No End to Zimbabwe Sanctions

President Zuma and Prime Minister Brown

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he wanted to see further progress on human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe before the European Union lifts sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and his allies. The Prime Minister defended sanctions on Zimbabwe after holding talks with South African President Jacob Zuma. The South African President who has failed to rein in on Mugabe, had called for them to be lifted. Zuma who has his own domestic problems to deal with, has been vilified in the British press for his promiscuity and reckless sexual behaviour. Zuma should not be calling for an end to sanctions on Zimbabwe – instead he should endeavour to ensure that Mugabe implements in full – the GNU agreement. It should only be then that sanctions must be lifted! The EU and the United States government are urged not to falter in their stance on imposing sanctions on the government in Harare presided over the brutal dictator Mugabe.

According to Gordon Brown “The sanctions that the European Union has in place do not target Zimbabwe or Zimbabweans, they target individuals who are responsible for violence and a number of businesses linked to them,”  ”We have reduced sanctions on some companies, we are ready to respond to other progress as it is made but I do emphasise the importance of the work of the commissions in emphasising human rights, the freedom of the press and the reforms of governance.”  Prior to winning the South African elections that brought him to power, Zuma had promised to rein in on Mugabe, but has failed to do so. This has dented his credibility in the region. He seems to have played into the hands of Mugabe’s trickery of promising to move forward with implementing the GNU agreement and reneging on it over and over.

At the press conference between the two leaders, Zuma went on to say “We are agreed that we should all put our heads together to find a solution in Zimbabwe so that Zimbabwe could move forward.” He said that there was the risk that some Zimbabweans could blame sanctions for stalling progress. Zuma is accompanied by Tobeka Madiba, his third current wife.

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