It's Bullard's sort of shit that made me momentarily sceptical of Martin Welz's motivation in alerting the media earlier today to a ship, the An Yue Jiang, now in Durban harbour. It's carrying 75 tons of Chinese armaments for the Zimbabwean Defence Ministry. Welz cited Noseweek's publication date being ten days away as his reason, but I suspected publicity.
To his credit, he appeared to be the only person with detailed knowledge and documentation of the 1,500 RPGs, 3,500 mortar bombs, and three million rounds of ammunition for AK47 rifles making up Zanu-PF's cargo of electioneering materiel. Furthermore, he cited an invoice date of 10 or 11 January, indicating a delay in delivery — which possibly explains the delay in the release of that country's election results (my assumption).
My doubt was strengthened by Welz's urge to compel South African authorities to deny the arms shipment transit to the Zimbabwean border. He argued the shipment's contribution to violence in Zimbabwe could escalate, requiring SADC intervention and our troops ultimately facing the very weapons transported from Durban to Beit Bridge.
Martin Welz is our leading and most-enduring investigative journalist. His publication is required reading for both the innocent and the guilty in this crime-ravaged country. Of all people, he would know that, once alerted, government would proclaim the shipment embargoed in the interests of regional peace and stability.
The powers that be, in the country that midwifed Executive Outcomes, Sandline, Blackwater, Titan and other mercenary outfits would then — with unseeming haste, probably dispatch to Harare Antonovs stocked with an equal cargo of death and destruction.
Hell, Britain was selling weapons into Serbia and Iraq hours before going to war with those countries. During the 1982 British campaign to retake the Malvinas from Argentina, the destroyer H.M.S. Sheffield sank on being struck by a single French Exocet.
Weapons are money and know no nationality. Having comprehensively covered the arms deal now denying us electricity while sustaining many of our leaders' lifestyles, Welz should know this better than most.
I stilled my doubt. Welz alerted the media because one arms shipment denied Mugabe will mean countless lives saved.
Nevertheless, the circus that our media has become, epitomised by Bullard and redeemed in small part by the Mahers, Makhanyas, and Malalas of The Fourth Estate, leads me to seek deception in every line.
Update: If this report is to be believed, the An Yue Jiang has cleared customs. Whether or not its cargo — contravening others' sanctions on Zimbabwe, will be confiscated, remains to be seen.
However, as the weapons threaten to leave Durban for their destination, Sokwanele reports armed Chinese soldiers in the streets of Mutare.
The Chinese, together with about 70 Zimbabwean senior army officers are staying at the Holiday Inn, in the city's central business district. There are about 10 Chinese soldiers. "We were shocked to see Chinese soldiers in their full military regalia and armed with pistols checking (in) at the hotel," said one worker. "When they signed checking-in forms they did not indicate the nature of the business that they are doing and even their addresses."While one can hardly blame the Chinese military for keeping a watchful eye on Beijing's vested interests, the timing of both the arms shipment and the presence of suspected "military advisors" in Mutare is an unlikely coincidence. I'm pretty sure their presence means Western powers, while continuing to pump out vacuous rhetoric, will now urge an "African solution" to the "Zimbabwe crisis".
South Africa will not interfere with a shipment of weapons aboard a Chinese ship that is destined for Zimbabwe, government communications head Themba Maseko said today.
"We are not in a position to act unilaterally and interfere in a trade deal between two countries," he told a media briefing.
The Times | SA won’t interfere in Zimbabwe-China arms deal
In terms of 2002's National Conventional Arms Control Act, Maseko's lying through his teeth. The guiding principles and criteria for allowing the conveyance of these arms to Zimbabwe include:
• avoid contributing to internal repression, including the systematic violation or suppression of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
• avoid transfers of conventional arms to governments that systematically violate or suppress human rights and fundamental freedoms;
• avoid transfers of conventional arms that are likely to contribute to the escalation of regional military conflicts, endanger peace by introducing destabilising military capabilities into a region or otherwise contribute to regional instability;
Following the National Conventional Arms Control Committee's (NCACC) decision Monday to ship the arms to Harare many, like Ray Hartley, must be asking "...what Professor Kader Asmal, the author of the policy on arms shipments has to say?"
"Let the blood-letting begin?"
"Well, ask the Chinese ambassador. ... Durban harbour handles goods for many countries on the continent. If you say there are weapons that have arrived from China in the Durban harbour, I think you should ask the Chinese. There might be a consignment of coal that is being exported to the Congo or something; it is a port, those weapons would have had nothing to do with South Africa. I really don't know what Zimbabwe imports from China or what China imports from Zimbabwe."
Thabo Mbeki
Arms Shipment Blocked
Following receipt of a most-illuminating link from Madame Levy (a Great Daughter of Africa), which partly exposes the degree to which the South African government and our homegrown weapons manufacturers have conspired to keep Mugabe in power, I awoke from a pre-weekend power nap to an Eyewitness News item (not yet posted to the Web) reporting that a Durban court has ruled in favour of an urgent application brought by Bishop Rubin Phillip and Gerald Patrick Kearney against shipping the above arms to Zimbabwe.
"The world’s astonishment at President (Thabo) Mbeki’s political defence of Robert Mugabe will likely turn into outright anger as we are now not only denying the existence of a crisis in Zimbabwe, but also actively facilitating the arming of an increasingly despotic and desperate regime."
Rafeek Shah (DA)
Save me the indignation of politicians, most of whom appear to hold our Constitution in contempt. Give me the righteous wrath of true friends instead. And a few good journalists.
A ship that was carrying weapons and ammunition destined for Zimbabwe lifted anchor and sailed from Durban less than an hour after the Durban High Court ordered that its controversial cargo cannot be transported across South Africa to that country.
The An Yue Jiang lifted anchor between 18:00 and 19:00 on Friday evening.
Several sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the ship had set sail from the outer anchorage off the port of Durban.
News24 | Zim arms ship flees Durban
So what? Approached by the sheriff of the Durban High Court, it's safe to assume the ship's master — an employee of the state-owned Cosco Group, feared his ship being impounded. Nor does it break the rules of reason to assume such shipments have been clearing Durban harbour for years.
All in all, it seems Robert Mugabe has been protected by friends in all the right places. In short:
"President Mbeki needs to be relieved from his duty."
Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai | 567 CapeTalk and Radio 702
