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Sanctions on Zim are illegal - Correa

Sanctions on Zim are illegal - Correa
By Inonge Noyoo
Friday September 28, 2007 [04:00]

THE sanctions on Zimbabwe are illegal and unfair, Cuban Ambassador to Zambia Francisco Correa has charged. And Ambassador Correa has praised President Levy Mwanawasa’s stance that SADC will boycott the European Union/African Union summit in Portugal if Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is not allowed to attend.

Addressing 25 trainee journalists participating in the fourth training programme at The Post Newspaper’s head office in Lusaka on Wednesday, Ambassador Correa said sanctions were an imperialist policy that needed to be ousted.

Ambassador Correa said Zimbabwe was no longer a colonial state which needed talking down to.

“They think they are in the colonial time where they dictate what to do and the slaves have to obey. We will not accept that. Is Zimbabwe allowed to go to England or even France and tell them what to do? Then why should they tell Zimbabwe what to do?” he asked.

Ambassador Correa said Zimbabwe must be given a chance to find their own solutions to their problems.

“Imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe will not help. Zimbabwe is a sovereign state and it is independent, it should be left to decide what to do,” he said.

Ambassador Correa said Cuba believes in respecting the political system in other countries, including Zimbabwe.

“We respect the political system in there and believe it’s up to the Zimbabwe people themselves to decide on their fate and I think they will find the solution just as they have been doing since they gained their independence in 1980,” Ambassador Correa said.

He said Zimbabwe had managed to find solutions to its problems and likened its land redistribution policy to that of Cuba.
“People may say they have made a mistake but it’s up to them.

It’s up to the people of Zimbabwe to decide what they should do. Sanctions, restrictions or imposing embargoes will never help. I wish Zimbabwe would find a solution and people of Zimbabwe would continue to develop because Zimbabwe is a rich country and the people of Zimbabwe are very intelligent and friendly,” he said.

And Ambassador Correa said President Mwanawasa’s stance on the EU/AU summit was the most ‘solidaritarian’ position anyone could ever take.

“If one member is not allowed to go, the rest should also not go in solidarity. It’s a solidaritarian position from Zambia towards a neighbour and a brother on sanctions. The position is the best. If one country is not invited, don’t attend,” he said.

He hoped that Zimbabwe with the help of sister countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania would find a way forward to its current problems.

And Ambassador Correa has said climate change was a threat to human beings.
He said climate was the greatest concern at the moment as it affected every country.

“Climate change is continually affecting our climate. We have only one planet, which we have to protect because we have nowhere else to go. It is not the responsibility of the poor countries to protect our planet but it is the responsibility of the highly industrialised countries to protect the planet,” Ambassador Correa said.

He said every country was affected by climate change and as such it required everyone’s concern.

Ambassador Correa said countries that were topping in gas emissions should own up and work on reducing the emissions because if they continued to ignore, people would continue to suffer as time passes.

“Most of the natural disasters are affecting countries all over the world be it Asia, Africa, Latin America, Caribbean countries and European countries. As Cuba, we are also adversely affected as we often experience hurricane and as such we are concerned,” Ambassador Correa said.

“We will continue to demand that capitalist countries assert the realistic of climate change and accept it and put measures to reduce gas emissions. Maybe these countries think that climate change will only affect us the poor countries which is not a reality because it will affect all of us.”

And Ambassador Correa said Cuba would not turn back or denounce its revolution.

He said Cubans had reached a point of no return in their revolution and that Cuba would strive to better the lives of its citizens through policies such as educating the masses, providing employment to all and exploiting its natural resources especially the tourism industry.

Ambassador Correa said Cuba would continue to work very hard despite the fact that it did not have many resources, as it did not receive any financial help from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Ambassador Correa said Cuba would also continue to demand for the release of the Cuban Five, who have been jailed by the United States, with the support and solidarity and other countries.

Labels: FRANCISCO CORREA, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 4:34 PM