Australia eases targeted Zimbabwe sanctions

Posted by on Monday, March 11, 2013 in Sanctions, Zimbabwe politics | 19 comments

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr

By Alex Bell
11 March 2013

Australia has joined the European Union (EU) in rewarding the coalition government for ‘progress’, by easing its restrictive measures still in place against the Mugabe regime.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said 55 individuals would be de-listed, including some ZANU PF politicians, members of the judiciary and media, provincial governors and leading business figures.

“These individuals are not considered to be hindering democratic reforms or undermining the ultimate goal of free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. Nor are they thought to be involved in human rights abuses,” Carr said.

98 individuals and four entities remain on the list of measures, which include travel and financial restrictions, an arms embargo and prohibition on defence links.
Carr said that Zimbabwe’s reform process had been “painfully slow”, but leaders such as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were making ‘genuine progress’.

Carr had announced in February that his country’s targeted measures against Zimbabwe would begin to ease, as soon as a date for a constitutional referendum was set. This is part of a three stage roadmap Australia has pledged to implement, leading to the total removal of the measures.

Under the roadmap, Australia will continue easing the sanctions when a peaceful and credible constitutional referendum is held, and if free and fair elections are held. Sanctions would be reintroduced if progress towards free and fair elections became derailed.

Last month, the EU also moved to ‘reward’ Zimbabwe for its progress, by easing its targeted measures against 21 individuals linked to the Mugabe regime. This includes the self styled Masvingo ‘war vet’ Shuvai Mahofa who is dubbed the ‘iron lady’ of the province, and who is linked to the illegal seizure of land in the Save Valley Conservancy. Also de-listed was ‘war vet’ Gilbert Moyo, who led campaigns of violence and terror in Chegutu for many years.

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  • Chimbwidos Warvets

    Economic sanctions without exception should be lifted against Zimbabwe. They have never been legal in the first place and consequently no strings should be attached to them.

    • Nyoni

      More nonsense from the chimp

  • ndaba

    Restrictive measures were imposed on ZANU PF individuals and ZANU PF entities by FREE countries in response to gross human rights abuses, murder, rape committed and orchestrated by those ZANU PF individuals, They were legally and legitimately approved by the legally elected legitimate governments of those countries,

    The reasons for imposing these measures in the first place have not gone away. In fact ZANU PF violence is again on the increase. The recent murders of Christopowers and Soloman Mujuru are istructive and all this criminality is going on whilst the so-called Zimbabwe Republic Police turn a blind eye or tamper with evidence to protect ZANU PF.

    What is clear is that the apartheid regime would still be in power in South Africa if those same free countries lacked the resolve that we are witnessing right now. Removing these restrictive measures are inadvertently subverting justice and undermining the prospects democracy. The tragedy is that there are a handful of politicians in the Democratic camp, like David Coltart, who have gone to countries like Australia and sold them the lemon and pulled the wool over their eyes by selling the fallacy that Zimbabwe is in “transition”.

    Nothing could be further from the truth

    As a result, it has given the green light to ZANU PF to carry on doing what they do best – commit violence against Zimbabweans to scare them into voting for ZANU PF.

    I congratulate the Australian government for showing such naive stupidity which is of zero help to the oppressed people of Zimbabwe and immense assistance to ZANU PF

    • Chimbwidos Warvets

      You are insane. You are either a rhodie or Boer in South Africa. No true Zimbabwean would like any country in the so-called civilised world to impose economic sanctions against any other sovereign and independent state. It has always been illegal and wrong that Australia had imposed economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. There was no justification in doing so for Australia has no better human rights record than Zimbabwe. It is home to the Aborigines who for hundreds of years have not enjoyed the same human and civil rights as their white counterparts although they are the indigenous people of this country. It is only in recent times that the Australian government has started to pay reparations to the Aborigines but still there are still profound disparities between the living standards of the white people and the indigenous people of this country. In fact, no country in the world even those that claim to be in the first world, have a good human and civil rights record as racism is still being practised in these countries. No country in the so-called civilized world is above board when it comes to practising racism as the black people world over still suffer from human rights abuses.
      The black people are still being treated as second class citizens in all European countries and the Americas. When they say they are the champions of human and civil rights, I just laugh and drop the bible I will be reading because it all blue lies.

