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Senator Coltart calls for the lifting of Zimbabwe sanctions
10 Jun 2012 at 11:59hrs | Views
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Senator David Coltart has called for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Coltart is the MDC legal affairs secretary.
Senator Coltart was in the US a fortnight ago where he urged that country's government to mend relations with Zimbabwe and is confident that the call for the removal of the embargo will yield results.
"My main mission was to meet with senators and congressmen in the American government as part of a drive aimed at seeing them engage the inclusive Government on the removal of sanctions.
"On the other hand, I also met money-lending institutions and international education organisations as I sought support for the country's education sector," he said.
Among other senior US officials, Sen Coltart met the Deputy Secretary for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, and the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour,
Michael Posner. He also met Senator Jim Inhofe, who recently told his fellow congressmen that sanctions were affecting ordinary citizens in Zimbabwe and stalling economic development.
"The overall reaction to my call for the removal of sanctions was positive. As for the education support for Zimbabwe, I met officials from the World Bank, Unicef and the Global Partnership for Education," he said.
Senator Coltart has refuted allegations from Zanu-PF quotas that he had assisted the US government to craft ZDERA.
"That allegation is totally without foundation because if I had that power, I would go to Washington and ask the US to remove the sanctions right now.
"However, there were gross human rights violations in 2001 and what we merely said to the US government was that the perpetrators of such abuses should be punished," he said.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also believed to have worked with Sen Coltart in assisting the US in crafting ZDERA, recently made a U-turn on sanctions when he told delegates at a World Bank meeting in Washington last month that the West should immediately lift the embargo.
A fortnight ago UN Human Rights chief Ms Navanethem Pillay also added her voice to the lifting of sanctions.
Coltart is the MDC legal affairs secretary.
Senator Coltart was in the US a fortnight ago where he urged that country's government to mend relations with Zimbabwe and is confident that the call for the removal of the embargo will yield results.
"My main mission was to meet with senators and congressmen in the American government as part of a drive aimed at seeing them engage the inclusive Government on the removal of sanctions.
"On the other hand, I also met money-lending institutions and international education organisations as I sought support for the country's education sector," he said.
Among other senior US officials, Sen Coltart met the Deputy Secretary for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, and the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour,
"The overall reaction to my call for the removal of sanctions was positive. As for the education support for Zimbabwe, I met officials from the World Bank, Unicef and the Global Partnership for Education," he said.
Senator Coltart has refuted allegations from Zanu-PF quotas that he had assisted the US government to craft ZDERA.
"That allegation is totally without foundation because if I had that power, I would go to Washington and ask the US to remove the sanctions right now.
"However, there were gross human rights violations in 2001 and what we merely said to the US government was that the perpetrators of such abuses should be punished," he said.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also believed to have worked with Sen Coltart in assisting the US in crafting ZDERA, recently made a U-turn on sanctions when he told delegates at a World Bank meeting in Washington last month that the West should immediately lift the embargo.
A fortnight ago UN Human Rights chief Ms Navanethem Pillay also added her voice to the lifting of sanctions.
Source - SM
