Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF's outburst will not guarantee a free and fair election
22 Feb 2013 at 07:13hrs | Views
On Monday the European Union lifted a travel ban on 21 individuals that includes six Zanu-PF ministers as well as one company. The target based sanctions, imposed on Zimbabwe by the West at the height of the land reform in the early 2000s, were mainly placed on Mugabe's cronies and their businesses. Over the years, since the signing of the Global Political Agreement in 2009, have been eased and relaxed gradually with the western nations reviewing whether to lift the sanctions annually.
The latest lifting of the ban is attached with certain conditions, chiefly the holding of peaceful free and fair elections. Zanu-PF, instead of responding to the EU with a pledge of hosting free and fair elections attacked them with vengeance.
"The decision by the EU to remove certain individuals and companies from their illegal sanctions list is outrageous and preposterous.
Zanu-PF will never accept any conditional removal of the illegal sanctions," Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu-PF spokesman responded when asked about this latest development. Zanu-PF wants an "unconditional and total" lifting of the elections.
EU did not however remove sanctions on the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, keeping those measures at least until the conclusion of the upcoming elections. The keeping of the sanctions on ZMDC is a welcome measure considering that the company is responsible for funding Zanu-PF in all its endeavors, including state-sponsored violence against members of the former opposition, the MDCs. The lifting of the ban on ZMDC was requested by Belgium, where Antwerp, the world's biggest diamond trading centre, is based, who pushed for it to be freed from the sanctions ban.
ZMDC was given a grace period of at least a month after the elections to see whether it can be fully rid of the sanctions by the EU. Zanu-PF has, since the discovery of diamonds in the eastern province of Manicaland been dependent on the revenues from diamonds to fund their loyalists in their political rivalry against their fierce rivals, the MDCs. They will not be affected by the EU's refusal to lift sanctions on ZMDC because the diamonds from ZMDC are still in demand in Asia and thus, they are guaranteed more revenue for their state-sponsored and target based violence against their rivals.
Whilst Zanu-PF may have dismissed the latest developments as "outrageous and preposterous" it leaves one wondering what it is that Zanu-PF really wants. In 2012 they sent their chief lawyer, Attorney General Tomana to go and challenge the EU to lift the "illegal sanctions" they imposed on Zimbabwe. Now that there is an impartial lifting of the sanctions, they are still reluctant to accept such developments because they still want the EU to remove them wholly without them playing a part also.
The EU has demanded that Zanu-PF allow a free and fair election to take place and this latest outburst on EU shows that they are not willing to play along with the EU by guaranteeing a just and fair election. Zimbabwe has a record of bloody and unjust elections and since 2001, all the elections that have taken place in Zimbabwe are nothing but a farce that have legitimized Mugabe's hold on power at the expense of the people. SADC have over the years certified these elections as free and fair because they always succumb to Mugabe's pressure..
Why is it that Zanu-PF does not wish to reciprocate to these measures by EU? The EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dell'Ariccia assured Zanu-PF that all these restrictive measures would be removed if the elections are free and fair. Only through a peaceful free and fair will result in "an immediate suspension of the majority of all remaining targeted restrictive measures against individuals and entities," Ambassador Dell was quoted on Monday at a press briefing in Harare. Since independence, Zanu-PF are yet to guarantee Zimbabweans such conditions for a free and fair election and thus all this noise is just a message to the EU that unfortunately Zanu-PF cannot guarantee a free and fair election.
Such utterances are the last thing that Zimbabweans want to hear as we are only weeks away from the constitution referendum, penciled for the 16th of March. Memories and wounds from the 2008 harmonised elections are still fresh on the people of Zimbabwe. Everyone is aware that Zanu-PF will not succumb to any pressure from anyone to host peaceful elections if it means them losing their grip on Zimbabwe. They will do everything in their means to ensure that their challengers will not taste victory. 2008 is testimony to that.
Rugare Gumbo's statements are not only addressed at the EU's partial lift on sanctions but to all their political foes in Zimbabwe as we approach Election Day. The partial relax on the sanctions was dismissed as nothing but plans by the West to further their economic interests in Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF has for ages dismissed the MDC-T as a puppet of the EU and such developments are just seen by Zanu-PF as an attempt to appease the people to vote for the MDC-T now that there sanctions are being relaxed, albeit gradually.
Zanu-PF fails to understand that the west will not remove sanctions without any reforms because it is because of Zanu-PF's autocratic rule that brought these sanctions to Zimbabwe in the first place. The only way in which the West will remove these sanctions is if Zanu-PF reforms. The latest lifting of sanctions was brought about by Zanu-PF's part in the drafting of the constitutional draft. All the countries that had placed Zimbabwe on sanctions were encouraged by this.
