Thank you for the information.
I removed the old version of inkscape.
I then added and registered the additional repository that contains the updated version of inkscape, and then installed the new version of inkscape and all of it’s relevant extensions.
The version i have now is Inkscape 0.48.1 r9760.
When i try to open a .arw file, i now get a page asking me to choose between working with an embedded or linked file. Whichever i choose i then get the same file open fail message i obtained with the old version of inkscape.
Salutations,
Lokian