(HERALD ZW) Latest: US embassy staffer booed, heckled by Masvingo youths
January 23, 2014 Costa Mano Local News
George Maponga in Masvingo
There was drama at the Masvingo Civic Centre, Wednesday evening, after a US embassy staffer was booed and heckled by youths protesting the illegal economic sanctions imposed by Washington on Zimbabwe.
The youths booed and heckled programme assistant of the Zimbabwe-United States Alumni Association (ZUSAA), Ms Corra-Leigh Magiya Magiya, during a question and answer segment after her presentation on the Business Entrepreneur Exchange Programme.
The programme is under the Young African Leaders Initiative which every year sends about 50 local youths to the US for training in business and entrepreneurship, public management and civic leadership.
Trouble started at the event after some youths sitting in the public gallery demanded to know why the US government targeted only 50 youths under the African Leaders Initiative when other Zimbabweans were mired in poverty because of illegal sanctions.
They rapped the US for hypocrisy saying Washington’s policies had economically ruined Zimbabwe.
The meeting abruptly ended after the youths started singing revolutionary songs denouncing the US government and its regime change policies in Zimbabwe.
Zanu-PF national deputy political commissar in the Youth League Cde Talent Majoni who attended the meeting, defended the heckling and booing accusing the US government of covertly pursuing the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe.
“We simply wanted to know why the US government targets only 50 youths in Zimbabwe for training in their country as if they are doing it in good faith because their sanctions are hurting millions of ordinary Zimbabweans. Our point is that there is nothing that our youths can learn from the US which is known for causing suffering in other nations across the globe,” he said.
Cde Majoni added that rather than learning from US President Barack Obama, President Mugabe’s visionary leadership and his spirited push to economically empower the oppressed was a far much better lesson to local youths.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, EMBASSY, SANCTIONS, USA, ZDERA
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Mediocrity in our foreign missions
By Editor
Tue 03 Dec. 2013, 14:00 CAT
Request Muntanga, Kalomo UPND member of parliament, says "there should be a fairest minimum standard set for those going into diplomatic service so that the country can get proper representation".
And Jack Mwiimbu, Monze Central UPND member of parliament, says "professionalism in the public service should be promoted".
No one can sensibly argue against what Request and Jack are saying. Without professionalism in the public service, government will not function efficiently, effectively and in an orderly manner.
It cannot be denied that, as Jack observes, "those posted in foreign service also lack credentials. As a result, staffing in foreign missions is mediocre". This needs to be corrected. And this can be corrected if there is a desire to do so.
The practice of sending unqualified relatives, friends and ruling party cadres to diplomatic missions started more than two decades ago. Attempts to make foreign service postings professional failed. People were trained for many months at NIPA with the hope of them going into foreign service. Very few of such NIPA graduates are in our foreign service today. What is needed for them to go into our foreign service doesn't seem to be professional qualifications but personal connections. They should either be relatives or friends of highly placed people in government and the ruling party. This qualification is not an easy one for everyone to get. You can't choose your relatives, you are simply born into a family without choice. And there is a limit to how much access one can have towards certain people to make them one's friends. Even among party cadres, only a few manage to have direct access to the key leadership. In general, there is little merit in the way people are selected for posting to the foreign service.
As a result, people with no abilities or skills to do the jobs required of a foreign service officer are the ones employed as such. It is good for these unemployed citizens, but it is certainly not good for the country and it doesn't serve the common good of all.
Diplomatic missions are very important for a country that wants to move forward, to make progress and improve the lives of its people.
When Zambian diplomats negotiate a treaty, attend a state dinner, or arrange a visa for a traveller to Zambia, they all have the same mission - to represent the interests and policies of Zambia.
An ambassador is the President's highest-ranking representative to a specific nation or international organisation abroad. An effective ambassador has to be a strong leader - a good manager, a resilient negotiator and a respected representative of Zambia. A key role of an ambassador is to coordinate the activities not only of the foreign service officers and staff serving under him, but also representatives of other Zambian institutions in the country.
