China denies Zim allegations
2008-07-23 19:51
Beijing - The Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday denied an Australian newspaper report that said supporters of Zimbabwe's president were flying to China to engage in illicit trade.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao called the report in The Age newspaper "purely malicious rumors."
"Some media often fabricate fictitious news, attacking China's relations with African countries," Liu said in a statement posted on the ministry's website. Beijing "does not allow any company and individual to use civilian flights to engage in illegal activities."
The Age accused the regime of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe of regularly commandeering Air Zimbabwe flights and flying through Australian air space to reach China in the past year. The Australian government has denied that the flights enter Australian air space.
The report also cited unnamed Zimbabwe aviation sources as saying that the flights are free junkets for Mugabe supporters who fly to Beijing and southern China to swap contraband such as ivory for weapons and luxury goods.
A spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Embassy in Canberra, Felix Nyamupinga, said Tuesday that he only knew of one instance in three years of a Zimbabwe-registered plane gaining clearance to enter Australian air space. He said the flight occurred about a month ago, although he did not have details of the circumstances.
Australia is a vocal critic of Mugabe's brutal suppression of political dissidents in Zimbabwe and has enforced economic and travel sanctions against the regime since 2002. Both the US and the EU, which also have imposed sanctions on the regime, have moved to strengthen their measures since the recent electoral violence.
Earlier this month, China vetoed a US-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution that would have imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his top aides, with an aim of forcing them to negotiate with the opposition rival to end the country's political crisis.
On Monday, Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed an agreement to hold power-sharing talks.
- Sapa-AP
- SAPA