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Prof Jonathan Moyo adds weight to Mugabe's 'tit-for-tat' threat
27 Aug 2013 at 05:32hrs | Views
Political scientist and Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo said tit-for-tat was a well-established diplomatic principle in international relations.
This comes in the wake of President Mugabe's announcement that Zimbabwe would hit back with punitive measures against companies owned by the West's kith and kin in Zimbabwe that were also complicit in sabotaging the economy.
"The illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Britain and her allies are against the principle of mutual benefit and they are based on the false notion that international relations are one way traffic when in fact it is two way traffic," he said.
"You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. If they slap sanctions on us, it is rational for us to respond in the same currency.
"That is the rule of the game. What the President is saying was long overdue. The time for doing so is now."
Prof Moyo said although Zimbabwe wanted to pursue a diplomatic way of resolving differences, the West was pushing for confrontation.
"This is not our preferred way of restoring our relations," he said.
"We have done everything possible to achieve normal relations, but if they cannot understand that language then we are also able to speak the same language of sanctions. We can even speak it better than them."
This comes in the wake of President Mugabe's announcement that Zimbabwe would hit back with punitive measures against companies owned by the West's kith and kin in Zimbabwe that were also complicit in sabotaging the economy.
"The illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Britain and her allies are against the principle of mutual benefit and they are based on the false notion that international relations are one way traffic when in fact it is two way traffic," he said.
"You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. If they slap sanctions on us, it is rational for us to respond in the same currency.
Prof Moyo said although Zimbabwe wanted to pursue a diplomatic way of resolving differences, the West was pushing for confrontation.
"This is not our preferred way of restoring our relations," he said.
"We have done everything possible to achieve normal relations, but if they cannot understand that language then we are also able to speak the same language of sanctions. We can even speak it better than them."
Source - herald
