Maravi

(STICKY) (TALKZIMBABWE) Anti-sanctions drive gathers momentum

COMMENT - It is clear that unlike the people in South Africa who wanted to remove apartheid, the Zimbabwean people do not want economic sanctions put on their country or economy. This is why the MDC and UK and US governments are lying about the existence of economic sanctions and call them 'individual travel restrictions' or 'targeted sanctions'. They are however targeted at the people of Zimbabwe, in order to make their lives so miserable that they would vote for the neoliberal MDC, which would then privatise and deregulate at their harts content. And turn hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans off their land, creating a civil war.

Anti-sanctions drive gathers momentum
Posted by By Ralph Mutema at 17 May, at 23 : 42 PM

ZIMBABWE will soon launch a programme of action against sanctions after collecting over 2.5 million signatures from citizens. President Mugabe in March this year launched the anti-sanctions campaign that was followed by provincial and district launches across the country.

The programme saw Zimbabweans across the country voluntarily signing the National Anti-Sanctions Petition to show that sanctions were illegal and affecting the ordinary people.

The European Union and the United States, who claim that the sanctions are targeted at Zanu-PF leaders, tried to play down the campaign insisting that it was an exercise in futility.

Political analysts, however, said the anti-sanctions drive had caused a lot of anxiety among the EU states and their US counterparts. Zanu-PF national secretary for information and publicity Rugare Gumbo yesterday said Zimbabwe was ready to take the programme to another level.

“We would like to thank the nation for rallying behind the programme, signing the petition and we would like to urge Zimbabweans to continue signing the petition,” he said.

“We are going to mobilise Zimbabweans to stage demos against the countries that have imposed the illegal sanctions against the country.

“We would also like to petition these countries and sponsor resolutions and conferences at all levels against the illegal embargo,” he said.

The Zanu-PF spokesperson said the next level would also see Zimbabweans publicising the devastating effects of the sanctions against the peo-ple.

“We would also continue to mobilise other social interest groups like churches to show the world that the illegal sanctions have had a devastating effect on the populace.”

He added that sanctions had devastated the country’s productive sector.

“The sanctions have had a devastating effect on our industries, infrastructure and various other aspects of the economy. Now that the decision has come from the more than 2,5 million people who signed the petition, Government has a mandate from the people to act against the illegal embargo,” he said.

He said the signatures provided a seal for Government to start moving with speed to implement more programmes to empower the people.

“Programmes such as the indigenisation and empowerment would empower the people and their communities so that they would not suffer the effects of the sanctions.”

Gumbo said Zanu-PF would seek to prove the illegality of the sanctions.

The signatures, he said, would be turned into a legal challenge in both Zimbabwean and international courts.

“These signatures would also be presented at such forums as the Sadc, Comesa, African Union and the United Nations which can turn them into resolutions against the illegal sanctions.

“We can even use them at the International Court of Justice,” he said.

Gumbo said the programme would seek to mobilise and dramatise the social costs of the illegal sanctions and put pressure on countries and organisations that have imposed the illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe.

The MDC formations and their Western sponsors have, however, steadfastly refused to take part in the campaign insisting that the sanctions were targeted.

The Herald/TZG

Targeted like hell. ZDERA puts economic sanctions on The Government Of Zimbabwe - a term mentioned twice in Section 4C. This is the exact wording of ZDERA:

SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY.

(c) MULTILATERAL FINANCING RESTRICTION- ... the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against--

(1) any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or

(2) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution.

These are the effects of ZDERA, which went into effect on Jan. 1 2002:

Tobacco Exports:
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
548.8 594.1 434.6 321.3 226.7 203.8

(Tobacco exports in millions of US dollars, by year.)

Trade Deficit in million US$ (trade surplus is in negative numbers)
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
-295.6 -322.5 18.2 108.3 305.2 387.9 231.3

Source: Special Report FAO/WFP Crop And Food Supply Assessment Mission To Zimbabwe, 5 June 2007
Table 1: Zimbabwe - Key economic indicators, 2000-2007

Labels: RUGARE GUMBO, SANCTIONS, ZDERA

posted by MrK @ 12:32 PM