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ROW OVER ZIMBABWE ARMS SHIPMENT!
A large arms consignment bound for Zimbabwe remains on board a ship at the South African port of Durban after running into a political row. South African dockworkers are refusing to unload the Chinese vessel, which is anchored off the port. And a local lobby group has asked the High Court to block the shipment in case it leads to human rights abuses. South Africa's government says it cannot legally prevent the arms being transported through the country. The row comes amid continuing tension in Zimbabwe over the failure to publish election results. Critics say Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF government will use the weapons to further suppress democratic rights, as accounts continue to emerge of the beating of opposition supporters. The ship, the An Yue Jiang, contains three million rounds of ammunition for AK-47s, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and several thousand mortar rounds, according to South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper. The paper reports that a subsidiary of a state-owned South African company, Armscor, was approached to handle the transport of the weapons after several private companies refused to handle the cargo due to its sensitivity. South African Defence Secretary January Masilela said the country's National Conventional Arms Control Committee had given approval for the transit of the weapons. "If the buyer is the Zimbabwean sovereign government and the seller is the Chinese sovereign government, South Africa has nothing to do with that," he said. Mr Masilela added that there was no United Nations or African Union embargo on weapons sales to Zimbabwe. Speaking in New York, South African President Thabo Mbeki echoed his defence secretary's comments. Several Western countries have banned arms shipments to Zimbabwe, as has the European Union. With continuing tension in Zimbabwe over the failure of the authorities to issue results from the presidential election three weeks ago, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), said it would be "grossly irresponsible" to allow the cargo through. "The South African government cannot be seen as propping up a military regime," said Satawu General Secretary Randall Howard. In a separate move, the South African Litigation Centre, a legal group concerned with human rights issues, has filed an application to the High Court to block the transport of the weapons. The legal action cites South African legislation which stipulates that allowing the delivery of arms must not contribute to human rights violations or undermine basic freedoms. Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said the weapons were not needed because Zimbabwe was not at war. "The only war that is there is Mugabe's war against the people," said Mr Tsvangirai who maintains his opposition MDC won the presidential election outright. Zimbabwe's Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga insisted no country had the right to stop the arms entering his country. "Every country has got a right to acquire arms. There is nothing wrong with that. If they are for Zimbabwe, they will definitely come to Zimbabwe," he told South African radio. For its part, China says the shipment is part of normal trade relations with Zimbabwe. "China has always had a prudent and responsible attitude towards arms sales," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement sent to the Reuters news agency. "One of the most important principles is not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," it said. BBC NEWS REPORT. | |
