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Tsvangirai calls for conditional removal of sanctions
24 Jul 2012 at 05:03hrs | Views
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday urged to lift the sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle by the West, but suggested them to be lifted in tandem with the institution of key reforms by the Zimbabwean leader.
According to a Facebook posting by his spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai held a 30-minute meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra, where the issue of sanctions was discussed.
"The two discussed issues of mutual cooperation. They also discussed the issue of 'sanctions', with PM Tsvangirai suggesting the suspension of the restrictive measures but linking them to movement on key reforms and a free and fair election.
"He said this could be a compromise position between the two hard-line positions of unconditional lifting and unconditional retention of targeted measures," Tamborinyoka said.
Tsvangirai has in the past made the same call for the sanctions, which his party calls "restrictive measures", to be removed on Mugabe, his inner circle within his party Zanu-PF and companies and individuals associated with them as a reward for instituting political reforms in the country.
His call came a few hours before EU foreign ministers met in Brussels to consider the issue of sanctions on Zimbabwe. Although the EU has maintained that the sanctions are targeted at Mugabe and his colleagues, the generality of Zimbabweans have borne their brunt in one way or another.
All the three parties in the Zimbabwean inclusive government have called for their suspension, and United Nations human rights commissioner Navi Pillay, who visited the country recently, echoed the same sentiments.
According to a Facebook posting by his spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai held a 30-minute meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra, where the issue of sanctions was discussed.
"The two discussed issues of mutual cooperation. They also discussed the issue of 'sanctions', with PM Tsvangirai suggesting the suspension of the restrictive measures but linking them to movement on key reforms and a free and fair election.
Tsvangirai has in the past made the same call for the sanctions, which his party calls "restrictive measures", to be removed on Mugabe, his inner circle within his party Zanu-PF and companies and individuals associated with them as a reward for instituting political reforms in the country.
His call came a few hours before EU foreign ministers met in Brussels to consider the issue of sanctions on Zimbabwe. Although the EU has maintained that the sanctions are targeted at Mugabe and his colleagues, the generality of Zimbabweans have borne their brunt in one way or another.
All the three parties in the Zimbabwean inclusive government have called for their suspension, and United Nations human rights commissioner Navi Pillay, who visited the country recently, echoed the same sentiments.
Source - Shanghai Daily
