Zanu-PF dismiss sanctions removal speculation

Zanu-PF has dismissed as unintelligible reports that the European Union wanted to suspend sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe after the country met certain conditions.

Zanu-PF negotiator and member of the Zimbabwe-EU re-engagement committee Patrick Chinamasa said anything short of unconditional lifting of the embargo was not acceptable to Zimbabwe.

Zanu-PF secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa recently told the Telegraph that the suspension of sanctions would make little difference to his party.

"I was on the list and my wife was on the list. It makes no difference to me whatsoever. I won't be going to London, it's very cold and the people are very unfriendly - I would rather stay here,"  he was quoted as saying.

This comes at the back of reports that the European Union is preparing to lift all sanctions on Zimbabwe and the punitive measures - which have wreaked havoc on the country's economy - could be removed at the next meeting of the bloc next month.

Reports from London said a review of the measures that have senior Government officials and State entities subjected to travel bans and other embargoes would conclude that sanctions should now be conditionally suspended.

The sanctions were imposed in 2002 after Zimbabwe embarked on the land reform programme.

Since then, the bloc has maintained a hardline stance, only thawing in February when it removed     51 people and 20 entities from the sanctions list.

However, an apparent breakthrough was made in May when talks between the EU and a Zimbabwean delegation comprising members of the three parties in the inclusive Government concluded that Zimbabwe must write a letter setting out its case for consideration by the bloc before the end of this month.

Re-engagement talks in the Belgian capital, Brussels, were described as frank, candid and open and the Zimbabwean delegation was reported to have presented a united message whose import was the clarion call for the lifting of sanctions in their totality.

European officials yesterday told the Daily Telegraph of Britain that "there is now agreement to bring Zimbabwe back in from the cold but only if new conditions are met".

"These include the publication of a new constitution, the adoption of human rights laws, a successful referendum and the conduct of free elections next year," the newspaper said.

The officials said that the EU would present a unified position designed to encourage reforms in Zimbabwe when it meets next month.

According to the Telegraph, as the former colonial power, Britain's objections to removing or suspending sanctions had ensured that there has only been a gradual easing of restrictions on Zanu-PF despite the establishment of the coalition government.

This confirms suspicions that Britain has always been behind the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe and the moves to effect regime change.

Diplomats told the UK newspaper that the British position remained key.
"We know that British interests and priorities are important here and cannot be overridden," said one official.

"We are working out a compromise that will see the EU use its influence positively while making the measures conditional. The Sword of Damocles must hang over Mugabe so that he cannot cling to power."

Officials said that Britain had been influenced by calls from the MDC-T leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, for the sanctions to be lifted,as well as criticism by Ms Navi Pillay, the UN human rights commissioner.

Ms Pillay, who visited Zimbabwe in May at the invitation of the Government, said the stigma of sanctions was inflicting damage on the Zimbabwean economy.

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said that circumstances in Zimbabwe had changed since sanctions were put under review earlier this year.

"Since these measures were last reviewed in February, we have heard a number of calls, including from the MDC-T and their partners in the inclusive Government, for us to show flexibility in order to support the process of reform," she told the Telegraph.

"For us what matters is putting in place what's needed for free and fair elections, in line with the requirements of the EU measures, and meeting the key points of progress that are promised along the way."

Zanu-PF secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa told the Telegraph that the suspension of sanctions would make little difference to his party.

"I was on the list and my wife was on the list. It makes no difference to me whatsoever. I won't be going to London, it's very cold and the people are very unfriendly - I would rather stay here,"  he was quoted as saying.