Apr
25
No Guns for Mugabe from China
April 25, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
By Cindy Ru
Latest development of the Chinese Cargo Ship that was carrying weapons for Zimbabwe- the An Yue Jiang. The ship was refused to be landed in Durban port, South Africa last week, and it was reported the ship then had been headed to Angola.
But yesterday a report from allAfrica.com said the ship has already been recalled by China. The news was confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Jiang Yu in a press conference.
Although the weapon shipment has sparked an uproar in the west, and also in some African countries like South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania, but official from Zimbabwe government said “It is our sovereign right to buy arms from anyone to defend ourselves. And you defend yourself from enemies and not civilians”.
From the Chinese side, it is stressed that the arm deal was made last year and has nothing to do with what is happening currently in Zimbabwe. “The Chinese Government always adopts a prudent and responsible attitude towards arms export and one of the important principles it adheres to is non-interference in the internal affairs of recipient countries,” Jiang Yu said in the Tuesday press conference.
For voices from civic action group, I came across this blog called “This is Zimbabwe” through Danwei. It is calling for petition to stop any arm shipment reaching Zimbabwe before the crisis is resolved.
