MONDAY, 9.00AM:
THE US-based Human Rights Watch claims in a report issued on Monday that South African arms are being smuggled to rebels in Burundi.
The report names companies with apartheid-era links, and says Spoornet trains are used for the smuggling. The SA government denies knowledge of the smuggling, but says it will investigate.
Human Rights Watch is the best-known of the US monitoring organisations, and was a vocal opponent of apartheid. This week’s report says senior ANC officials have turned a blind eye to the smuggling, and have actively encouraged Burundi’s rebels to seek a “military solution”.
A South African government official said the government had not had a chance to read the support, but described it as “thick with innuendo”. But the government has agreed to respond to the report and investigate if neccessary.
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