John Baker’s Blog

Dockworkers in South Africa have blocked a Chinese arms boat from reaching Zimbabwe… but the crackdown continues. As the ship moves up the Southern African coast looking for a new port - and China weighs whether to recall the weapons - African unions, citizen groups, and church organisations are launching a campaign to stop arms from fuelling the Zimbabwe crisis.

Please sign the petition to build support throughout Africa and round the world. Stopping the arms is a concrete step leaders can take to help bring justice to Zimbabwe. Add your name below now - http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_arms_for_zimbabwe/5.php

The Chinese ship, An Yue Jiang, was turned away from South Africa and is heading for Angola in the hope of docking there, Mozambique’s transport minister said on Saturday.

Mozambique did not allow it to enter its waters.

“I hope this will be the case with all the countries because we don’t want a situation which will escalate the (tension) in Zimbabwe more than what it is,” Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who is also chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional grouping, told reporters.

The 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) refused to unload the weapons because of concerns Mugabe’s government might use them against opponents in the post-election stalemate.

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