ACTSA launches campaign to pressure EU to renew targeted sanctions

By Violet Gonda
15 January 2007

The current targeted sanctions against members of the Mugabe regime are up for review by the European Commission in February and it is widely feared that some member states like France and Portugal are talking about easing the restrictions. It’s reported that this is out of a belief that dialogue with the Zimbabwe government could still bring about change.

Critics say this is despite the fact that the ruling party has shown no signs of change resulting in living standards worsening. This has led several groups in Europe to embark on a campaign to lobby their Members of the European Parliament to stop the measures from being scaled down. They say it will be the same as condoning human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

The UK based Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) is spearheading the campaign, along with faith-based missions like Tearfund and trade unions in parts of Europe.

ACTSA Director Euan Wilmshurst said: “We have launched a campaign simply saying to the member states within the European Union that we would expect them to uphold the restrictive measures introduced originally in 2002 and upheld every year since.”

The groups who are working in solidarity with pro-democracy groups in Zimbabwe are concerned that although the economic situation is worsening in Zimbabwe, EU member states may drop the current sanctions. Wilmshurst said with the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe any discussion to water-down the targeted sanctions would be ridiculous.

The measures, which include asset freeze and a travel ban to stop individuals from travelling to the EU, have been a sore point for Robert Mugabe and his close associates. Mugabe has used political platforms to blame the problems in Zimbabwe on the sanctions.

The ACTSA Director said: “We know very well that the crisis in Zimbabwe has its roots in colonialism, post colonialist, and structural adjustment – and we wouldn’t shy away from the realities of that. But equally - for a regime that beats its own people and that denies its women the rights to very basic products, to then say that all the country’s woes are to do with the fact that a few members of the elite are unable to travel to Paris and Rome for shopping is ridiculous.”

The group says the sanctions on Mugabe must be held, to stop him and his regime from damaging the Zimbabwean people and economy any more than he has already.
ACTSA encourages everyone to go to their site www.actsa.org for more details on how they can lobby their parliamentarians.