Violence. Prison. Death. Thuggery. Silenced opposition. All this and more in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. What a total nightmare.
I wish I had some constructive anecdotes to offer. A positive spin. But, I don’t. The situation seems like a fever that has to run its course.
If only we could fast forward to the part where Mugabe is being tried at The Hague.
Completely random sidebar: I had a dream last night that the Pope traveled to Zimbabwe and helped heal the wounded and feed the poor. If only life were a dream …
Church leaders in Zimbabwe are now airing fears that the current unrest may devolve into outright genocide. This is going from bad to worse to worse-than-worse-than-worse. Unfortunately, the country is a ticking time bomb.
PS: there are still conflicting reports out there regarding the destination of the Chinese arms shipment (Angola or Beijing).
This is great news for the citizens of Zimbabwe on whom the Chinese-made weapons would most assuredly have been turned. As (not so) widely reported in the media, the Chinese ship ladened with machine guns and rocket launchers was destined for tyrant-dictator Robert Mugabe’s Ministry of Defense. But, South Africa refused to unload the “death ship”, and it looks like Mozambique has refused as well. Now China is saying that the weapons may be headed home to China. Hopefully this means that none of those bullets will be piercing Zimbabwean skin.
CORRECTION: AFP is reporting that the Chinese ship is headed for Angola. Stay tuned.
After facing fierce opposition at South Africa’s Port of Durban, A Chinese ship, the An Yue Jiang, laden with rockets, guns and ammunition destined for Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Defense set sail for Maputo, Mozambique in hopes of getting the weapons to Harare, Zimbabwe’s capitol.
What is the problem here? The fear is that the weapons will be turned on the innocent citizens of Zimbabwe by their tyrannical dictator Robert Mugabe. And this is a realistic fear in light of the recent disputed “elections” there and its aftermath, not to mention Mugabe’s previous 28 year reign of terror. For all of these reasons, South Africa refused to unload the Chinese ship.
The ship is owned and operated by China Poly Tech, Inc., a weapons
manufacturer owned by the Chinese Central Government and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, who incidentally has a direct partnership with two of Asia’s leading organized crime bosses: Robert Kwok and Henry Fok. Throw in Robert Mugabe and don’t all of these men make interesting bedfellows?
Okay: China, shady weapons deals, organized crime; tyrants and dictators and billionaire mob bosses, oh my! No one should be shocked by any of this, right?
Well, probably not shocked. But, upset? Yes. And concerned? Definitely.
We all know that our children will be required to learn Mandarin if they wish to compete in the global economy, so we need to rein China in.
China needs fierce scrutiny. Fierce scrutiny by all of the developed world. Fierce scrutiny by the UN. China needs to grow up. Because China obviously feels immune. And the longer China feels immune the sooner she will so become.
So I say to Mozambique and all the coastal African states: Turn back the An Yue Jiang! Don’t let the ship dock. Do not unload its weapons. Return to sender!
