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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Chinese arms ship flees from Deutsche Bundesbank seizure |
| 2008-04-22 |
| A CHINESE ship carrying weapons for the Zimbabwean government has fled South African waters before a sequestration order could be placed on its cargo. Germany's Central Bank sought the cargo of the An Yue Jiang as compensation for non-repayment of a £30 million loan made in 2000 to shore up the collapsing state-owned Zimbabwe Iron & Steel Corp, the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times reported yesterday. The An Yue Jiang is carrying 77 tonnes of weapons for Robert Mugabe's security forces. The confiscation documents could not be served because the An Yue Jiang, lying ten miles off the Indian Ocean port of Durban since 14 April, lifted anchor and fled into international waters on Friday night as a sheriff approached with a separate high court order for the weapons to be impounded. The separate order was granted to local human rights lawyers who argued that arms for Zimbabwe should not be transported through South Africa. The ship was last reported to be heading for Angola, whose president, Eduardo dos Santos, is close to Mr Mugabe. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #10 Hell, the Germans are printing the money for Bob, they just need to hold a half-dozen 10 mill notes back, and they can even come out with a profit. Otherwise, just sink the damn thing. |
| Posted by: rhodesiafever 2008-04-22 18:09 |
| #9 I don't see a prbolem here, just sink the ship. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-04-22 16:37 |
| #8 damn this foreclosure crisis is really getting out of hand |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-04-22 13:55 |
| #7 Should have sent in Git-R-Done Sheriff Joe Arpaio. |
| Posted by: Thealing Borgia6122 2008-04-22 12:16 |
| #6 dang, - eastward - forgot my geography. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-04-22 11:52 |
| #5 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is intervening with governments in southern Africa to prevent a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe's security forces from unloading its cargo, The Associated Press has learned. At the same time, the State Department's top Africa hand, Jendayi Frazer, plans to visit the region this week to underscore U.S. concerns about the shipment. Frazer also will try to persuade Zimbabwe's neighbors to step up pressure on President Robert Mugabe's government to publish results from a disputed election that the opposition claims to have won, administration officials said Monday. U.S. intelligence agencies are tracking the vessel, the An Yue Jiang, and American diplomats have been instructed to press authorities in at least four nations -- South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Angola -- not to allow it to dock, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss delicate diplomatic talks. The ship, which is laden with large amounts of weapons and ammunition, has been turned away from South Africa and Mozambique, and is now believed to be headed for Angola, possibly with a refueling stop in Namibia. The freighter left South Africa after a judge on Friday barred the arms from transiting South Africa and it was not immediately clear if U.S. lobbying had influenced authorities in Mozambique who stopped it from docking during the weekend. Two officials said Washington's effort to block the ship from unloading its cargo was now concentrated on Namibia and Angola and that both countries were being told that allowing the An Yue Jiang to dock could harm their relations with the United States. There are fears that the arms, which include mortar rounds and ammunition, could be used by Mugabe's regime to expand a clampdown on opposition supporters. The government has refused to publish the results of presidential elections held three weeks ago, and there are reports of increasing violence against the opposition. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-22 11:52 |
| #4 or better yet, clinging to the coast trolling westward, it's taken over by pirates near Somalia. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-04-22 11:51 |
| #3 Be a real shame if it had an accident. |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-04-22 11:43 |
| #2 This is getting funnier with each passing day. Whoops! There goes another day! Heh heh! |
| Posted by: Fred 2008-04-22 09:31 |
| #1 Deutsche Bundesbank's gots to gets paid. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-04-22 08:38 |