      • Nyoni

        You are an Idiot talking utter nonsense

        • Chimbwidos Warvets

          I do not mind being called an idiot talking utter nonsense if you can support your statement. I would expect the above statement from an idiot because if you are not, then I would expect a critique of my article in ways that are rational and logical. Only a four-year old child can say this nonsense because its mind will still not have developed. Write something to support your claim, you sausage.

          • Nyoni

            You are beginning to rant just like Kusuwere’s wife. Are you another zanu ngochani, ngochani?

          • Chimbwidos Warvets

            We can not afford to waste time on issues that are irrelevant, mate. It is best left to squirrels not us human beings

      • Nyoni

        and you are not only insane, you should sent to a Zoo and fed peanuts

        • Chimbwidos Warvets

          Oh no, no, my gosh, Aah, this indecent guy wants to sent me to a zoo where I will be fed on peanuts and not my sadza ne nyama nematapiri kana kuti mbatatisi. How unkind is that guys?

          • Nyoni

            Sadza indeed. You are not supposed to eat sadza chimp, you idiot. Your master instructed you a while back to eat potatoes.

            And what about the 1.4 million Zimbabweans who face starvation this year as a result of your master’s keep-himself-in-office voodoo policies? Where are they going to get their sadza – from the West while you look East and boot lick your new colonial masters?

            You are more stupid than I originally thought.

            So just stay in your trench and keep your ugly face down below ground level as we will soon be looking to interview people like you regarding certain crimes against humanity.

          • Chimbwidos Warvets

            It is only three months when elections are going to be held and once you win as your political party has projected, then all your problems will be over. Your leader, Tsvangirai will go to stay at Zimbabwe House with the first lady and one of his wives will be staying at the State House. As you will be commanding the majority in Parliament, you will have the latitude to change all the laws you do not want and put into effect those laws that you want.
            Let there be a ceasefire between the two of us as we look forward to a better future when Tsvangirai will be the new head of state in three months time and Mugabe is put in the dustbin of history. When this happens, hunger and starvation and the voodoo policies Mugabe introduced in the country as you say will be a thing of the past. So keep your fingers crossed and pray to God with view your dreams come true.

    • Nyoni

      Excellent and accurate Ndaba. Thank you. Those little penile blood sucking engorging zanu pf apologist liars like chimp-wanker-weedeater think that they can use and abuse the people of Zimbabwe at their leisure

      • Chimwidos Warvets

        Where have you been you f….g idiot who supports tosh. You are a parasite who just read other peoples’ work while you dine and wine when the rest of us are in trenches fighting battles. What a coward!

        • Nyoni

          Keep your fat brain dead head down Chimp-wimp. I shoot straight. The only cowards I know are in zanu pf. They travel around in numbers beating up Zimbabweans or burning down their homes. Recent Victims that come to mind are Soloman Muguru and Christopowers. Yes the only cowards in Zimbabwe are Zanu pf. The greatest coward of the lot is your paranoid rat-ass leader

          • Chimbwidos Warvets

            Give us your evidence not speculation and falsehoods you are used to spewing all over the place. In any case, what is the subject for discussion here? I thought it was about economic sanctions the Australian government has lifted against Zimbabwe. And if so what has the late Solomon Mujuru and Christopowers to do with the subject under discussion. Hudofo whakawanda blazo. Sevenzesa njere dzako blazo as it is a waste of our time talking of the irrelevant.

