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2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Zimbabwe
arms embargo not necessary: Zuma
Tendai
Maphosa, VOA News
April 24, 2008
http://voanews.com/english/2008-04-24-voa24.cfm
Jacob Zuma, the president
of South Africa's ruling party, says the situation in Zimbabwe has
not reached the stage where an international arms embargo is necessary.
This contradicts the British prime minister's call for an arms embargo
on Zimbabwe. Tendai Maphosa attended Zuma's press conference in
London and filed this report for VOA.
African National Congress
leader Jacob Zuma, the man who could be South Africa's next president,
met Wednesday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He said
the issue of an arms embargo came up during their meeting.
"We debated the
issue, I do not think we have reached the stage of arms embargo
in Zimbabwe," he said. "We do not know of any order of
anything that Zimbabwe is making in terms of arms. I think it is
going too far and really it could just complicate the situation,
which needs to be handled with great care."
But Zuma said the Durban
dockworkers who refused to offload the Chinese ship bearing arms
for Zimbabwe had acted correctly.
The ship was forced to
abandon plans to offload its cargo in the South African port after
activists won a court case that prevented the transportation of
the arms to the border with landlocked Zimbabwe.
Zuma also said the refusal
to allow the ship into a Mozambican port and the call by the chairman
of the Southern African Development Community that the ship should
not be allowed to dock in any African port was an appropriate response.
The ship is reportedly on its way back to China with its cargo.
He also reiterated the
withholding of Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential election results
is unacceptable, saying that the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission
is sabotaging its own work by the delay. Zuma said he has not been
given a good reason why the election results are being withheld.
The South African politician
also addressed the issue of the post-election violence against supporters
of the opposition by the police, the army, war veterans and supporters
of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party.
"We have condemned
that, it cannot be allowed, it is wrong absolutely out of order
and when we go back home the ANC will certainly discuss the matter
and issue a well considered statement," he said.
Zuma who has recently
been more outspoken regarding the Zimbabwean crisis, supported South
African President Thabo Mbeki's quiet diplomacy. He said taking
a tougher stance against Zimbabwe would be counter-productive and
South Africa would continue to engage with the Zimbabwean government
and the opposition.
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