Published by the government of Zimbabwe
24 April 2008
Harare — CHINA has poured cold water on opposition and Western claims that an arms shipment to Zimbabwe was to be used in a clampdown against MDC-T supporters, pointing out that Harare placed the order last year.
A spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Jiang Yu, has stated the arms contract was signed last year contrary to claims that it was related to the current election situation in Zimbabwe.
"This is normal trade in military products between the two countries," Jiang told a Press briefing in Beijing.
She added that the shipment was "irrelevant" to what was taking place in Zimbabwe at the moment.
Jiang also reiterated China's long-held foreign policy that its economic dealings with other countries, including the sale of arms, adhered to a strict policy of non-interference in their sovereign affairs -- a stance that has boosted the emerging power's ties with Africa, much to the chagrin of the West.
This is contrary to claims in some quarters that the Government intends to use the arms in a clampdown on opposition MDC-T supporters.
On Monday, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa pointed out that Zimbabwe had a right to arm itself to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity while dismissing suggestions that the military would want to use the arms against civilians.
The European Union, the United States and their allies slapped an arms ban on Zimbabwe in 2002 and observers have said in such a situation, it was only natural that the country would increase such trade with traditional partners such as China.
Zimbabwe and China's military co-operation dates back to the Second Chimurenga.
China's Xinhua news agency has also criticised the attention the West has given the transaction, citing data provided by Sweden's Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showing that Beijing contributes just 2 percent of the global arms trade compared to the United States' 30 percent.
Interestingly, in recent years Kenya, which experienced election-related violence that accounted for over a thousand deaths, has been the biggest official purchaser of US arms in Africa though there has never been a corresponding outcry there.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
What a load of bollocks. What is your point? If you have a point make it. And what does all this have to do with a God? You say that the people make the judgements? Well this article kindly makes a point not to point out that its not just the US goverment trying to stop this arms shipment, its the people too. The you may have read in non propaganda based news that the South African government allowed the shipment to cross its sovereign territory and end up in South Africa. BUT. The people spoke. The dock workers AND the transport unions refused to unload and deliver the cargo. The people arent the extension of the judicial system. They are the judicial system.
it maybe true that Zimbabwe oredred the arms long ago but our worry is the time of delivery. why can't China wait until the volatile situation in Zimbabwe is stable. because the same arms can not be sidelined if there is to be a civil war in Zimbabwe. my earnest appeal to China is that hold on until the political situation in Zimbabwe stabilizes. Zimbabweans are our brothers and sisters we love them and would want them to be in peace.
Nice one Western world. Your folly, and media propaganda has been caught. It did not work this time. Try it again and you will know that there is a God in heaven. Next time, when you try and spread a rumour, at least consider that your whole judicial system is based on evidence. Journalism by default is an extension of your judicial system, because people make judgments based on what they read. Readers are the jury of everyday life. And what they read should contain evidence.