Therefore, this calls for professional, well-trained diplomats who can effectively and efficiently represent Zambia's interests abroad under the direction of the ambassador. This also calls for foreign service officers who are capable of listening to and observing what is going on in the host country, analyse it and report to the ambassador and Lusaka. This demands the posting to our foreign missions of officers or staff who are able to understand or appreciate in a more sensitive manner the needs of other countries and their people.
Given these responsibilities, those we post to our foreign missions should have the necessary skills needed by these jobs. Some of the officers or staff should be very well versed in economic matters and be able to negotiate new trade laws and deals. We also need officers who are action-oriented "go-to" leaders responsible for all embassy operations from real estate to people, to budget.
This is a political relation requiring good political officers in our embassies who can keep the ambassador up to date on the political events and changes occurring in the country. And these being diplomatic missions in itself calls for officers with skills in public diplomacy to build mutual understanding and support for Zambia's policies by reaching directly to publics in foreign countries working with the media and all manner of people-to-people exchange.
Our embassies also need people who are well trained in consular duties and whose primary job is assisting and protecting Zambian citizens abroad. If you lose your passport, find yourself in trouble with the law, or want to get married to a foreigner overseas, our consular officers should be able to help you. Consular officers also issue visas to non-Zambian citizens who wish to travel, work, study or live in Zambia. This requires some reasonable knowledge of consular duties. If we send people who have no understanding of these issues, we should expect a poor service in this regard.
And due to the high level of interaction between countries in our interconnected world of today, professional diplomatic officers are needed in each country to aid in and allow such interactions to occur.
As we have already stated, our diplomatic missions handle very important issues on behalf of our government and our people. And as such, a lot of attention should be paid to the quality of officers and staff posted to these missions. The embassy is responsible for representing the whole country abroad and handling major diplomatic issues, such as preserving the rights of citizens abroad. The ambassador is the highest official in the embassy and acting as the chief diplomat and spokesperson for our country. This certainly calls for certain qualities that cannot be ignored if good representation is what we are looking for.
We, therefore, need diplomats who are capable of efficiently and effectively representing our country in the host country; protecting the interests of our country and its citizens in the country they are serving in; negotiating with the government of the host country; accurately and intelligently monitoring and reporting on conditions and developments in the commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between the host country and our country. These are not easy tasks. They require certain levels of experience and education. And if we really want to do well as a country, we have to change the way we appoint people to diplomatic postings.
We do appreciate the fact that things have been wrong for a long time and a culture of doing things the wrong way has taken root. But this is a revolutionary government out to change many wrong entrenched practices. And as such, this wrong approach to the staffing of our diplomatic missions should be stopped by this government and not perpetrated by it. Therefore, the observations made by Request and Jack deserve very favourable consideration.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, REQUEST MUNTANGA
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(STICKY) (NEWZIMBABWE) Sanctions don’t create potholes, US envoy
Shame, shame, shame to the United States! ... Mugabe berates US over sanctions
13/02/2014 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
COMMENT - This is the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe - what a lying lawyer. Admit to the existence of economic sanctions, so you can admit to the effects of your economic sanctions. They are still lying about the existence and effect of economic sanctions, rather than repeal them. Shame on America for being used to implement Rockefeller/Rothschild/British Crown/Dutch Crown neo-colonial system (Rothschild Bank funded De Beers in 1887, after which the renowned imperialist Cecil Rhodes became it's Founding Chairman of the board of directors in 1888), shame on the MDC. However, in the la-la-land narrative of Ambassador Wharton, Zimbabwe is free from outside influence. Free to set it's own domestic and foreign policy. Liars, thieves and murderers.
On the various statistics surrounding the economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, see my April 2010 post here, which includes a statement from then Georgia Representative Cynthia McKinney, who had it right from the start. - MrK
ZIMBABWE’S economic and political problems are self-made and a shift in policy could assist in developing a new trajectory for the country, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton said Thursday.
“My fundamental point in all of this is that Zimbabwe has the right and the power to make policy decisions.
