(HERALD) Lift Zim sanctions, Sadc MPs tell EU

Lift Zim sanctions, Sadc MPs tell EU
Monday, 23 May 2011 22:54
Bulawayo Bureau

Head of the Zimbabwean parliamentary delegation to the ACP-EU, Cde Makhosini Hlongwane who is the MP for Mberengwa East

THE Sadc Group of Parliamentarians in the African, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) has urged the EU to lift all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe. The call was made last week in Budapest, Hungary during the sitting of the 21st JPA of the ACP-EU.

A senior EU official also admitted at the meeting that indeed, the illegal sanctions are impeding the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement and undermining the work of the facilitator to the inter-party dialogue, South Africa President, Jacob Zuma.

Head of the Zimbabwean parliamentary delegation to the ACP-EU, Cde Makhosini Hlongwane who is the MP for Mberengwa East, said in an interview at the weekend: "We have just come back from a very successful JPA of the ACP-EU where the Sadc community of Parliamentarians within the province of the ACP-EU made a clarion call for the lifting of all forms of sanctions, particularly economic sanctions against Zimbabwe," said Cde Hlongwane.

SANCTIONS

The Sadc parliamentarians called on the EU to stand guided by the resolution of the 30th summit of Heads of State and Government held in Windhoek, Namibia in August last year, which called for Europe to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe.

In a statement, the Sadc grouping said: "We reiterate the call on the international community, particularly the European Union, to lift all forms of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe in view of the negative effects they have on Zimbabwe and the Sadc region in general."

The Sadc parliamentarians also noted the commitment of the Zimbabwean political actors to the GPA.

"We therefore call upon the EU and members of the European Parliament to support the SADC initiative in order to promote full political and economic recovery in Zimbabwe," they Sadc legislators said in the statement presented by a representative from Namibia, the current Sadc chair.

In response, the president in office of the EU council, Mr Janos Martonyi said the EU understood that sanctions were an impediment to the full implementation of the GPA.

Mr Martonyi also noted that the EU understood that the sanctions were undermining the role of the facilitator, President Zuma and had led to the hardening of positions by some partners in the inclusive Government.

As Sadc intensifies its fight against the illegal western sanctions on Zimbabwe, a delegation from the region, led by President Zuma's facilitation team, travelled to Washington DC, London and Brussels urging the West to remove the discredited embargo.

The ACP-EU is a platform for diplomatic, economic and political engagement between the EU and the three regions of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The organisation meets four times annually to review progress made on implementation of agreed policies.

Recently, Zimbabwe launched the Zimbabwe-EU dialogue under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement with a view to normalising strained relations between the country and the EU.

A total 107 countries are members of the ACP-EU.