Relations unaffected by spy scandal, says official

The arrest a year ago of a South African spy for running an espionage ring in Zimbabwe has not affected relations between the two countries, an official told IRIN. Andrew Welken, a member of the South African Secret Service, who has been in prison in Zimbabwe for the past year, was escorted back to South Africa by Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils on Tuesday. "The minister had been involved in talks with his Zimbabwean counterparts for a long time to negotiate Welken's release. It has not had an adverse affect on the relations between Zimbabwe and South Africa ... they [the Zimbabweans] were very cooperative," said Lorna Daniels, a spokeswoman for Kasrils. Welken was arrested on 10 December 2005, when he was apparently planning to meet a senior Zimbabwean contact in Livingstone, in neighbouring Zambia. "He [Welken] will, however, have to return to Zimbabwe next year for his trial," Daniels added. The controversial spy scandal was viewed as an attempt by the South African government to access information on the internal dynamics of the government and ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe's ruling party. After Welken's arrest, six ZANU-PF party members were reportedly also arrested and accused of being part of a South African espionage ring. "Governments spy on each other all the time - it was unfortunate that the South Africans got caught," commented Professor John Stremlau, head of the department of international relations at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand. He noted, however, that Welken's release was significant because it indicated that, at a time when "Zimbabwe was isolated from the rest of the world, the South Africans still had a channel of communication open to pull a deal". Daniels said Welken was treated well and was not tortured while in custody in Zimbabwe. According to Daniels, the ministry will send Welken and his wife on an all expenses-paid holiday.