Just not redistribute the land that was stolen under the colonialism and UDI, both of which the American government supported, land that should have a) never been stolen in the first place and 2) should have been given back in 1965. How about some back rent? - MrK
"Some of these have had significant demonstrable effects on the economy, effects far greater than the targeted sanctions,” Wharton told a Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) meeting in Harare.
Still lying about the existence of economic sanctions, like ZDERA. And pray tell, what are the 'economic effects' of 'targeted sanctions', you lying hypocrite?
Here is what is in ZDERA, and you can tell for yourself whether the objective of the sanctions are 'individuals' or 'the Government of Zimbabwe' as a whole. From the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, S.494 of the 107th US Congress:
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
(c) MULTILATERAL FINANCING RESTRICTION- Until the President makes the certification described in subsection (d), and except as may be required to meet basic human needs or for good governance, 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.
So, what do your lying eyes tell you - are these sanctions against individuals (targeted or otherwise), or against 'the Government of Zimbabwe'?
Talking about 'targeted sanctions', blaming War Veterans' pensions, SHAMEFUL.
- MrK
President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party insist sanctions imposed by the US and European countries are responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic problems.
They are, and were intended to. As economic sanctions always are. If anyone is naive or ignorant enough to doubt the genocidal effect of economic sanctions, let's ask Madeleine Albright (of the Albright Stonebridge Group, which is co-chaired with Sandy Berger, who is also on the International Crisis Group), and Bill Richardson (former Sr. Managing Director at Kissinger & Associates, and executive at Citi Bank).
(YOUTUBE) Madeleine Albright Says Deaths Of 500,000 Iraqi Children Is Worth It
And in case you thought you misheard that, or she misspoke, here is fellow clintonite, the Kissinger Associates employee Bill Richardson:
(YOUTUBE) Richardson: 500,000 dead kids OK in pursuit of U.S. policy
Admit it, Bruce, a couple of tens of thousands of dead Zimbabweans is more than acceptable in the pursuit of US policy in Zimbabwe, after all, they own 20% of the world's known diamond reserves, and De Beers wants it. Over 60,000 dead Libyans, including the lynchings of Black Libyans, was more than acceptable in pursuit of Libya's 47.1 billion barrels of known oil reserves - just ask Susan E. Rice and her 'responsibility to protect'. - MrK
The sanctions were imposed over allegations of rights abuses and electoral fraud which the Zanu PF strongman denies.
Economic sanctions were imposed because De Beers wants to get hold of Zimbabwe's diamonds, and the MDC is their ticket. The MDC wants to privatise everything, except the diamond fields, so they can create a PPP with De Beers, like De Beers has in Namibia (NAMDEB) and Botswana (DEBSWANA), a ZIMDEB or DEBZIM. ("We will nationalise diamonds and ensure that government goes into partnership with genuine investors." - source: MDC’s plan for the mining sector, Saturday, 13 July 2013, from the very MDC friendly SW Radio Africa website.) - MrK
But President Barack Obama’s top man in Harare said blaming sanctions for Zimbabwe’s problems was a diversionary tactic by Mugabe's administration.
“The US takes great care to minimise any unintended consequences from targeted sanctions and I can tell you that my embassy works hard to try to resolve any that may arise. But, blaming targeted sanctions for Zimbabwe’s serious economic challenges or for issues such as potholes and road accidents is diversionary,” he said.
“Worse, such statements do not acknowledge Zimbabwe’s agency, its ability to address its challenges and to mobilize its magnificent natural resources and human capital.
Like, sell it's diamonds, which the United States has attempted to prevent at every turn? - MrK
“Zimbabwe is tremendously blessed in human and natural resources, and the narrative that targeted sanctions are the reason for economic woes undermines and obscures this nation’s vast capabilities.”
And you obscure the role of the United States, and the MDC in the creation of economic sanctions, like the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001. If it is so insignificant - REPEAL IT. If economic sanctions were so insignificant, why did they destroy the national currency the year they came into force - in 2002, not 2000 ('farm invasions'), or 1997 ('pensions for War Veterans')? And apologize to the Zimbabwean people for the economic sanctions that were imposed on them, just because they made the choice to exercise "Zimbabwe’s agency", by taking their stolen land back. They are the ones who should be compensated for a century of foreign occupation and theft of their land, cattle, labor and freedom. An occupation and harassment that goes on to this very day. - MrK
The US is willing to work with the Zanu PF government.
