The European Union today eased
sanctions on eight of Zimbabwe’s most
powerful political and military figures,
but kept sanctions on President Robert
Mugabe and his wife, Reuters reports.
EU governments want to
encourage positive change in Zimbabwe
while retaining some leverage over
Mugabe, according to Reuters.
Mugabe and his wife Grace will remain
under an asset freeze and are banned
from
travelling to the EU for another year. An
arms embargo on Zimbabwe
and sanctions on arms supplier
Zimbabwe Defense Industries remain
intact.
But sanctions, which are reviewed
annually, were suspended on the eight
senior Zimbabwe
officials still on the EU’s list, EU sources
told Reuters. These include Constantine
Chiwenga, commander of the Zimbabwe
Defense Forces; Army Commander Phillip
Valerio Sibanda; Air Force Commander
Perence Shiri; Intelligence Chief
Happyton Bonyongwe; Police Chief
Augustine Chihuri; and Didymus Mutasa,
minister of state for presidential affairs.
Citing flawed voting in Zimbabwe’s July
2013 elections, the U.S. said it did not
plan to loosen sanctions against
Mugabe’s government until there were
signs of change in the country.
The 28-nation EU, which imposed
sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 to
protest human rights
abuses and violations of democracy
under Mugabe, has gradually eased
sanctions over the last few years to
encourage political reform.
EU ministers are expected Tuesday to
pave the way for the EU to resume
channeling development aid directly to
the Zimbabwe government in 2015 after
years in which the bloc shunned the
government and worked with charities.
Rugare Gumbo, a spokesman for
Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, told Reuters in
Harare the EU concessions were not
enough. “This is all nonsensical, we
don’t accept these half measures. We
want total and irrevocable removal of
sanctions.
“They cannot keep the president on the
sanctions list, what has Mugabe done?
We have said we are open to talking to
the EU but they have to remove those
sanctions, they are hurting our people.”
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since
independence from Britain in 1980. He
will be 90 on Friday. He has clashed
frequently with the West over his policies
and accused the U.S. and
Britain in in September of trying to
control his nation and its resources
during a U.N. speech.
EU members were divided when Mugabe
won a fifth term as president in the July
elections. African observers said the
Zimbabwe elections were fair; the
opposition denounced them as
fraudulent.
The EU invited Mugabe to take part in an
EU-Africa summit in Brussels in April and
offered an exemption from sanctions to
visit Europe.
Mugabe took part in EU-Africa summits
in Tripoli in 2010 and Lisbon in 2007,
although his presence at the Lisbon
summit prompted a boycott by then
British Prime Minister Gordon
sanctions on eight of Zimbabwe’s most
powerful political and military figures,
but kept sanctions on President Robert
Mugabe and his wife, Reuters reports.
EU governments want to
encourage positive change in Zimbabwe
while retaining some leverage over
Mugabe, according to Reuters.
Mugabe and his wife Grace will remain
under an asset freeze and are banned
from
travelling to the EU for another year. An
arms embargo on Zimbabwe
and sanctions on arms supplier
Zimbabwe Defense Industries remain
intact.
But sanctions, which are reviewed
annually, were suspended on the eight
senior Zimbabwe
officials still on the EU’s list, EU sources
told Reuters. These include Constantine
Chiwenga, commander of the Zimbabwe
Defense Forces; Army Commander Phillip
Valerio Sibanda; Air Force Commander
Perence Shiri; Intelligence Chief
Happyton Bonyongwe; Police Chief
Augustine Chihuri; and Didymus Mutasa,
minister of state for presidential affairs.
Citing flawed voting in Zimbabwe’s July
2013 elections, the U.S. said it did not
plan to loosen sanctions against
Mugabe’s government until there were
signs of change in the country.
The 28-nation EU, which imposed
sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 to
protest human rights
abuses and violations of democracy
under Mugabe, has gradually eased
sanctions over the last few years to
encourage political reform.
EU ministers are expected Tuesday to
pave the way for the EU to resume
channeling development aid directly to
the Zimbabwe government in 2015 after
years in which the bloc shunned the
government and worked with charities.
Rugare Gumbo, a spokesman for
Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, told Reuters in
Harare the EU concessions were not
enough. “This is all nonsensical, we
don’t accept these half measures. We
want total and irrevocable removal of
sanctions.
“They cannot keep the president on the
sanctions list, what has Mugabe done?
We have said we are open to talking to
the EU but they have to remove those
sanctions, they are hurting our people.”
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since
independence from Britain in 1980. He
will be 90 on Friday. He has clashed
frequently with the West over his policies
and accused the U.S. and
Britain in in September of trying to
control his nation and its resources
during a U.N. speech.
EU members were divided when Mugabe
won a fifth term as president in the July
elections. African observers said the
Zimbabwe elections were fair; the
opposition denounced them as
fraudulent.
The EU invited Mugabe to take part in an
EU-Africa summit in Brussels in April and
offered an exemption from sanctions to
visit Europe.
Mugabe took part in EU-Africa summits
in Tripoli in 2010 and Lisbon in 2007,
although his presence at the Lisbon
summit prompted a boycott by then
British Prime Minister Gordon
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