Chinese rhino hunt prompts diplomatic impasse … As they feel Namibia is undiplomatic

By Confidente Reporter

CHINESE embassy officials in Windhoek are reportedly angry with Namibia’s senior govern­ment officials for pulling no punches when they castigated Chinese nation­als operating poaching syndicates in the country last week, Confidente has learnt.
Confidente is informed that the Chi­nese feel that Namibia has lately been undiplomatic when it publicly con­demns Chinese nationals involved in poaching activities.
The country since 2015 has report­edly lost nearly 200 rhinos and el­ephants to poachers.
The latest move by the Namibian Po­lice that has seen Chinese nationals also being searched thoroughly at police checkpoints, roadblocks and random stop and search operations has report­edly not gone down well with them as well. President Hage Geingob also last week condemned the poaching of the country’s wildlife saying the war against poachers should be intensified. “We condemn what is going on. We must intensify what is going on. It is unacceptable. Poaching, there must be inside jobs also. Chinese cannot come here and know everywhere to get the rhinos,” he said.
The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, Monday said Namibia was now frustrated with the behaviour of some Chinese na­tionals and will soon introduce laws to ensure that any Chinese national convicted of any poaching crime/s will never be allowed entry into the coun­try. “We are frustrated. The Chinese embassy must reprimand its nationals to abide by the laws of the country (Na­mibia). We won’t tolerate the poaching of our wildlife. From now on we are going to make sure that any Chinese or any other foreign national convicted of poaching after serving their sentence or paying a fine imposed will be deported and we won’t allow them back, they be­come persona non-grata.
“It’s not a question of us not be­ing diplomatic because they are the ones that started this and it’s too much now. That decision to search all Asians came out of frustration and it is reap­ing results because some have already been arrested with wildlife contraband hidden. This poaching of our wildlife has been going on all these years,” an unamused Shifeta said. Shifeta refuted reports that Namibia was merely tar­geting Chinese nationals without any reasonable grounds.
“It’s not a question of targeting them but it’s what the statistics prove that counts. We have to now procure sniffer dogs and put them at every port of en­try because there we have also had sev­eral cases of our wildlife products being smuggled out of the country. We are very serious,” Shifeta added. Shifeta also revealed that out of the more than 35 lo­cal people arrested recently for poach­ing related crimes upon interrogation and further investigations by the police it came out that they were connected to the Chinese. “Namibians are being en­ticed to poach by some of these people. We are not saying all Chinese are bad. They are good Chinese people in this country but how do we know that the good are not bad as well?” Shifeta que­ried. Shifeta also said his ministry was now busy working with the ministries of Justice and Home Affairs to come up with a law that ensures that any foreign national convicted for poaching will never set foot in Namibia again.
“We want foreign nationals con­victed for poaching deported and never allowed back in the country because we have realised that those that are fined go back to engage in the same thing again,” he said.
Inspector General of the Namibian police, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga echoed Shifeta’s sentiments adding that Namibia can’t be diplomat­ic to criminals.
“Our strong stance or harshness is not targeted to every Chinese national. We know that they are many law abid­ing Chinese nationals who are in the country but we also have to address their fellow kinsman who come to Na­mibia and poach our animals. If they are not happy, we are also not happy, we can’t be diplomatic or talk politics with criminals while they are finishing our animals. We are not directing our state­ments to law abiding citizens but crimi­nals. We will never surrender and anyone who feels disturbed by our actions should stop poaching. We are not only talking to foreigners but Namibians as well whom a majority are those being arrested for such crimes,” Ndeitunga said.
Ndeitunga said a committee compris­ing of Chinese nationals and local en­forcement agencies was being formed to work on bringing poaching to an end. “All Chinese are being searched now and innocent people are suffering because of this inconvenience to law abiding Chi­nese and Namibian people but we say enough is enough we have to take action and these searches now target everyone, they know no colour or nationality so the new measures we have taken apply to ev­eryone Namibian or not.” Ndeitunga also took a swipe at locals whom he accused of poaching the country’s precious fauna for mere peanuts. “Namibians are more in numbers than the Chinese who go into game parks but Namibians are paid peanuts to destroy their own fauna so yes my harshness is towards criminals who are the enemies of peace, enemies of our fauna and enemies of progress. We are tar­geting those that are engaged in criminal activities.” Efforts to get comment from the Chinese embassy proved futile as a written request for an interview with Am­bassador Qiu Xuejun sent to them nearly a week ago was never responded to.