CCC employs old tricks to attract sanctions renewal

Ahead of the now redundant annual renewal of illegal economic sanctions on Zimbabwe by the United States this week, some opposition political parties are frenziedly stage-managing the violence that was witnessed in Kwekwe recently to cast the ruling party in bad light, Zanu-PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa said.

As expected, Western embassies, namely the European Union and the United States have become the judges and the jury by apportioning the blame to Zanu-PF even as investigations into the matter are still underway.

This is against the background that the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Mr Nelson Chamisa has been inciting its followers to take the law into their hands.

In a statement yesterday, Mutsvangwa equated Mr Chamisa to Moise Tsombe who collaborated with imperialists and sold out the late founding leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Patrice Lumumba.

"The local embassies of the EU and the USA have in collusive symphony jumped to issue identical statements that strive to frame Zanu-PF for the heinous violence orchestrated by CCC in Kwekwe and actually commanded by Nelson Chamisa, their servile and mercenary minded puppet in the mould of  Moise Tsombe," said Mutsvangwa.

Since the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe has been under baneful sanctions imposed by the US, the United Kingdom and the EU as punishment for the land reform programme meant to address historical land iniquities.

At the instigation of the MDC, that has now morphed into CCC, the sanctions have been ritually renewed especially by the US, while the EU has been steadily relaxing the measures.

In the opposition handbook, international events are often preceded by stage-managed events that portray Zimbabwe negatively as was the case in Kwekwe at the weekend.

"No surprise here as it is the month of February. There is that annual ritual of the renewal of two decades of ZIDERA sanctions. It is evident that the Kwekwe incident of violence was  a stage-managed ‘false flag' operation.

"The quarry as usual is their much loathed Zanu-PF, the Party of the Revolution. Its original sin being its history of rendering a blood military nose to a white minority Rhodesian outpost of settler rule, colonial rampage,  racism and apartheid," said Mutsvangwa.

He added that Western countries with their false sense of superiority have "never reconciled themselves to the politico-military victory Zanu-PF in 1980".

As such the US, through its congress has designated Zimbabwe as a threat to its foreign policy.

"With the war in Ukraine, it is not as if the Aryan brotherhood of Europe and North America do not have enough problems on their hands. They are back to their favorite pastime of fratricidal warfare".

For more than two decades, a compromised opposition has held sway with the urban voter, riding on the evil sanctions, specifically Zidera (Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001) and mirror punitive economic measures by the European Union.

However, under President Mnangagwa rule, the country has made enormous strides in rebooting relations with formerly hostile nations through its re-engagement and engagement policies.