Govt takes EU to task over sanctions

via Govt takes EU to task over sanctions | The Herald November 5, 2014

Government has taken the European Union to task over its piecemeal removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe while expecting the latter to celebrate the bloc’s ridiculing of President Mugabe and his wife by keeping them under the embargo.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo and his deputy Supa Mandiwanzira, said the EU states and the international media were unjustifiably attacking President Mugabe and Zimbabwe.

They made the remarks when the EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Philippe Van Damme, paid a courtesy call on Prof Moyo at his offices yesterday.

Sources who attended the closed door meeting said Prof Moyo and Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira told Ambassador Van Damme that there was nothing to celebrate in last week’s lifting of trade sanctions against Zimbabwe as long as President Mugabe and First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe remained under sanctions.

“They plainly told the ambassador that Government was concerned with the lifting of trade sanctions while leaving the President and the First Family,” said a source.

“They asked the motive behind lifting trade sanctions and leaving the President and the First Family. The Minister said they couldn’t congratulate the EU for ridiculing our President. They said what was needed was to restore our humanity as a people.

“The Minister said removing the sanctions on the President and the First Family can be an overnight thing the same way they imposed them overnight.”

The source added that Prof Moyo and Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira said there was need for the EU to acknowledge the harm the illegal sanctions had caused Zimbabwe.

They said while Government welcomed re-engagement efforts, the EU must be sincere to ensure normalisation of relations between Zimbabwe and the bloc.

“They elaborated on how colonisation hurt Africans for centuries and said it was hard to start afresh when there was such a long history where African suffered. They said the EU must acknowledge the damage first and then be candid about the role the EU must play to normalise relations.

“They told the ambassador that working with NGOs to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe was not a good decision. They asked how the EU hoped to undo the damage caused by NGOs working to undermine the Government of Zimbabwe.

“The EU claimed that it had invested US$2 billion in Zimbabwe, but the ministers said since the money came through NGOs some of it was not used for development projects but for regime change.”

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Ambassador Van Damme said their meeting had been successful as they talked about re-engagement between Zimbabwe and the EU bloc to improve bilateral relations.

He said the lifting of trade sanctions by the EU last week signalled the bloc’s willingness to re-engage with Zimbabwe.

“We also noted that it would be appropriate to have diary exchanges with the Minister on the nature and impact of these decisions on bilateral relations between the EU and Zimbabwe.

“Building on that, we had a very stimulating and interesting exchanges with the Minister on the future of our EU-Zimbabwe relations,” said Ambassador Van Damme.

“This was a very useful and very stimulating exchange and we are committed on both sides to continue our efforts on finding ways to build trust. Through these confidence building measures we hope to come to a point of complete normalisation of our relations in the shortest possible of time.”

The EU imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 at the behest of Britain after the country embarked on the fast track land reform exercise after the latter reneged on its commitment to fund land redistribution from the white minority to the black majority.

The bloc has over the years sought to use divide and rule tactics by removing some officials from the sanctions while leaving others.