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(TALKZIMBABWE) MDC-T must act on sanctions now - Zanu PF

MDC-T must act on sanctions now: Zanu PF
Ralph Mutema
Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:17:00 +0000

THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) must immediately ask the West to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe as they have taken part in the formulation of those sanctions in the first, Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo has said in the wake of revelations by Britain that the lifting of sanctions is dependent on the MDC-T.

On Tuesday during a Question and Answer session in the House of Commons, British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband said that Britain was waiting for MDC-T to ask for the sanctions to be removed.

Miliband also revealed that some of the sanctions in place are controlled by PM Tsvangirai's MDC-T party.

MDC-T leaders have in recent months tried to wriggle out of the Global Political Agreement obligation of lobbying for an end to Western sanctions by claiming that they hold no sway over the European Union and the US position on the embargo.

Speaking in Harare yesterday, Khaya-Moyo said, "Britain has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of sanctions. They have admitted that the MDC called for the sanctions and it can only remove them on the request of the MDC.

"Thus Tsvangirai should go and ask for the removal of those sanctions. The declared and undeclared sanctions are affecting the country because we are not getting lines of credit and companies are being forced to close."

Newsnet quoted MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa as saying sanctions were "an outstanding GPA issue". The spokesman has previously denied that sanctions were an outstanding issue saying the MDC-T party did not have a hand in the sanctions formulation process.

A founding member of the MDC, Gabriel Chaibva said last year that the MDC was the brainchild of the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy Recovery Act (ZIDERA) legislation which imposes sanctions on Zimbabwe.

“I was there when Zidera was crafted in Nyanga by the MDC. At that point Munyaradzi Gwisai stood up in protest and told everyone present that the MDC had been taken over by the U.S. and Europe and business was no longer controlled from Harvest House…,” said Chaibva in September last year.

The MDC-T secretary for international relations Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro tried to dismiss Miliband’s statement saying it was just an "insinuation" and did not indicate that they had any influence over Britain or the EU’s decisions.

Miliband categorically stated that they were waiting for instructions from the MDC-T party regarding the removal of sanctions.

"In respect of sanctions, (that) is something that we will discuss. We have ... to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country," Miliband told the House of Commons in response to a question posed by Henry Bellingham, the Conservative MP for North-West Norfolk.

Miliband also revealed that some sanctions are controlled by the MDC-T party of PM Tsvangirai, but he was not in a position to inform the House which ones were controlled by that party.

"A range of EU sanctions is in place. Different sanctions have been brought in at different points, and different sanctions are the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system.

"Some are controlled by the MDC. I would be happy to give ... a more detailed answer, but I think that it might detain the House beyond the time available for the question."

In the GPA the MDC-T party agreed to call for the lifting of the illegal sanctions and campaign for the closure of pirate radio stations illegally beaming into Zimbabwe.

MDC-T party ministers still offer interviews to these pirate stations despite having agreed to campaign for their closure or licensing.

Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, HOUSE OF COMMONS, SANCTIONS, ZANU-PF, ZDERA

posted by MrK @ 9:16 AM