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Group says ship with arms for Zimbabwe leaves South Africa
I am not sure. What I do know ifor a fact is that: Mbeki, Mugabe, Dos Santos, et al are all old brothers-in-arms which could account for Mbeki maintaining his much maligned 'quiet diplomacy'. To give you an idea, when pressure was exerted by Botswana, Malawi and Mauritius to adopt a harder line towards Zim, it was opposed by Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Then there is speculation (one that I have not been able to confirm at all) that Mbeki shares a mining interest with Mugabe in the Congo. Could be urban legend, nothing more. (Apr 20, 2008 | post #23)
Group says ship with arms for Zimbabwe leaves South Africa
This is insightful and what you say is making sense. There have been rumours that Mugabe has promised them land to farm and then there is the lure of gold, platinum diamonds and ivory... Their Red army presence kind of confirms all of this for me. Why would they be in Zim other than to protect their interests and who knows whether these interests are not already vested? (Apr 19, 2008 | post #16)
Group says ship with arms for Zimbabwe leaves South Africa
The ship left the harbour as soon as the urgent application was granted by the Durban High Court. It was intitially feared that it may head up the coast, to Mozambique, from whence it is bit a short hop to the Zim border. Now, a Dept of Transport representative said that the ship is heading for Angola. It is an unlikely destination given the logistics involved with moving the arms from there. Angola will have to request persmission from either Namibia or Zambia to move the freight. If they move the cargo by air without permission from these countries, it would be a violation. Whether this is indeed the truth or a red herring, I don't know. (Apr 19, 2008 | post #6)
Union refuses to unload Zim arms
Agreed Shandi. I blogged about it about an hour ago. You will find the link on my profile, if you are interested. (Apr 19, 2008 | post #15)
Urgent bid to halt Zim arms shipment
Oh yes... we do. Good news, Strandloper, is that the ship has left the harbour - albeit that it may now try to ship its hideous cargo via Mozambique. We will see... (Apr 19, 2008 | post #2)
Union refuses to unload Zim arms
The court application was granted and the nasty ship has set off into the sunrise or whatever direction it took... I fear it may be heading for Mozambique. Mugabe is very very friendly with the government there. (Apr 19, 2008 | post #13)
Union refuses to unload Zim arms
Mmmm. Problem is that the arms may well still be delivered. Armscor (part of our Government) may now be used to transport it if all the private contractors refuse. So, the poor folk across the river are not out of harms way yet... (Apr 18, 2008 | post #9)
Union refuses to unload Zim arms
It is at times like these that I am extra-proud of being South African. What I admire about the Union's decision, is that they are basically saying 'This is wrong, and we don't want any part of it.' People like Masilela and Maseko are (in stark contrast) more than happy to allow people-killing-equ ipment destined for a megalomaniac who is certainly not going to use said equipment as doorstops or museum displays, in the name of diplomacy. (Apr 17, 2008 | post #6)
His good self...ever heard of a self-coup? He has until Saturday midnight to pull off one of those. If he does it after midnight though, it will be a coup d'etat because from Sunday onwards there will be no legal government in Zimbabwe anymore. Just by the way, the freight has been cleared and it is not the first time we have acted as a passageway for Mugabe-destined arms. There are also confirmed reports of Chinese soldiers in Zimbabwe. I submitted an article here on topix about an hour ago. You may want to read the story. (Apr 17, 2008 | post #2)
It is racism, African4. Racism can be black-on-black. It need not be between two differently coloured groups. In fact, the first time the word 'racism' was coined was white-on-white racism, German on Jew. What happened in Mamelodi was hideous. An innocent child died. The perpetrators are criminals and I, for one, sincerely hope that justice will be served swiftly and that the maximum penalties will be applied... (Apr 17, 2008 | post #2)
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