“We are also willing to work with members of the Zanu PF government that are willing to work with us,” Wharton added.
He means 'divide and rule'. - MrK
“As a Zanu PF-supporting friend of mine said … yes, I do have those … the burden of diplomacy is to keep seeking engagement until all conflict is ended. I agree with that and I am willing. The US government is willing”.
Wharton said decisions including the unbudgeted 1997 cash-pay-outs given to war veterans and the economic turnaround witnessed between 2008 and 2010 provide insight into the positive and negative effects of critical policy decisions by government.
Did the 'unbudgeted 1997 cash-pay-outs given to war veterans' have a worse effect on the Zimbabwean government, than the implementation of austerity through ESAP, from 1991 to 1996? And he is blaming the highly predictable and monotonously repeated destructive effect of structural adjustment on the economies of the world (job losses, reduction in healthcare and education, destruction of local businesses in favour of transnational corporations) - on pensions for War Veterans? What a neoliberal scumbag. - MrK
“There were no sanctions in 1997 and they had not been varied in 2008. Zimbabwe’s sovereign policy decisions are the primary drivers of its economic performance,” he insisted.
From 1991 to 1996, there was ESAP. Own up to THAT.
From Antonia Juhasz "The Tragic Tale of the IMF in Zimbabwe.", March 7th, 2004:
" An IMF-sponsored study of its policies in Zimbabwe concluded that it "radically underestimated the social consequences," of its policies and that the "social hardship was avoidably severe because of poor program design." In other words, the IMF is to blame for the deadly impacts of its policies in Zimbabwe. "
In essence,
In essence, Zimbabwe was forced to implement every radical economic policy in the Fund’s arsenal immediately, without any concern for the impacts of those policies on the populace.
As a result,
The impacts were devastating.
Both employment and real wages declined sharply. During 1991-1996, manufacturing employment fell by 9 percent and wages dropped by 26 percent. Public sector employment fell by 23 percent, with wages dropping by 40 percent. While pocketbooks shrank, food prices soared, increasing by 36 percent. Private consumption levels declined by about one-fourth with urban households being particularly hard-hit. Worse still, the economy did not respond as the Fund had hoped and the government deficit increased. This put the country into a "debt trap" where it was losing money while simultaneously having to pay interest on its loans owed to the Fund and the World Bank. This created a losing spiral of increasing indebtedness and poverty.
However Ambassador Wharton is going on about a few 'pensions for War Veterans'? Is that neoliberal 'code', because it doesn't make sense in dollar terms.
- MrK
“Zimbabwe’s economy has been through dramatic ups and downs in the last 15 years. You all know that better than I do. But the idea that targeted U.S. sanctions have caused Zimbabwe’s economic woes simply does not hold up to critical analysis, the evidence is clear,” he said
Oh, the evidence is clear alright. In Jan 1st 2002, ZDERA 2001 came into force. This is the effect on tobacco exports - notice that from 2001 to 2002, after the 2000 'farm invasions', long after the 1997 payments to War Veterans, tobacco exports grew, and in 2002, the year ZDERA came into effect, they dramatically fell.
Tobacco Exports in million US$:
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
548.8 594.1 434.6 321.3 226.7 203.8
Trade Deficit in million US$ (a negative deficit is a surplus):
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
It is also in 2002, that the Zimbabwe Dollar started it's hyperinflationary decline against the US Dollar - see chart here.
Hey, the evidence is in, Bruce.
- MrK
“Now, this fact ought to be encouraging to Zimbabweans because it means that Zimbabwe need not wait until real or imagined external forces create the conditions needed for economic growth.
So repeal ZDERA, you jerk. - MrK
“Zimbabwe’s economy is in the hands of Zimbabweans. While businesses, labour unions, trade associations, courts and schools all have important roles, economic destiny starts with decisions made by the government of Zimbabwe.”
