More on the Chinese arms currently parked off Durban, courtesy of The Times of South Africa - and more for the South African Government to be thoroughly ashamed of.

First of all, the shipment was expected and approved of by the government’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), whose scrutiny committee met earlier in the week and approved the shipment. That scrutiny committee is chaired by Defence Secretary January Masilela:

“This is a normal transaction between two sovereign states. We are doing our legal part and we don’t have to interfere.”

The UK has an arms embargo against Zimbabwe, but China’s not party to it. SA Government spokesman Themba Maseko, who had earlier been stating that South Africa’s position on Zimbabwe had not been made as clear as it should have, had this gem for us:

“South Africa is not at all involved in the arrangement, it’s a matter between the two countries. It would be possible, but very difficult for SA to start intervening and saying that we will not allow the shipment through.”

That’s in the name of maintaining South Africa’s role as a neutral mediator, if you believe the PR - except that allowing one of those sides to arm itself, the side that is already engaged in a campaign of mass violent intimidation, is hardly a neutral act. It’s very far indeed from a neutral act.

As you’d expect, sources outside the SA Government have been quick to condemn any possibility that arms for Zimbabwe could transit through SA. Democratic Alliance’s (the SA opposition party) Rafeek Shah said that this was…

“…the surest sign yet that government has completely lost the plot on the Zimbabwe issue. The world’s astonishment at President Mbeki’s political defence of Robert Mugabe will likely turn into outright anger as we are now not only denying the existence of a crisis in Zimbabwe, but also actively facilitating the arming of an increasingly despotic and desperate regime.”

Frans Cronje of the SA Institute of Race Relations:

“it would be unconscionable for South Africa to allow an arms consignment through its borders en route to Zimbabwe. [If the shipment went ahead, then] South Africa’s culpability in the Zimbabwe crisis would then be without question”.

Kallie Kriel, of AfriForum, stated that his organisation was organising..

“…an extensive campaign of peaceful demonstrations in an effort to prevent [this] consignment of Chinese arms from being transported from Durban across South African territory to Zimbabwe”.

But best of all is the response of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union, who have stated that they will not unload the cargo should it dock, and have issued the following statement:

“Satawu does not agree with the position of the South African government not to intervene with this shipment of weapons. Our members employed at Durban Container Terminal will not unload this cargo neither will any of our members in the truck driving sector move this cargo by road.

South Africa cannot be seen to be facilitating the flow of weapons into Zimbabwe at a time where there is a political dispute and a volatile situation between the Zanu-PF and the MDC.”

The United Transport and Allied Trades Union also has serious concerns, but has not yet decided on the matter of unloading the ship.

No surprise, then, that Morgan Tsvangirai has called for Mbeki to be replaced as SADC’s mediator, suggesting Zambia’s Levy Mwanawasa should take over the job. MDC are also back in court, this time with a legal challenge to the recounts due to begin on Saturday - the hearing has been set for tomorrow (April 18th). Didn’t think the court would sit on Independence Day - perhaps someone (in this case Justice Antonia Guvava) has realised that there is actually some urgency about all this…

Sources: Zim-bound arms cargo was approved | SA won’t interfere in Zimbabwe-China arms deal | Union refuses to unload arms ship