        • Tanonoka Joseph Whande

          Chimbwido, or whatever your cowardly name is, why don’t you want to debate issues?
          Why do you always want to move the topic? Can’t you deal with other people’s opinions in a civil way?
          We
          are all reacting to what is happening around us and we, (you, I and all
          Zimbabweans), have a right to put in our cent’s worth.
          Your
          reactions to other people’s opinions are that of a vindictive person who
          cares little about any Zimbabwean as long as they are getting their
          fill.
          I am asking you in a brotherly manner to stop this nonsense and engage Zimbabweans in topics at hand and not get personal.
          We need everyone’s opinions, including yours.
          Ironically, although you attack me and Wilbert Mukori relentlessly at times, I have always noticed that you do
          raise a lot of interesting points that we all might want to follow up on.
          But
          your arrogance and the manner in which you treat fellow Zimbabweans
          dismiss you as a loud mouth, nyira mativi who gets scripts from
          somewhere else.
          I have noticed you are more intelligent than you
          pretend and once in a while you are tempted to go full throttle but,
          noticing you cannot do that for whatever reason, you attack
          people and actually get personal, abandoning your points.
          So unnecessary.
          You cloud up your otherwise decent contributions.
          I
          do not enjoy attacking ZANU-PF, or the MDC-T or any of those Mickey
          Mouse political parties out there because they all aspire to represent
          us, govern us and take care of our nation.
          For that reason, we have the right to challenge and criticise any one of them.
          No party should take your support for them for granted, Chimbwido.
          We are Zimbabweans and we must share ideas without scolding each other in the manner that you do.
          We don’t belong anywhere but to ourselves and tomorrow is our baby not anyone else’s.
          Stand up as an individual and say your part. Do not scold others.
          Interestingly, I enjoy your banter with Mukori and Super Mondo (man of few words). But you always mess up a
          good debate by slipping away to pee in the waterhole. Stay on course, dear friend.
          On my part, I am not an analyst,
          not an academic or commentator.
          I am just an individual reacting
          to what is happening around me. Full stop.
          But when I criticise ZANU-PF, the ZANUs say that I am an MDC person. And when I criticise the MDC, I
          am labelled a ZANU-PF front. All these people forget
          that
          I am Zimbabwean and all I want is the best for myself, my family my
          country – regardless of which political party manages that on my behalf.

          No one, and I mean NO ONE, including your boss Mugabe and yourself Chimbwido, has more rights on our land
          and country than any other.
          Come
          on, be a good sport, will you? Of course, you can support your party
          but give those excellent opinions of yours without getting personal.
          Hit me without mentioning my mama and I will hit you back the same way. No blood on the floor! How nice!!!!
          Let’s go, man. Let’s go! Zim is waiting.

          • Chimbwidos Warvets

            Thank you very much for the advice my brother. I will try not to be offensive to you or anyone on condition that we all behave in ways that are civilised. I always want to keep my cool my brother but somehow someone out there always gives me an unsolicited shot range left hook which I find irresistible not to fire back. It is warmly accepted and agreed that there should be a ceasefire and I will strive to do just that. It is my fervent hope everybody will read your beautiful article above and behave themselves as this advice from Tanonoka Joseph Whande is not a one sided affair. It takes two to tango. Time will tell.

            My only criticism of your article this time around is your unfounded and unfortunate statement you have deliberately posted to hurt my feelings which reads ‘No one, and I mean NO ONE, including your boss Mugabe and yourself Chimbwido, has more rights on our land and country than any other’. I must point out that Mugabe is not my boss and neither do I represent ZANU PF as what I write are my personal views and opinions which have nothing to do with any political party. Having said this, I must point out that I give Mugabe respect as the Head of State and Government of Zimbabwe and Tsvangirai as the Prime Minister of this country

            I am libertarian and as such I have an open mind although I agree with ZANU PF on its philosophies on land redistribution and the need for the indigenous people of this country to own and control their economy. It is not that I hate foreigners but I can more about the interests of my own people than I would care about the interests of foreigners in my country. And all so-called civilised countries of the world care more about their own people and so should Zimbabwe.

          • Nyoni

            This man Tanonoka is on to idiots like chimpweedeater. VIVA TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE VIVA!