Angola allows Chinese arms ship to dock, but not unload weapons

By Lance Guma
28 April 2008

The Chinese ship containing a massive arms shipment for Zimbabwe has been allowed to dock in Angola. The ship has been blocked after a court order in South Africa and pressure from transport trade unions and human rights groups in the region made sure Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia all denied it access to their ports.

Angola, a traditional ally of Mugabe, claims it allowed the An Yue Jiang ‘ship of shame’ to dock in Luanda, but only to offload other cargo meant for that country.

Ever since the March 29 elections, which handed control of parliament to the opposition, Mugabe has used his control of state machinery to block the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission from releasing results of the presidential vote. Pressure groups have argued that up until results are announced and a legitimate government sworn into power, all arms shipments to the country should be halted.

The most direct remarks have so far come from Zambian President and current SADC Chair Levy Mwanawasa who urged other regional countries to block the ship from offloading its weapons. Several groups and church leaders have since called for a United Nations arms embargo on Zimbabwe, until such time a legitimate government is in place.

A UK Sunday Times article traced the Chinese weapons company that supplied the arms on the ship to members of the ruling party in China. The Chairman of Poly Technologies, Major General He Ping, is the son-in-law of Deng Xiaoping, the former Chinese leader - while company President Wang Jun is the son of a Vice President. The company has made a fortune selling arms to conflict zones in Africa, including Sudan. It has also supplied arms to the Burmese military junta.

Briggs Bomba from the US based Africa Action group, said the controversy over the ship has marked a turning point in the regions attitude towards Mugabe. He said SADC was no longer playing along to Mugabe’s excuses and the withholding of presidential election results had removed any doubts about his illegitimacy. Bomba praised the efforts of trade unions and civil society groups in the region, saying they had helped galvanise support for the people of Zimbabwe against a repressive government.