DOCKYARD workers in Africa are refusing to unload a Chinese ship laden with weapons for Zimbabwe.
The whereabouts of the vessel, the An Yue Jiang, were not known last night, although it was believed to be heading to Angola. Sources say the ship is carrying three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition along with 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and se
veral thousand mortar rounds.
Dock workers in the region are expected to refuse to have any dealings with the deadly cargo, which many fear will be used by President Robert Mugabe to crack down on opponents in his landlocked country. Zimbabwe is still in a state of chaos over the outcome of recent elections, which appear to indicate that Mugabe lost. Results of the presidential vote have not been released, although MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he has won.
Mugabe has refused to step down and yesterday a partial recount of the votes cast in the election was started.
At the same time, the vessel was reported to have left South African waters, heading towards Angola.
The ship's captain tried to berth the vessel in the South African port of Durban on Friday, but after being refused entry by dock workers, he was forced to anchor about 11 miles from the harbour entrance. Dockers there said they would refuse to unload the ship, fearing her cargo was destined for neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Originally, it was thought that the ship was en route to the Mozambican capital of Maputo, but last night this was ruled out by a spokesman for the east African country.
Transport and communications minister Paulo Zucula said Mozambique had been monitoring the An Yue Jiang since she left South Africa. "We know that it registered its next destination as Luanda (the Angolan capital] because we wouldn't allow it into Mozambican waters without prior arrangements."
Yesterday, Andrew Linington, a spokesman for Nautilus, the main union for UK maritime professionals, said he was confident the ship would never be unloaded by any of their colleagues around the world. "We are part of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITWF] and we have been very strong in our support of the workers in South Africa who refused to allow this ship to dock. Our hope is that there will be international support to not have anything to do with this vessel. It is a worry to us, however, that the cover of merchant shipping is being used to carry arms in this way."
Speaking about the South African workers' decision, ITWF general secretary David Cockcroft said: "This is a significant act of solidarity with Zimbabwe's working people. We fully, strongly and uncategorically support these actions and will be following the case with the closest of interests."
A court order to ban transportation of the ship's cargo across South Africa was obtained by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), which argued that it had been destined to "suppress the Zimbabwean people".
The group's African co-ordinator, Joseph Dube, said: "We welcome the court's decision and the solidarity shown by the South African transportation unions. South Africa has a chance to show the world that arms atrocities can be stopped by responsible governments."
"The protocol states that all Southern African states should harmonise their arms control laws to prevent conflict. South African law says that permits to convey arms across South African land must be cancelled, amended or suspended if it is in the interest of international peace or avoiding repression."
Zimbabwe's deputy information minister, Bright Matonga, hit out at the ban. "Every country has got a right to acquire arms," he said. "There is nothing wrong with that. If they are for Zimbabwe, they will definitely come to Zimbabwe. How they are used, when they are going to be used, is none of anybody's business."
For its part, China is trying to prevent the controversy fuelling criticism over human rights and its rule in Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.
China's foreign ministry said it had seen the reports about the ship, but "did not understand the actual situation". A ministry statement said: "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 incident has put extra pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has condemned Zimbabwe's record on human rights and has stated he will not go to the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "There is a UN arms embargo in place on arms entering Zimbabwe and we would encourage every other nation to follow that same approach."