Sure, because unlike every other government in the world, the Zimbabwean government exists in a vacuum, free from external forces, even though their economy is heavily dependent on exports. - MrK
Mugabe had hoped that his victory in last year’s violence-free elections would lead to the immediate removal of the sanctions but the EU and the US have backed claims by the opposition that the vote was fraudulent, infuriating the Zanu PF leader.
However, the EU has indicated it will lift its remaining sanctions next week, although not on Mugabe and his wife Grace.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, LYING, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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(NEWZIMBABWE) US remains engaged, despite poll regret
13/11/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE United States remains disappointed with the manner in which the July election was conducted but will continue to engage the government of Zimbabwe, Washington’s top envoy to Harare said Wednesday.
Ambassador Bruce Wharton, who was addressing reporters at the Naletale monuments in Shangani, said although his country does not recognise the July 31 election as credible, Washington will continue to engage Zimbabwe to boost its economy.
The US government donated $64,000 for the rehabilitation of collapsed walls at Naletale monuments through the US Department of State initiative, the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.
“The election was peaceful and a major improvement from the 2008 poll. There is no doubt about that. But the whole process was flawed,” he said.
Washington and the European Union have refused to accept President Robert Mugabe’s re-election in the July 31 elections despite observers from the African Union (AU) and the regional SADC grouping endorsing the vote.
“Even the AU and SADC did not say the election was credible; they said ‘generally credible’. As the US we do not see the election as credible, it did not express the will of the people of Zimbabwe,” said Wharton.
“But that disappointment does not mean the US government has any plans to disengage with the government of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is important not only to the region but the world as a whole.”
Wharton said the US would continue to assist Zimbabwe in all sectors of the economy to support recovery.
“We have committed $125m to the health sector and we help in agricultural development programmes targeting small scale farmers. So Washington will continue to look for ways to engage Zimbabwe,” he said.
Harare would however, prefer that Washington removes sanctions imposed about a decade ago over allegations of rights abuses and electoral fraud which are denied by President Mugabe and his Zanu PF party.
Mugabe blames the sanctions for Zimbabwe's economic problems.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON
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Zimpapers in drive to boost investment in Bulawayo
October 22, 2013 Wenceslaus Murape Headlines, Top Stories
Top1
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo (centre) confers with the Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy Mr Han Bing (left) and Zimpapers Bulawayo Branch general manager Mr Marks Shayamano during a tour of Typocrafters premises in the Belmont Industrial area in Bulawayo yesterday
Bulawayo Bureau
ZIMPAPERS, in conjunction with Chinese investors, is working on a huge investment to turn the defunct Typocrafters into a modern printing firm that will tap into the local and regional markets.Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo, his deputy Cde Supa Mandiwanzira, Zimpapers chief operating officer and editor-in-chief Pikirayi Deketeke and officials from the Chinese Embassy, yesterday toured Typocrafters premises in Belmont to assess its suitability for the new deal.
Chinese officials expressed satisfaction with the facilities and pledged to compile an urgent report for their Government recommending investing in Bulawayo.
Addressing the delegation, Prof Moyo said: “The place appears like some ruins, but the truth is that a lot of good business for Zimpapers used to come from here. This is a good example of what happens if you allow technology to go ahead of you.
“What is important is that there is a bright future for this place. It is still suitable to house state-of-the-art printing equipment in the same manner with what is happening in Harare . The new printing press will be able to print Chronicle and Sunday News from here and other titles.
“It will also reach other markets, for example in Botswana and South Africa. We are also talking about printing commercially and this will create more opportunities.”
Prof Moyo said the move would cut production costs for Zimpapers as it would be able to print The Herald and The Sunday Mail for sale in the southern region, while Chronicle and Sunday News would also be printed in Harare.
He said the fruition of the initiative would not only improve economic efficiency for the public media, but increase the spreading of information across the country.
“We have been engaging other media houses talking about the issue of sharing facilities and I have no doubt they will be interested in taking a look into this initiative.
“It will be good that we do not consider this as a Zimpapers facility, but a national facility for the growth of all media houses. We are keen to move forward as soon as possible,” said Prof Moyo.
