Arms ship: Matonga spins the same old story

20 May 2008

The ITF - which helped stop the An Yue Jiang unloading its cargo of military supplies anywhere in Southern Africa, and regularly revealed the location of the fugitive ship - today again disproved the Zimbabwean government's claim that it was in possession of the arms.

David Cockroft, ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) General Secretary explained:

"Zimbabwean deputy information minister Bright Matonga is at it again. This is the recycled claim he made two weeks ago that the An Yue Jiang offloaded arms in Lobito. Unfortunately Matonga is living down to his reputation for ineptitude and mendacity. When he put out that story the ship was actually 230 nautical miles south of Lobito and didn't come anywhere near that port for two days, when it actually bypassed it and tried to sneak into Luanda undetected. Similarly, the vessel has been nowhere near DR Congo or Congo-Brazzaville."

"In their attempts to get these arms Zanu-PF have been publicly beaten - something they should be getting used to by now. Their propagandist lies are just the latest failed attempt to salvage something from this latest humiliation."

Cockroft confirmed that the ITF's location report from the end of last week, which had the An Yue Jiang on a course consistent with a return to China, remained valid.

Statement issued by the International Transport Workers Federation May 20 2008