Zimbabwe hosting free and fair elections this year is a long short because the conditions facing the country at present are the same conditions we faced in 2008. The draconian laws such as POSA that give Zanu-PF an unfair advantage over their rivals are still there. Most of the reforms that were meant to be implemented at the signing of the GPA are yet to be implemented and unless if their implemented before June a repeat of 2008 is upon us. Zanu-PF have failed to guarantee Zimbabwe a peaceful free and fair election, they are more concerned with starting a verbal warfare with the EU than guaranteeing their own people a just election for once.
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David Hwangwa is a Human rights Activist and political commentator
The latest lifting of the ban is attached with certain conditions, chiefly the holding of peaceful free and fair elections. Zanu-PF, instead of responding to the EU with a pledge of hosting free and fair elections attacked them with vengeance.
"The decision by the EU to remove certain individuals and companies from their illegal sanctions list is outrageous and preposterous.
Zanu-PF will never accept any conditional removal of the illegal sanctions," Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu-PF spokesman responded when asked about this latest development. Zanu-PF wants an "unconditional and total" lifting of the elections.
EU did not however remove sanctions on the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, keeping those measures at least until the conclusion of the upcoming elections. The keeping of the sanctions on ZMDC is a welcome measure considering that the company is responsible for funding Zanu-PF in all its endeavors, including state-sponsored violence against members of the former opposition, the MDCs. The lifting of the ban on ZMDC was requested by Belgium, where Antwerp, the world's biggest diamond trading centre, is based, who pushed for it to be freed from the sanctions ban.
ZMDC was given a grace period of at least a month after the elections to see whether it can be fully rid of the sanctions by the EU. Zanu-PF has, since the discovery of diamonds in the eastern province of Manicaland been dependent on the revenues from diamonds to fund their loyalists in their political rivalry against their fierce rivals, the MDCs. They will not be affected by the EU's refusal to lift sanctions on ZMDC because the diamonds from ZMDC are still in demand in Asia and thus, they are guaranteed more revenue for their state-sponsored and target based violence against their rivals.
Whilst Zanu-PF may have dismissed the latest developments as "outrageous and preposterous" it leaves one wondering what it is that Zanu-PF really wants. In 2012 they sent their chief lawyer, Attorney General Tomana to go and challenge the EU to lift the "illegal sanctions" they imposed on Zimbabwe. Now that there is an impartial lifting of the sanctions, they are still reluctant to accept such developments because they still want the EU to remove them wholly without them playing a part also.
Why is it that Zanu-PF does not wish to reciprocate to these measures by EU? The EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dell'Ariccia assured Zanu-PF that all these restrictive measures would be removed if the elections are free and fair. Only through a peaceful free and fair will result in "an immediate suspension of the majority of all remaining targeted restrictive measures against individuals and entities," Ambassador Dell was quoted on Monday at a press briefing in Harare. Since independence, Zanu-PF are yet to guarantee Zimbabweans such conditions for a free and fair election and thus all this noise is just a message to the EU that unfortunately Zanu-PF cannot guarantee a free and fair election.
Such utterances are the last thing that Zimbabweans want to hear as we are only weeks away from the constitution referendum, penciled for the 16th of March. Memories and wounds from the 2008 harmonised elections are still fresh on the people of Zimbabwe. Everyone is aware that Zanu-PF will not succumb to any pressure from anyone to host peaceful elections if it means them losing their grip on Zimbabwe. They will do everything in their means to ensure that their challengers will not taste victory. 2008 is testimony to that.
Rugare Gumbo's statements are not only addressed at the EU's partial lift on sanctions but to all their political foes in Zimbabwe as we approach Election Day. The partial relax on the sanctions was dismissed as nothing but plans by the West to further their economic interests in Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF has for ages dismissed the MDC-T as a puppet of the EU and such developments are just seen by Zanu-PF as an attempt to appease the people to vote for the MDC-T now that there sanctions are being relaxed, albeit gradually.
Zanu-PF fails to understand that the west will not remove sanctions without any reforms because it is because of Zanu-PF's autocratic rule that brought these sanctions to Zimbabwe in the first place. The only way in which the West will remove these sanctions is if Zanu-PF reforms. The latest lifting of sanctions was brought about by Zanu-PF's part in the drafting of the constitutional draft. All the countries that had placed Zimbabwe on sanctions were encouraged by this.
Zimbabwe hosting free and fair elections this year is a long short because the conditions facing the country at present are the same conditions we faced in 2008. The draconian laws such as POSA that give Zanu-PF an unfair advantage over their rivals are still there. Most of the reforms that were meant to be implemented at the signing of the GPA are yet to be implemented and unless if their implemented before June a repeat of 2008 is upon us. Zanu-PF have failed to guarantee Zimbabwe a peaceful free and fair election, they are more concerned with starting a verbal warfare with the EU than guaranteeing their own people a just election for once.
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David Hwangwa is a Human rights Activist and political commentator
Source - David Hwangwa
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