“This will make the papers reach out to all corners of the country, which is currently not possible but necessary given the importance of information. We prioritised this visit and we are grateful that you were able to come here.”
He instructed management to provide the Chinese officials with the required technical information and specifications and described the initiative as a fantastic move for Zimpapers.
Chinese Embassy economic counsellor Mr Han Bing said he was satisfied with the facility, saying it was suitable to house modern equipment.
“We visited this site to see if it was suitable for the project of a new printing line. We will report back to China what we saw today and lobby our Government to consider investing here,” said Mr Han, who could not be drawn into disclosing the value of the proposed investment.
“We needed specifications about this place, its size, condition and design and we are impressed. The building itself is nice and the conditions are excellent and suitable for a modern company. It just needs a few renovations.”
Cde Mandiwanzira said the scope of the proposed investment showed Government’s commitment towards reviving industries, particularly in Bulawayo.
The proposed investment comes as a relief to Bulawayo, where about 100 firms have closed in the last decade, leaving thousands jobless.
“This reflects a lot of things that we have been talking about concerning revival of industry, especially in this part of the country. It shows our commitment to revive Bulawayo industry and Matabeleland region as a whole,” said Cde Mandiwanzira.
Mr Deketeke said the company has been engaging Chinese investors for a long time seeking partnership for recapitalisation.
“We have been talking to China in the past under the Government-to-Government co-operation and they have expressed interest in giving us a grant or interest-free loan, which will be facilitated to us in the form of a new printing press,” said Mr Deketeke.
“This is a ghost that needs to be revived and we will revive it and have a fully fledged factory. This visit is part of that engagement process and it has not been finalised. We are happy that they have seen our facility and they are impressed with it.”
At the moment, Typocrafters lies desolate with mounds of obsolete equipment and disused offices. Part of the building has been leased to a departmental store, Fazak, and Sunset Milling Company on an annual contract.
Zimpapers Bulawayo Branch general manager Mr Marks Shayamano and Chronicle editor Mduduzi Mathuthu were also part of the delegation.
Later on the delegation visited the Zimpapers Bulawayo branch where it assessed the printing press. Prof Moyo said the printing equipment at the branch was old and needed to be replaced.
He also said there was a need to give the entire building a facelift.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, CHINA, FDI, MARKS SHAYAMANO, ZIMPAPERS
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(NEWZIMBABWE, AFP) Envoy summoned over minister’s treatment
08/10/2013 00:00:00
by AFP
ZIMBABWE said on Tuesday that it had summoned the American ambassador in Harare over the frisking of foreign minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi on a recent trip to the United States. Mumbengegwi was asked to go through security checks at New York's JFK airport, in an apparent denial of diplomatic privilege.
Permanent secretary Joey Bimha said ministry officials had on Monday met the US ambassador, Bruce Wharton, following the airport incident.
“I confirm we met the ambassador (on Monday),” Bimha told AFP.
“He has since apologised and said he is going to find out what happened.”
Mumbengegwi was returning home after attending the UN General Assembly as part of the entourage accompanying President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe's relations with the US are strained after Washington imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe following elections in 2002, which Western observers said were rigged to hand Mugabe victory.
The sanctions include travel restrictions on Mugabe and members of his inner circle and a freeze of assets belonging to Mugabe's allies or entities with links to him and his ruling Zanu-PF party.
In 2005, Zimbabwe threatened to expel the then-ambassador Christopher Dell for allegedly interfering in its political affairs.
Dell was also reprimanded for entering a restricted area of the National Botanical Gardens in Harare.
The US rejected the results of the last July elections which extended Mugabe's 33-year rule on grounds that the polls were not credible.
The results were also disputed by Mugabe's main rival Morgan Tsvangirai as “a massive fraud”.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, JOEY BIMHA, SIMBARASHE MUMBENGEGWI
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(HERALD ZW) Bronnert fails to justify rigging claims
August 16, 2013
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
BRITISH ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Deborah Bronnert has failed to justify her claim that 10 000 voters were assisted to vote in a constituency where 17 000 voters cast their ballots, drawing brickbats from Zimbabweans who called on Government to ask London to recall her. Contacted yesterday to identify the constituency she talked about in her interview on Sky News on the fourth of this month after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission dismissed her assertions, Ms Bronnert became evasive before asking for e-mailed questions which she was duly given yesterday.
