Maravi

(HERALD ) Lift sanctions on Zimbabwe now!

Lift sanctions on Zimbabwe now!

EDITOR -- As anti-war, community, political, youth, trade union activists and Pan Africanists along with other people of good conscience of all nationalities inside the United States and worldwide, we are declaring our full solidarity with the heroic struggle in Zimbabwe to defend the right to full independence and sovereignty.

At the heart of this struggle is the ongoing fight for the control of African land, illegally and brutally stolen beginning in the late 19th century by racist British colonisers led by Cecil Rhodes.

The Lancaster House Agreement -- signed by the representatives of the Zanu-Zapu guerilla movements and the British government in 1979 -- promised to legally transfer ownership of the millions of acres of arable land from a handful of very privileged white farmers back to the Zimbabwean people.

The British government reneged on this promise while the people of Zimbabwe patiently waited for reparations in the form of land reform to happen.

When their patience ran out after waiting 20 years for legal justice, the people had no other recourse but to expropriate the land themselves by any means necessary.

As a result of taking back what is rightfully their birthright, the land, the people of Zimbabwe have had to bear the full brunt of unmitigated ire and disdain on the part of the US and British governments and, more recently, the European Union governments.

This disdain is reflected in the political demonising of Government leaders, notably President Mugabe, who has defended the Zimbabwean people’s right to the land. Defending the people’s right to the land, the fruits of their labour and the country’s resources means recognising the right to self-determination and sovereignty without any imperialist interference.

This is President Mugabe’s "crime" in the eyes of the imperialist governments and their media.

Behind this demonising of President Mugabe lies the real crime -- the economic sanctions imposed by the US, Britain and other Western countries that have resulted in the collective punishment of the Zimbabwean people. These cruel sanctions for almost a decade have caused massive unemployment, malnourishment, hyperinflation, deeper poverty, lack of health care and fuel, the deterioration of the infrastructure and much more.

The recent cholera epidemic that has claimed the lives of thousands could have been prevented if water purification chemicals had not been banned under the sanctions. These genocidal attacks on the human rights of the people of Zimbabwe are very reminiscent of the sanctions imposed on the Palestinian population in Gaza by the US-backed Zionist state of Israel.

Let’s be clear -- President Mugabe is not to blame for the economic crisis in Zimbabwe; it is the sanctions. These economic sanctions, along with other austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, are acts of aggression against the people of Zimbabwe with a goal of igniting political instability and regime change.

We unequivocally denounce these sanctions as war crimes and the officials who initiated them as war criminals.

Even as an inclusive Government has been implemented, the sanctions remain in place. The people of Zimbabwe, like the people of Gaza, Iraq, Somalia and elsewhere, are inspiring examples of resisting all forms of imperialist war and occupation

Millions of people around the world are facing an unprecedented economic crisis, including the US, where foreclosures, evictions, layoffs, utility shut-offs, lack of health care, tuition fees and much more are skyrocketing at an alarming rate. We face the same enemies at home as do the people of Zimbabwe -- the worldwide clique of bankers and bosses who put their greed for profits before meeting people’s needs.

Our solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe is not just moral in character, but also material in character.

Their victory is also our victory. It is in this spirit of international solidarity that we will continue to work hand in hand with our sisters and brothers in Zimbabwe to demand from the US, British and other imperialist governments: End the economic sanctions now! Full land reform for the indigenous Zimbabweans! Respect the democratically elected leadership! Stop the demonising! Hands off Zimbabwe!

(This is a letter that has been circulating the globe calling for the lifting of the sanctions on Zimbabwe. Among the organisations that have appended their names to it are Africans Helping Africans, the December 12th Movement, Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST), Friends of Zimbabwe, the International Action Centre, All-People’s Congress, the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and many others, including several distinguished individuals.)

Labels: SANCTIONS

posted by MrK @ 6:32 PM