I was disturbed to read this report in The Guardian today that states that the Chinese have transported a large consignment of arms to the MOD in Harare via South Africa. You would be naive not to interpret their intended usage, the order of which was placed 3 days after the conclusion of polling in Zimbabwe. While the South Africans should be applauded for their efforts in making this news public, they are refusing to act unilaterally and interfere in the trade deal due to a lack of a UN trade embargo.
Naturally, Thabo ‘moron’ Mbeki is ‘oblivious’ to the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe and would probably declare that the whole story is conjecture and that we should refer to Mugabe for an honest version of the truth.
Obviously Mugabe intends to suppress any revolt and it’s clear that China is intent on asset stripping the mineral resources of the country to fuel its industrial economy. I wonder what it will take for the world to intervene, talk is cheap. It’s also worth mentioning that the Chinese were responsible for the supply of machetes used in the Rwanda genocide of 1994.
Does anyone remember Tony Blair’s speech from the Labour Party Conference in 2001? Here are selected excerpts:
And I tell you if Rwanda happened again today as it did in 1993, when a million people were slaughtered in cold blood, we would have a moral duty to act there also. We were there in Sierra Leone when a murderous group of gangsters threatened its democratically elected Government and people.
In fact, Mr Blair even demonstrated a command of geography and the Southern African sub region when he said:
But it’s a deal: on the African side: true democracy, no more excuses for dictatorship, abuses of human rights; no tolerance of bad governance, from the endemic corruption of some states, to the activities of Mr Mugabe’s henchmen in Zimbabwe. Proper commercial, legal and financial systems.
The will, with our help, to broker agreements for peace and provide troops to police them.
UPDATE: South Africa court blocks cargo shipment
