Union refuses to unload Zim arms
April 17 2008 at 07:02PM IOL
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Opposition to a ****pment of arms being offloaded in Durban and trans****ted
to
Zimbabwe increased on Thursday when South Africa's largest trans****t
workers
union announced that its members would not unload the ****p.
SA Trans****t and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) general secretary Randall
Howard said: "Satawu does not agree with the position of the South African
government not to intervene with this ****pment 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."
He said the ****p, the An Yue Jiang, should not dock in Durban and should
return to China.
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"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 view of our members is that nobody should ask us to unload these
weapons," he said.
Satawu said it planned to engage sup****t from the Congress of SA Trade
Unions
(Cosatu).
Defence secretary January Masilela on Thursday that the scrutiny committee
of
the National Conventional Arms Control Committee's (NCACC) scrutiny
committee,
which he chairs, had approved the conveyance permit on Monday already.
He said a inspection team from the NCACC would still have to ensure the
cargo
met the requirements of the permit before the cargo could begin to be
trans****ted to Zimbabwe.
The permit would be endorsed by the NCACC when it meets next month.
Asked about the controversy surrounding the ****pment Masilela said: "This
is a
normal transaction between two sovereign states. We are doing our legal
part
and we don't have to interfere."
In Cape Town, government communications head Themba Maseko said the
country
could not stop the ****pment from getting to its destination as it had to
be
seen to be "treading very carefully" in its relations with Zimbabwe, given
the
complexity of facilitating talks between the Movement for Democratic
Change
and Zanu-PF.
Chris de Vos, the secretary general for the United Trans****t and Allied
Trade
Union, said the union was "not happy" about the arms ****pment being
trans****ted through South Africa.
"We are going to request an urgent meeting with the management. We are
aware
that members are very uncomfortable with the situation," he said.
He said that while no decision had been taken by the union on offloading
the
weapons and arms, the union leader****p was not in favour of the weapons
being
trans****ted.
Democratic Alliance defence spokesman Rafeek Shah said the government's
approval to allow the arms to be ****pped was "the surest sign yet that
government has completely lost the plot on the Zimbabwe issue".
Shah said: "The world's astonishment at President (Thabo) 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."
Kallie Kriel, AfriForum chief executive, said the organisation intended
organising "an extensive campaign of peaceful demonstrations in an effort
to
prevent a consignment of Chinese arms from being trans****ted from Durban
across South African territory to Zimbabwe".
The SA Institute of Race Relations said on Thursday: "It would be
unconscionable for South Africa to allow an arms consignment through its
borders en route to Zimbabwe."
Spokesman Frans Cronje said that if the ****pment went ahead, "South
Africa's
culpability in the Zimbabwe crisis would then be without question".
Noseweek editor Martin Welz told Sapa on Wednesday that "the cargo ****p
was
openly delivering a containment of arms for Zimbabwe".
He said he had copies of all the do***ents, including the bill of lading
and a
packing list.
The controversial cargo packed into 3080 cases included three million
rounds
of 7.62mm bullets (used with the AK47 assault rifle), 69 rocket propelled
grenades, as well as mortar bombs and tubes.
The cargo is, according to the do***entation, valued at R9.88 million.
Welz said: "It's very detailed and even has the phone numbers."
Increased media interest around the ****pment prompted both the SA Police
Service and the SA Revenue Service to send their top public relations
officers
to Durban to deal with media enquiries.
Adriao said he would only comment on the ****p once it had docked in ****t
while
Lackay said that the work of the SARS "is guided by the SARS Act and the
confidentiality provisions in the Act".
Lackay said: "SARS Customs does not release cargo until the Customs
declaration has been processed and the requirements of the any other
legislation have been adhered to. On the basis of the do***ents submitted
by
the ****pping line -- the company operating the vessel -- SARS Customs
decides
whether there is a potential risk, whether cargo must be inspected and
whether
or not goods will be detained.
"These are standard Customs procedures that apply daily to any cargo
vessel
entering a South African ****t of entry. At this time the vessel.
"An Yue Jiang is at outer anchorage or off-****t limits and therefore the
cargo
is not deemed to have been im****ted into South Africa yet," he said. -
Sapa
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