[Marxism] China ships arms to Mugabe

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chinese ship carries arms cargo to Mugabe regime

77-tonne load includes mortars, rockets and millions of ammunition rounds

     * David Beresford in Johannesburg
     * The Guardian,
     * Friday April 18 2008

A Chinese cargo ship believed to be carrying 77 tonnes of small arms, 
including more than 3m rounds of ammunition, AK47 assault rifles, 
mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, has docked in the South African 
port of Durban for transportation of the weapons to Zimbabwe, the South 
African government confirmed yesterday. It claimed it was powerless to 
intervene as long as the ship's papers were in order.

Copies of the documentation for the Chinese ship, the An Yue Jiang, show 
that the weapons were sent from Beijing to the ministry of defence in 
Harare. Headed "Dangerous goods description and container packing 
certificate", the document was issued on April 1, three days after 
Zimbabwe's election. It lists the consignment as including 3.5m rounds 
of ammunition for AK47 assault rifles and for small arms, 1,500 40mm 
rockets, 2,500 mortar shells of 60mm and 81mm calibre, as well as 93 
cases of mortar tubes.

The carrier is listed as the Cosco shipping company in China.

South Africa's national conventional arms control committee issued a 
permit on Monday for the trans-shipment of the cargo from Durban to 
Harare. The head of government information in South Africa, Themba 
Maseko, said yesterday: "We are not in a position to act unilaterally 
and interfere in a trade deal between two countries." South Africa had 
to "tread very carefully", given the complexity of the situation in 
Zimbabwe, Maseko said.

South Africa was not encouraging the purchase of weapons by Zimbabwe, he 
said, pointing out that there was no UN trade embargo against that country.

But Tony Leon, the South African opposition foreign affairs spokesman, 
said the shipment was tantamount to "putting a fuse in a powder keg".

Dockers in Durban were refusing last night to unload the ship. The SA 
Transport and Allied Workers Union's general secretary, Randall Howard, 
said: "Satawu does not agree with the position of the government not to 
intervene with this shipment of weapons. Our members will not unload 
this cargo, neither will any of our members in the truck-driving sector 
move this cargo by road."

Despite international criticism, the Chinese government has been a 
longstanding backer of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe's authoritarian 
regime, supplying it with jet fighters, military vehicles and guns. 
China, or Chinese businesses, are reported to have sold radio-jamming 
devices to prevent independent stations from contradicting the 
state-controlled media, and have signed vital agriculture deals. Even 
the blue tiles on Mugabe's latest 25-bedroom mansion, reminiscent of 
Beijing's Forbidden City, were a gift from China.

China has in the past used its veto at the UN security council to 
prevent the Zimbabwe issue from being raised, on the grounds that the 
country's problems were an internal matter.

In Britain, William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said last 
night: "The international community must speak with one voice on 
Zimbabwe. We call on China, as part of that community, to suspend arms 
sales to Zimbabwe.

"The Mugabe regime continues to deny the right of the people of Zimbabwe 
to choose their leaders. To supply arms to it at time when opposition 
activists are being intimidated and attacked, not only sends the wrong 
signal, but will harm the reputation of China.

"In addition, it is time that neighbouring states like South Africa made 
clear that such shipments are not welcome."

The Foreign Office was more cautious. A spokeswoman said that Britain 
backed an EU ban on arms sales to Zimbabwe and was encouraging other 
governments to do the same. The FO said it was monitoring the situation 
and seeking to verify reports about the ship's cargo.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said it was aware of the 
reports about the shipment, but needed more time to look into the matter.

The disclosure about the ship's cargo follows claims by an official from 
the Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change that Chinese 
soldiers had been seen in the country.

There were some signs yesterday that South Africa may at last be bending 
under international pressure, when the cabinet joined calls for the 
release of Zimbabwe's election results.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, called on South 
Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, to stand down as the chief mediator in 
the country's election crisis, as the US criticised African governments 
for lack of action on the issue. "It is time for Africa to step up," the 
US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, said.

Tsvangirai told a news conference in Johannesburg: "President Mbeki 
needs to be relieved from his duty."

Mbeki, is also under pressure from Jacob Zuma, the leader of the ruling 
African National Congress. Zuma has adopted a more hostile attitude 
towards Mugabe, saying that "the region cannot afford a deepening crisis 
in Zimbabwe".

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