RSS Feed
July 23rd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
He currently appears as number one on the sanctions list – and William Hague,
the foreign secretary, made clear that he would stay there. Sanctions on Mr
Mugabe and a core of his closest aides will remain in place despite Monday’s
decision. But more than half the names will be dropped from the list.
Mr Hague said this was justified by “concrete progress on the ground”.
“We have made clear that we would respond to a peaceful and credible
referendum in Zimbabwe, due to take place in the Autumn, with a suspension
of the majority of EU Restrictive Measures, but not including those on
Mugabe,” he said.
This amounted to an “important step-change” in policy towards
Zimbabwe, said the Foreign Secretary, with the aim of encouraging “reformers
across the political spectrum”.
President Mugabe has formed a coalition with Morgan Tsvangirai, the former
opposition leader who now serves as prime minister. A new constitution has
been agreed that should make a free and fair election more likely.
But real power still lies in Mr Mugabe’s hands and economic recovery has been
held back by his insistence on keeping a punitive law that compels any
company owned by foreigners or white Zimbabweans to surrender 51 per cent of
its shares.
Although no restrictions apply to trade or investment in Zimbabwe, Mr Mugabe
has blamed sanctions for the country’s economic malaise. This propaganda
line – however preposterous – has been widely believed. Western diplomats in
Harare believe that lifting the restrictions would rob Mr Mugabe of his
alibi.
These measures were first imposed at the request of the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), which helped compile the list of targeted
individuals.
Today, however, Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, wants them to be lifted.
Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House, said the measures
had “passed their sell-by date” and become an “impediment to
progress”. He added that yesterday’s decision struck the right balance
between rewarding progress and maintaining the pressure on Mr Mugabe.
Some individuals have already been dropped from the sanctions list, including
Patrick Chinamasa, the Zanu-PF justice minister. He played a key role in
undermining the independence of the judiciary by personally hounding Anthony
Gubbay, then chief justice, into resignation.
Posted in 
Tags: 
