Appendix [on GDR Military Aid to Ethiopia]

Appendix

According to the order issued, the Minister for National Defense, Army General Comrade [Heinz] Keßler is proposing in accordance with the Chairman of the State Planning Commission, Gerhard Schürer, the following provisions:

From the state reserves:

15,000 AKM/S with 3 fighting rounds each = 900 rounds of ammunition

overall 13.5 million rounds

10,000 Battle field uniforms

From the production of the GDR:

100 trucks W 50

The Minister of the Interior, Army General Comrade [Friedrich] Dickel, from the mobile reserves

7,500 AKM/S with 3 fighting sets each = 900 rounds of ammunition

overall 6.75 million rounds

300 RPG 7 with 3 fighting of 30 PG 7 each

overall 9,000 PG 7

The Minister for State Security, Army General Comrade [Erich] Mielke,

1,500 AKM

1,35 Million rounds of ammunition

2,000 Battle field uniforms

The Head of the Unit Commercial Coordination, State Secretary Comrade Dr. Schalck, from fonds designated for NSW [“Nicht-sozialistisches Wirtschaftsgebiet,” meaning non-socialist economic or capitalist, hard-currency currencies] exports:

11,000 AKM/S

10,2 Million rounds of ammunition

2,000 LMG [Light Machine Guns] Type RPD

3.9 million rounds (M-39)

2,000 Anti-tank rocket launcher RPG-18

Immediately provided can be overall:

35,860 AKM

31.9 Million rounds of ammunition (KM-43)

2,000 LMG RPD

3.9 Million rounds of ammunition (M-39)

300 RPG7

9,000 Rounds PG 7

2,000 EPG 18

100 Trucks W 50

12,000 Battle field uniforms

The Minister for State Security will be reviewing the further provision of RPG 7 and 18.

The Minister of the Interior will review the provision of uniforms (for battlefield and armed militias).

Transportation

In coordination with the Deputy Minister for Transportation and the General Director of the Interflug, Comrade Lieutenant General [Klaus] Henkes, the following is proposed:

- Currently a scheduled Interflug aircraft is in Addis Ababa. This aircraft has the order to report a damage. Interflug has already scheduled a replacement flight which can run the route Berlin - Cairo - Khartoum - Addis Ababa on 30 March 1988 at 12:00 Hours. According to international rules, it is required that such damage flights are not allowed to have commercial freight on board. It is proposed to undertake this risk and transport with this “damage flight” the first 20 tons of arms and ammunition.

- Immediately two parallel overflight clearances are requested:

Berlin - Moscow - Tashkent - Karachi - Aden - Addis Ababa

Berlin - Prague - Belgrade - Cairo - Khartoum - Addis Ababa

When the overflight clearances are obtained, the further flight dispositions will be undertaken (according to the opinion of the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Comrade Dr. [Heinz-Dieter] Winter, the official overflight clearances will be obtained by 8 April 1988 at the earliest).

- In order to get around the problem of the overflight clearances and to save time, the capitalist air transportation company Cargolux (Luxembourg) will be involved. Already in 1977 important flights for the Ethiopian revolution had been done with this company.

The overall transport volume is amounting to 1,227.65 tons. With aircraft from Interflug of type IL [Ilyushin] 62 there would be 62 flights required.

This is based on the deliberation that just the 100 trucks W 50 will be transported by ship. After the offers from Cargolux are in and there exists an an exact state of knowledge about obtaining of overflight clearances, it must be decided again whether the proportion of sea transportation has to be increased.

A neutralizing of the boxes [translator’s note: hiding the fact of military equipment through removing of labels or re-labelling] by the providers is not possible in this short period of time. The delivery will have to come with existing numbering and labelling.

Currently a military transport plane AN [Antonov] 26 of the NVA [National People’s Army] is in operation in Ethiopia. The acting [Ethiopian] Minister for Foreign Affairs is suggesting not to include this aircraft in the distribution of arms and ammunition within Ethiopia.

The proposals of measures are coordinated with the members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED, Comrade Keßler, Comrade Krenz, Comrade Mielke, Comrade Mittag, and the member of the Central Committee of the SED, Comrade Dickel.

Asking for Approval.