fresh news from the Cape
Well, I’m still in Cape Town. Don’t know if NZ media is reporting much about it, but Zimbabwe is still the big news here. A shipment of arms from China, ordered three days after the election, docked in Durban for overland transportation to Zimbabwe late last week. The Government said they had no legal grounds to prevent its passage, but the Unions refused to offload it and the SA court ordered it to be seized. It fled to sea before the injunction could be actioned. Rumoured to be headed to Mozambique, Maputo authorities deny having received a request to dock there. A report has been filed that it sunk off shore but no one believes that.
The ANC is bypassing Mbeki and taking a stronger public position than the president. There are some calls in the media for SA to invade if a massacre occurs, but few think that Mbeki would allow that - although there is a precedent from when the SA army prevented a coup in Lesotho. Everyone is just fearing the worst and there are many Zimbabwean refugees in Cape Town. I’m intending to meet with their organisation this week.
The IPU did put out a strong statement last week. As well as being instrumental in putting it on the agenda, the NZ delegation also played a key role in getting the wording strengthened. John Carter and I worked together on amendments to the drafts, and I was impressed with what he got the drafting committee to support.
Pressure also neeeds to be put on China to not sell arms under the circumstances. Zimbabwe is totally skint, so they can’t even pay their current bills. Any credit advanced for arms is even more unethical than normal. I had intended to mention it during the plenary debate. NZ had 8 minutes, split between Dover Samuels and me, but Dover spoke first and used up the whole allocation, so I had no opportunity to speak.
(I wouldn’t have minded so much if he hadn’t spent the whole time saying what a waste of time the IPU is before swanning off on a sight seeing tour with the delegates’ spouses!)
Tomorrow I’m visiting a food growing project in the townships. I am convinced that local production on small scale, diverse cropping farmlets is essential to food security - another topic I had wanted to address in the plenary. I’ll see if I can work out how to post some pics!
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Nandor
While you are in the republic is there any chance that you can have a world with Mbeki about their racist policy re sporting teams, picking players based on racial grounds was something that I remember protesting about back in the 80’s.
It is a pity that Safa sporting teams have reverted to those days.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
That or Zimbabwe BB?
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
Both Stephen, racially selected sporting teams were once a big issue in NZ (and quite rightly)
However it seems that we in NZ do not have a problem with it these days, come to think of it we are as guilty as the Safa’s in many ways.
As for Zim, well the best we can hope for there is an armed uprising, nothing short of that will get rid of Mugabe, you sure as hell are not going to get any support from the corrupt Mbeki or from the useless United Nations.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:59 am
It’s unbelievable that the Chinese would send arms to Mugabe.
It shows what a one party state that doesn’t allow criticism can do. Of course our own racist Maori party refused to criticise Mugabe during the evictions, which makes you wonder what nutters (like them) would do if they came to power.
If there is a massacre will it happen during the olympics I wonder?
April 24th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Heartening to see people on the ground in SA taking a stand. Namibia and Zambia are also comitted to stopping the chinese shipment of arms reaching Zimbabwe. http://www.avaaz.org reports the arms are most likely to now be heading for Anglola. Let’s hope the resistance continues.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Nandor,
At what stage would you, the IPU or the UN agree that military force would be necessary to bring freedom back to Zimbabwe?