(TALKZIMBABWE) EU aware sanctions hurt ordinary people: Wikileaks

EU aware sanctions hurt ordinary people: Wikileaks
By: Our reporter
Posted: Thursday, February 3, 2011 9:52 pm

THE European Union tried “creative” ways of presenting illegal and ruinous sanctions on Zimbabwe to the world to hide their adverse impact on the country and its people, a confidential US State Department cable released by WikiLeaks reveals.

The revelations show that the EU, the US and MDC-T were aware that sanctions are meant to destabilize Zimbabwe and are not only targeted on less than 200 Zanu-PF officials only. The West and the MDC-T party have claimed that sanctions do not affect the national economy.

According to the leaked diplomatic dispatch, a sanctions plan code-named “reftel b” was to devise ways of imposing a total investment ban on Zimbabwe.

This was after their preferred candidate for Zimbabwe's presidency, MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, failed to win the 2008 presidential elections.

The plan was, however, dropped after realising that it would hurt British and American investments in Zimbabwe instead of just hurting the Zimbabwean economy and making people turn against Zanu-PF and its leadership.

Part of the cable reads: “The United Kingdom will push for further measures, including an investment ban, to be enacted in September (2008).

“However, the remaining foreign investments in Zimbabwe are British and American, and pursuing an investment ban is difficult.”

According to the cable, the Dutch government then proposed another plan they hoped would help disguise the embargo’s debilitating economic impact.

Holland’s proposal would see European companies stopping business ope-rations in Zimbabwe after claiming an “uneven” business environment.

“For example, governments could use ‘moral suasion’ rather than an investment ban, with Press statements such as ‘it’s inconceivable to do business in Zimbabwe’.”

“Tesco, UK, has stopped buying from Zimbabwe, and Shell is also considering a sale of assets in Zimbabwe,” the cable added.

Tesco, the UK supermarket chain, withdrew from Zimbabwe soon after the announcement of Presidential run-off election results, which gave President Mugabe a sweep of the polls.

In the same year, British companies BP and Shell indicated they would dispose of their assets in Zimbabwe and have since done so.

WikiLeaks disclosures have also revealed how Washington actively supported Tsvangirai — even though they had little faith in his party’s leadership credentials — inorder to effect regime change in Zimbabwe.

The leaks have been a big source of embarrassment for MDC-T, which former US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell said would need “massive hand-holding” should it ever get into power.