobody wanted to talk with german media insisting that it was a South African Company but it belongs to a German Company flies a german flag at the factory gate and has a german boss name nor that shorts. The rhyme at our headquarters in was also unwilling to tell us what countries its foreign subsidiaries export to the press department issued a statement saying exports by r. D. M. From south africa a carrier. Out in accordance with the countrys laws we cannot comment on possible Customer Relations for reasons of competition and in part due to contractual obligations. To use its foreign activities to circumvent german regulations we spoke to the industry federation. Of the federation of the German Security and Defense Industry. Our First Priority is german arms exports which keeps us busy and will do so in the future. We have issues with the previous government and we expect to have them with the next while. In other countries where Companies Operate either alone or as part of joint ventures have other rules i cant tell from here whether they exploit that. Is also president of the federation he declined several invitations to take part in an interview for this report. A presentation on the strategic targets of the arms of Munitions Division reveals the thinking behind the overseas activities one stated goal is to free the company from german export regulations and ensure profitability the two key locations are italy where. Projected to reach the one hundred million euro mark in the medium term and south africa. To two hundred fifty Million Euros. Toward the business of death is growing and the fact that its not happening here that the war start taking place somewhere else does not make it any better everyone on this planet has to live with the consequences of these wars while leaders talk of fences and walls i find that unacceptable and it must be stopped. In this township in the a me. It percentage of the rhine mentality now munition plant investment from germany is much welcome in the battle with massive unemployment. And. It is critically important that we have to look at ways to create jobs. But obviously in a Sustainable Way that is what rudd matal promises in south africa as it plays the nice alms john but does something for poor communities equipping schools even donating chemistry sets it will even get children to be able to do hands on experiments themselves instead of just looking at the pictures and it takes it in expecting them to actually understand when its a practical experiment. Very practical if you have a successful first if you like a real scientist id like to see think you have to be combined if there is a need i would really appreciate what theyve done for us were going to be statesmen and thinking that in future we now everything is going to be is welcome to achieve results better than before we see things you think if theres a match we will be with you. In the years to come. Brian mattel will spend a tiny percentage of the profits theyre making in south africa on improving their public image the reality is. The products that this company is. Africa. In many parts of including the middle east. The company does not appear to have any scruples about. Sides in an armed conflict. And its allies in the yemeni factories it seems the company also wants to make money. Enemy iran which is on the other side in the war in yemen the United NationsSecurity Council blocked the sale of air defense missiles from south africa called. Subsidiary supplies the propellant. We wanted to find out what germanys leaders have to say about the countrys largest manufacturer trying to evade german laws. Every Single Member of the federal Security Council from the last legislature for an interview its the committee that decides. Which is being circumvented by. The germanys leading politicians were not willing to comment on the issue. The same goes for those who moved from politics to run my tongue. Development minister. Is now the companys chief. Defense minister. Recently joined the ride. Would give us an interview. Germany are incredibly close to the government because they play a role in defense. Policy and. They would claim in their public relations. Which they are treated differently to private companies. Frank from germanys Financial Hub is where stocks are listed the share price has shot up thanks to the money made by south africa. In january twenty seventh shares in. Just under sixty five euros each climbing to almost ninety by media and almost one hundred ten euros by the end of the year thats a rise of more than seventy percent within a year. Many analysts recommend investing in. Its like this more conflicts equals a greater need for security more defense expenditure is indeed thats the chain. And in general the Arms Companies in different ways depending on whats in demand will profit from that. Most shareholders probably dont even know that they profit when sells bombs to crisis regions investors with money in the day confound for example the fund which belongs to germanys she. Is one of the biggest shareholders of. People with money and Global Investors one major fund did recently decide to divest. An exception. As long as the majority of investors arent interested it will only play a minor role for the share price. Who is away outright maybe but people keep on investing in it. Because its maybe the state has to intervene it will. We joined parliamentarian model b. Lee on his way to collieries containable in search of sardinians run metal bomb. He has found clues as to who ordered four hundred eleven Million Euros worth of munitions from ryan metallics italian subsidiary are w. M. Italian saudi arabia. But the government that theyve essentially change their strategy they used to fly the bombs out now the ships. We knew that this was the best place from which to take photos of the secret operations with no ban on cameras. From here we recorded what actually happened is that we usually eighteen containers a month were loaded up with one thousand to one thousand five hundred bombs. But i said the ruling that you were sent to all the. Fundamental means that they were mainly transported by Saudi Arabian ships three or four belonging to the battery shipping company that was a dock and load up the saudis evidently decided to run the transport themselves so the decision to fire. The military coalition in yemen needs a lot of bombers by the end of twenty seventeen saudi arabia and its allies had flown more than fifteen thousand their range according to International Experts almost a third of those raids that civilian targets. Its a profitable war even for small investors with shares in germanys biggest arms manufacturer a company that breaks free of german law that manufactures in countries with laxer export rules that finds ways to sell its arsenal of destruction in crisis regions with no questions asked is this something society and politicians just have to accept in this era. Of globalization no say legal experts and analysts of the German Parliament the bundestag recently concluded that a law could stipulate that German Authorities must give their approval if german citizens abroad help develop or produce alms such a law would at least make it more difficult. But there is no majority for step like back in the bundestag. For now run Metals Business is completely within the law or in germany a country that prides itself on its lofty principles. The armed forces on the front battling recruitment problems a lack of Equipment Limited budgets thats one option of tenex ten divisions that dont have tanks and outsourcing and privatization of order to gain votes come in every day to members on a Conference Center businesses make no money. From going into changing beyond since military Industrial Complex to fifteen. Where i come from we have to fight for a free press i was born and raised in a military dictatorship with just one to shadow and a few in his favor as one official information as a journalist i have walked off the streets of many can trust and their problems are always the same fourteen the social inequality a lack of the freedom of the press and corruption who can afford to stay silent when it comes to the fans of the humans and see the microphones who have decided to put their trust in us. My name is Johnny Carson i work a day w. Cool. Too. Police officer. In the program a french