EU gesture on sanctions is useless: Zanu-PF

This article was written by on 16 July, at 19 : 23 PM

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EU gesture on sanctions is useless: Zanu-PF

ZANU-PF says the European Union has no role in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe and any conditional lifting of sanctions is a useless gesture.

Justice Minister and EU-Zimbabwe Reengagement Team member, Patrick Chinamasa, dismissed as ‘unintelligible’ reports that the EU wanted to suspend sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe after the country met certain conditions.

An unconfirmed report in the British paper, the Daily Telegraph, indicated that the Western bloc was preparing to suspend the economic embargo imposed on the country in 2002.

European officials told the paper recently that there was now an agreement to bring Zimbabwe “back in from the cold, but only if new conditions are met”.

These include the publication of a new constitution, the adoption of human rights laws, a successful referendum and the conduct of free elections next year.


The EU Commission’s resolutions are expected to be made public in Brussels this month-end.

Chinamasa said anything short of unconditional lifting of the embargo was not acceptable to Zimbabwe.

“We went to Brussels to demand unconditional lifting the sanctions because they are in the first place illegal.

“The EU sanctions just like the US sanctions have no basis in international law because they were not authorised by the UN Security Council,” said Chinamasa.

“Any suspension of the sanctions that is subject to any conditionality is a meaningless gesture and no one can be happy except those who sympathise with countries that imposed them.

“The way Zanu-PF read it is that they (sanctions) will be re-imposed if Zanu-PF win elections.”

Chinamasa added that the EU wanted to hoodwink Zimbabweans to think that their gesture was out of goodwill yet it was clearly unintelligible.

He said conditional lifting of sanctions was not worthy efforts being made by the EU.

The re-engagement team made it clear in Brussels that the EU had no role in supervising affairs of other sovereign states such as Zimbabwe.

“We made it very clear to Lady Aston that Zimbabwe is a sovereign state. The EU should not arrogate itself the role to supervise us.

“The current crop of leadership in Europe still consider themselves as colonial masters. What jurisdiction do they have over our nation?” asked Chinamasa.


Zimbabwe wants good relations with the EU, but the European bloc’s attitude showed that it was not committed to that.

“They are maintaining the same exploitative regime of their forefathers that we fought against,” he said.

Chinamasa said the EU was not being sincere on its approach towards the whole re-engagement process.

He said the EU was now shifting goal posts because initially they said sanctions were imposed in protest over the land reform programme.

European diplomats told Western media that Britain was of the opinion that maintaining the embargo would affect its access to Zimbabwe’s vast mineral resources.

The East has been making headway in getting lucrative deals as Government embarked on a successful Look East Policy.

Attorney General Mr Johannes Tomana told The Sunday Mail that the Registrar of the General Court of the EU, Mr Emmanuel Coulon, has served the Council of the European Commission with papers to respond to the case, in which the Government chief legal advisor and 120 others are suing the bloc.

The EU has two months to respond to the case. Mr Coulon acknowledged that Harare had regularised its application and also confirmed papers have already been dispatched to the defendants.

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7 Comments


  1. Justice for Africa, 11 months ago Reply

    I do not know why is Zimbabwe still having diplomatic ties with the USA/EU.
    The USA/EU will only settle for owning Zimbabwe like they own the rest of
    Africa.

    We (Africans) are the ones feeding the USA/EU and maintaining their excessive lifestyle.
    if Zanu-pF knew what was happening it would have already listed the USA/EU has a
    threat to our humanity and ban them by law to never even have any link to us.

    Iran doesn’t speak to the USA, doesn’t have any link with that nation because of it satanic
    nature. Zimbabwe seem to think there is hope to have an equal relation with the EU.

    Stop dreaming and see them as who they are colonialists therefore moving forwards
    must be done without them. if you think you cannot do without them then they will
    re-colonize zimbabwe.

    Watch how the ruling party of South Africa the ANC honored President Mugabe
    at their 100 years birthday celebration here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZVoufNaXN8&list=PL2766D2684897AB5D&index=15&feature=plpp_video


  2. Observer, 11 months ago Reply

    My apology Mutero.I was responding to Nyati,s slavish view.Shalom


  3. Observer, 11 months ago Reply

    @Mutero, Mugabe has said repeatedly that they are not interested in British aid,investment yes,but contolled investment i.e 51%/49% ownership split in favour of Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe is the rightfull owner of all it’s resources,not Britain.Shalom


  4. Nyathi, 11 months ago Reply

    So you only like the EU when it makes donations to Zimbabwe and when it gives some aid. This is hypocrisy at its best and stupidity at its worst. Why don’t you tell the EU to disappear when it wants to offer you aid. This is crazy. Many writers like Reason argue that America and Britain are bad, yet live in those countries and are happy to receive a life of luxury in those countries and mourn when the US does not want to do business with dead Zimbabwe. This is the problem with African politics, never calculated and led by people who think they know a lot, yet know and do nothing except criticise.


  5. Godfrey Mnangagwa, 11 months ago Reply

    Chinamasa is spot on about unconditional removal of sanctions. We cannot have these people kill our people and then come up with these useless gestures. The embargo is illegal anyway, so why should we compromise on something that is outside the law? Zimbabweans have seen the worst and these sanctions will not make them forget about how the EU and the West abandoned them and killed them by imposing sanctions on the country with a UN Security Council resolution to that effect.


  6. Nyasha, 11 months ago Reply

    The EU is now desperate for Zim diamonds, lol.


  7. Robert Mutero, 11 months ago Reply

    EU can go to hell. They now realise that Zimbabwe has managed to survive without them, now they want to re-engage. We do not want their silly gestures in Zimbabwe. Where were they when people were dying of cholera when they stopped all help to the country. This will be the EU’s worst foreign policy disaster, all because of Tony Blair.


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