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19 April 2008
A ship carrying arms from China destined for Zimbabwe left South Africa on Friday after a court barred its cargo from being transported to the border, the SAPA news agency reported.
The Chinese vessel, An Yue Jiang, anchored off the port of Durban, lifted anchor between 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) and 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) and sailed out to an unknown destination, SAPA said, quoting several unnamed sources.
A report on the Al Jazeera News Network said the ship was now heading to Mozambique were its deadly contents would be conveyed to Zimbabwe by road. There was no independent confirmation of the report.
The ship's master, who earlier this week identified himself simply as captain Sunaijun, told SAPA by telephone late Friday: "I am awaiting orders from my owner." He declined to answer further questions, the agency said.
Durban port police Captain Ricky Bhikraj and Transnet spokesman, John Dludlu, declined to comment on the vessel, it also said. Transnet is the company that handles South Africa's national transport businesses, including ports.
Operators in Cape Town said that calls to the ship were going unanswered, SAPA said. The high court in Durban had ruled earlier Friday that the ship could be offloaded in Durban but barred its cargo from being transported to the border with landlocked Zimbabwe.
The court ruling came after the South African Litigation Centre, a legal group focusing on human rights issues, filed an urgent application to block a conveyance permit allowing the arms to be offloaded and transported.
Three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and more than 3,000 mortar rounds and mortar tubes are among the cargo on the Chinese ship, according to copies of the inventory published by a South African newspaper.
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai told Nehanda Radio in an interview that it was suprising that in a country facing starvation all Mugabe could think of was buying arms of war to fight his own people. Zimbabweans are being conditioned to accept a second round of voting for the presidential election and the arms imported from China are thought to be meant for ruling Zanu PF party militants who are carrying out a reign of terror nationwide.
China's Foreign Ministry said in a short faxed statement to Reuters that it had seen the reports about the ship, but "did not understand the actual situation".
"China and Zimbabwe maintain normal trade relations. What we want to stress is China has always had a prudent and responsible attitude towards arms sales, and one of the most important principles is not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," the statement said.- Rueters/AFP/Staff Reporters.
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Nehanda Radio: Zimbabwe's first 24 hour internet radio news channel.