Mozambique will not allow Zimbabwe bound arms ship to dock on its waters
Posted by African Press International on April 20, 2008
Publisher: Korir, api, africanpress@getmail.no source.apa
Mozambique will not allow a Chinese ship carrying arms for Zimbabwe to dock in its ports after a South African court refused to allow the weapons to be transported across its soil, a top official told APA on Saturday.
Transport and Communications Minister Paulo Zucula said neither the Zimbabwean nor the Chinese authorities have yet made a request for it.
“We are not going to allow it to dock anywhere in our waters, we have a clear ports policy which stipulates that such cargo needs a special treatment. We have not been contacted yet either by the Zimbabweans or the Chinese, but our Defense ministry is monitoring the situation” the minister was quoted saying.
The ship, Yue Jiang, had been at anchor off Durban on South Africa’s Indian Ocean coast since Monday, turning into a flashpoint for trade unions and others critical of President Thabo Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe.
“We don’t want war anywhere near us, and nobody likes it anyway”, Zucula said.
On Friday, the 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) refused to unload the weapons because of concerns that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s government might use them against opponents in the post-election stalemate.
Zucula said Mozambique is monitoring the movements of the ship since it lifted anchor and left South Africa.
“We know that it registered its next destination as Luanda (Angola) because here we would not allow it on Mozambican waters without prior arrangements”, he said.
The ship and its cargo caused uproar across South African political parties, labour unions and non-governmental organisations, which believed the weapons would be used by Zimbabwe’s army to suppress supporters of Zimbabwe’s opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Zimbabwe held its elections three weeks ago and the results of the presidential poll have still not been released. However, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has already proclaimed himself the victor over Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
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African Press International – api
