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| Africa: Subsaharan |
| Zim-Bob Beats Arms Embargo |
| 2005-06-09 |
| THE Zimbabwean government has found a way around the arms embargo imposed by its former suppliers in Europe and America and has entered into massive secret deals with neighbours South Africa and Malawi. Highly placed sources said the government - scrounging around for almost US$420 million needed to import grain - has splashed millions of rands on military hardware, mainly to replace its obsolete equipment. At least R1 million was forked out to buy military equipment from Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor). The government is also reported to be purchasing tear gas canisters from Malawi. Reports from South Africa suggest the government purchased helicopter spares in a deal which had the blessing of that country's National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), which gives permission before military hardware can be sold to any country. Armscor is a quasi-state institution established by an Act of Parliament. The spare parts, military experts say, will be used to repair the Airforce of Zimbabwe's Alloutte helicopters, which have been grounded due to a shortage of spare parts. Armscor spokesperson, Bertus Cilliers confirmed to The Financial Gazette that the Zimbabwean government had taken delivery of military spares to repair its ageing Alloutte helicopters, originally manufactured in France in the mid-1960s. Cilliers brushed aside concerns that Harare was under an arms embargo, saying South Africa was not "part of the EU" adding that the door will always be open for more arms trade with the Zimbabwean government. "The EU has imposed sanctions, but South Africa is not part of the EU, we are not bound by any sanctions from the EU. As long as the South African government approves an export of arms to Zimbabwe, we will continue to do business. The only time we will stop is when there are United Nations (UN)-imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe," Cilliers said in a telephone interview from South Africa. Cilliers said the Airforce of Zimbabwe has previously taken delivery of unspecified quantities of spare parts from Armscor. Government spokesperson George Charamba declined to comment on the reported arms purchases, citing national security considerations. "These are issues of national security and I will not comment. This government has every right to take measures it deems necessary to protect its citizens from any form of aggression," Charamba said. "We know you are trying to perpetuate issues which are being pushed by foreign powers. The British have every reason to be worried and to want to know what is happening regarding our arms imports," Charamba charged. Government has reportedly set its sights on acquiring Russian-made Mig-29s as well as Chengdu PAC FC1 combat aircraft jointly manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft of China and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. The government bought six Hongdu Karakorum-8 state-of-the-art jet trainer aircraft from China for US$120 million. ". . . We bought some Hawks from Britain and we now need spare parts for them but Britain has said no. That's why we have now grounded all our Hawks and Britain is losing because we have resorted to the "Look East Policy" and we now have similar planes from China", President Robert Mugabe is quoted as having said in the current issue of the New African Magazine. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 I just cannot believe that someone has not popped off this madman yet. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-06-09 21:51 |
| #3 Speech by Mugabe 'proves he is losing his mind' Mr Mugabe added that Zimbabwe was making "great strides towards economic recovery". Tourism was enjoying a "strong recovery", he said, and the demolitions in the townships were a "vigorous clean-up campaign to restore sanity and order in urban and other areas". In reality, Zimbabwe suffers inflation of 130 per cent and more than one third of its economy has been wiped out in the last five years. The president's speech "reflects his senile dementia," said Tendai Biti, the MDC's secretary for economic affairs. "Any decent doctor will tell you that once you are in your eighties, you lose your memory, you lose your grasp of reality and you have no grip of time or space. That's what is happening with this old man." |
| Posted by: john 2005-06-09 19:35 |
| #2 Well, he's got about 25 years of evidence that it does work. If he died today, he'll die old and african successful. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-09 16:02 |
| #1 If mugabe makes it another six months I'll be amazed. He's pissing off everybody he can think of, including about a million people in the capital city. His junky chinese jets and classic 1960's helicopters arent going to do him any good when a mob storms the presidential palace and tears him to pieces. The only curious thing to me is that he seems to think that you can go around doing whatever you want without any consequences. That seems to be a common condition with tyrants. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-06-09 13:07 |