SATAWU ON THE CAMPAIGN TO ENSURE THAT THE CHINESE VESSEL, AN YUE JIANG, CARRYING LETHAL WEAPONS, DOES NOT REACH ZIMBABWE

SATAWU and its maritime members achieved an historic victory of solidarity on the 18 April 2008, when the vessel packed with lethal arms intended to further repress the people of Zimbabwe left our shores after their refusal to offload it. The groundswell of opposition mobilised in our country ranging from COSATU, church leaders and individual citizens played a strategic role. In particular, SATAWU believes that the urgent interdict secured by the archbishop in Durban was an important legal action to compliment the stance of the workers and acted as a counter veiling measure against the decision taken by government to reduce it to a normal matter of trade relations.

Since quietly leaving the port of Durban on the evening of the 18 April 2008, it attempted to dock in Maputo but did not succeed due the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), to which SATAWU is affiliated, having made urgent representations to the Mozambican government not to allow the vessel to enter, our docker counterparts took a similar action by refusing to handle and work with ITF inspector, Sprite Zungu in this regard.

SATAWU wishes to commend the Mozambican government for the correct moral stance they had taken to advance the possibilities of genuine democracy, peace and economic development.

SATAWU is informed that the vessel is en route to Angola and the plan is to off load and transport it by road.

The historic victory by SATAWU, COSATU and civil society to send the vessel packing must it be viewed as the beginning of the campaign. The campaign must now be intensified on an Africa wide and indeed global basis.

SATAWU therefore calls on:

African transport workers in both maritime (dockers and stevedores) and road freight (truck driving) industries not to allow the vessel to dock nor to handle or transport its cargo under the slogan "Workers of the World Unite in Solidarity with the workers and people of Zimbabwe for Democracy, Peace and Food! Not Lethal Weapons to Kill and Repress! Return to Beijing Now!"

COSATU, All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), ITF and ITUC to mobilise all relevant structures, leadership and allied organisations to ensure the safe return of the vessel to Beijing which will in the best interests of the seafarers on board who are also members of the Chinese Seafarers' Union (CSU).

All African governments nor its port authorities not to allow entry of the vessel into any of its ports.

All employers not to use scab or replacement labour when trade union members refuse to handle the container or its cargo.

"We shall not rest until the weapons destined for Zimbabwe are returned to Beijing . We shall not become an accomplice to the repression and brutality of the Zimbabwean masses who only yearn for peace and genuine democracy. Victory shall be achieved when the will of the Zimbabwean people is fully respected with regard to which party they chose to govern them on 29 March 2008. We have a moral obligation to provide solidarity that does not allow the Mugabe regime to continue to undermine human and trade union rights with impunity. We are not puppets of any imperialist forces as we equally deplore imperialism that undermines the sovereignty of African nation states to determine their own destinies. In the Zimbabwean context, we are happy to be accused of being puppets of genuine democracy underpinned by a culture of respect for human and trade union rights which we continue to struggle for in Africa and beyond, " said General Secretary Randall Howard. 

Statement issued by Satawu April 21 2008