A couple of weeks ago there was an international uproar surrounding a Chinese ship the An Yue Jiang, carrying weapons of mass destruction umm sorry, ammunition which included assault rifles, mortar rounds and rocket propelled grenades destined for Mugabe’s government.
Such controversy surrounded the vessel that it never got it cargo off loaded at the South African port of Durban where it would have been transported overland to Zimbawe. Last we heard it was sailing back to China.
Or did it?
Would the An Yue Jiang sailed all the way back to China with weapons on board [brought lock stock and barrel] to incur the “wrath” of Mugabe government. Or lay low until the international furoe blow over before making their next move? Then there is the presidential runoff election due on June 27th in Zimbabwe. Six retired South African Generals have even reported on state-sponsored terrorism in that country.
From the Sunday Herald
Six retired South African generals, headed by General Gilbert Lebeko Romano, returned from a fact-finding mission last week to Zimbabwe, saying they had uncovered “shocking” levels of state-sponsored terrorism.
“What we have heard and seen is shocking,” said the six generals in a statement. “We have heard horrific stories of extreme brutality and seen the victims. We have seen people with scars, cuts, gashes, bruises, lacerations and broken limbs, and bodies of those killed. It’s a horrifying picture.”
The handful of South African correspondents in Zimbabwe say the government’s campaign of terror is widespread but largely unreported. Restrictions on movements, imposed by the government and reinforced by a lack of fuel, mean that country areas cannot be reached, and it is there that the government violence is most intense. Many who voted for Tsvangirai in March will be afraid to do so again in June.
From Rich Link International Logistics
Despite comments by Chinese officials, it appears that Cosco’s An Yue Jiang caught carrying arms for Zimbabwe’s armed forces in Durban, is not yet returning to China but was lingering off Angola according to the Maritime Global Net Newsletter.
It appears that the ship slowed right down, probably while it awaited orders. The fact that it then made full speed for Luanda suggests that it got them,” said ITF General Secretary David Cockroft.
Contrary to some reports, the ITF [International Transport Workers' Federation] says the An Yue Jiang is off Luanda, Angola, and has not made any sign of returning to China since fleeing Durban in late April.
From what little news we can gather on this whole affair, it seems the weapons were received on the 16th May 2008.
Canal de Mozambique, a Mozambican online newspaper first broke story follow by the Weekender [South Africa Business Day weekend paper] who quoted from it. Since then other news sites in that region have picked up the story. Not yet in the mainstream media over here. How surprising!
The below article is taken from iol
The weapons destined for Zimbabwe have arrived in Harare, The Weekender reported on Saturday. [17th]
The report said the Zimbabwean government confirmed that 3-million rounds of assault rifle ammunition, 3 000 mortar rounds and 1 500 rocket-propelled grenades – ordered from the Chinese government – had arrived in Harare.
The South African government denied media reports that it assisted in the delivery of the arms by fuelling the Chinese vessel, An Yue Jiang, that was transporting the arsenal.
There were fears that Robert Mugabe was planning to use force to storm back to power in the presidential runoff election to be held on June 27.
The Weekender quoted a Mozambican online newspaper, Canal de Mozambique, which reported that the ship had been refuelled by the SAS Drakensberg off the coast of South Africa before sailing north to offload its deadly cargo.It reported that the ship was offloaded at Ponta Negra in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, Zimbabwean government officials said it was offloaded in Angola.
Canal de Mozambique reported that President Thabo Mbeki gave “a direct instruction” to Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George to send the SAS Drakensberg to refuel the An Yue Jiang.
Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga dismissed the reports, saying “it seems that the season of propaganda is upon us”.
George said he had no instruction from Mbeki to dispatch the SAS Drakensberg and that the allegations had no substance.
However, the Canal de Mozambique article also said the arms were flown to Harare in an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to Avient Aviation, a freight charter airline based in Zimbabwe but registered in the UK. This was confirmed by government officials in Harare, The Weekender said.
Zimbabwe’s Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga confirmed the weapons have been delivered.
From ZWNEWS
Canal de Moçambique reports that President Thabo Mbeki gave “a direct instruction” to Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George to send the SAS Drakensberg to refuel the An Yue Jiang. It claims the SAS Drakensberg used its electronic equipment to jam radar and satellite communications while the ship was being fuelled as the An Yue Jiang was being tracked by Lloyds of London. Last month the Durban High Court granted an interim order preventing the unloading of the ship in SA. It did not prohibit the government from providing assistance to the vessel.
From the Namibian
The reports [Canal de Mozambique] said the ship was secretly refuelled offshore by SAS Drakensberg, then rounded the Cape of Good Hope from the Indian Ocean into the Atlantic and headed for Ponta Negra.
AllAfrica reports that Matonga have since backtracked on this previous statement and the Chinese government denying the vessel offloading its military hardware for Mugabe’s government.
“Political analyst Isaac Dziya said the issue has become so confusing it was now difficult to determine the truth. He said if the Chinese government is to save itself from international backlash because of the Olympics games, then it is crucial for them to provide proof that the ship has indeed returned to China with its cargo.”
Since then the Chinese and Zimbabweans officials who have denied the media reports have label them as groundless false rumours.
So do you believe Mugabe have his weapons or not?
Related articles – UPDATED – Chinese Arms Ship Destined For Mugabe Regime – Documents Issued 3 Days After Zimbabwe Elections!!!
2 Comments
May 31, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Its so infuriating how the ship dropped over the horizon and the media doesn’t follow up on what the bleep happened
i eventually gave up trying to find news
brilliant entries – thanx
can’t read them now as am a tad pushed for time
i am copying yr url and putting it in the post way back about the weapons
lets hope i can find it
i feel guilty seeing that people are still doing searches for news on the weapons and land on my blog which is really old news with no conclusion/closure
aaaah that’s it!
closure so we can get on with our lives
June 1, 2008 at 4:30 am
Word to the wise. If you wait for the Western media to pick up certain stories, you will grow old and gray before the news surface.
Thanks for the linking.