And in a brief statement sent through Ms Sibusisiwe Ndlovu, a communications officer at the British Embassy, Ms Bronnert failed to justify her claims apart from regurgitating pronouncements made by British foreign secretary William Hague soon after the results of the harmonised elections showed a heavy drubbing for MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and his party.
“As outlined by Foreign Secretary William Hague, the UK has grave concerns over the conduct of the elections.
“The Sadc and AU preliminary statements outlined many of these. They include the voters’ roll that should, by law, have been made available to all political parties, the high incidence of voters turned away and the high numbers of assisted voters.
“These and other irregularities call into serious question the credibility of the election and it is important that all allegations of electoral violations are thoroughly investigated.
“We will consider further reports from regional and local observer missions when they issue. The UK will continue to support Zimbabwe and its people in their aspirations for a democratic, peaceful and prosperous future.”
Ms Bronnert’s failure to justify her assertions comes as a major embarrassment to MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai who incorporated the envoy’s assertions in the court application he lodged with the Constitutional Court seeking annulment of the elections results.
The harmonised elections have since been endorsed by the AU, Sadc, Comesa, African Caribbean and Pacific as well as over 40 countries on five continents.
ZEC chief elections officer Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi on Wednesday dismissed Ms Bronnert’s claims, with outgoing Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa saying the British envoy’s mysterious constituency would have required at least 30 days to complete the voting process if 10 000 people were to be assisted to vote as claimed by Ms Bronnert.
Former Zimbabwe Union of Democrats leader Mrs Margaret Dongo said the fabrications proved Ms Bronnert was not ambassadorial material and should be recalled because an ambassador is supposed to report objectively to his country about developments in the host country.
“There is no doubt that all the decisions the British are taking on Zimbabwe are based on wrong information because London is being fed with wrong information by its ambassadors.
“I think Ms Bronnert should just be a mere secretary in the British government not an ambassador. She is letting her country down. Those who do not live in Zimbabwe depend on their embassies for information about other countries.
“I do not think the British hate Zimbabwe, they have just put Mugabe’s face on Zimbabwe because he has called their leaders names before. I think the most reasonable thing for Ms Bronnert to do is to retract that statement. She is supposed to be an eye for her country, but she is blind,’ Mrs Dongo said.
Zanu-PF Politburo member and political scientist Professor Jonathan Moyo accused Ms Bronnert of deliberate mischief, saying she should face the consequences arising from peddling falsehoods.
“Zimbabwe has grave concerns about the conduct of the British ambassador. She made inflammatory and inciteful allegations using a high-profile platform like Sky TV. It was deliberately calculated mischief by the former colonial power to smear a national process and to smear a national result without any factual basis,” he said.
Prof Moyo said Ms Bronnert had deliberately lied because the British and their allies wanted another coalition government in Zimbabwe, but had failed.
“The problem with Britain and its allies, the US and Australia, is that they have a large Rhodesian population which controls the media and they have been telling themselves that the people of Zimbabwe are against their independence.
“So the result of the harmonised elections shocked them because they showed that the people of Zimbabwe and their liberation movement are together, they are a team under Team Zanu-PF.
“They wanted another GNU but the people of Zimbabwe came with an expression of their sovereignty that shocked them,” he said.
Prof Moyo said it was no coincidence that the allegation about the mysterious constituency were also repeated by Mr Tsvangirai in his court application seeking annulment of the election results.
Ms Bronnert’s behaviour, Prof Moyo said, vindicated Government’s decision to bar Western observers.
“This is why we don’t want these people to observe our elections, they are liars. She did not have the capacity to observe the elections but made this lie. You can imagine the amount of lies they would have made if they had been invited to observe the elections,” he said.
Prof Moyo said it was important that the ambassador Bronnert face the consequences of her actions.
“If what they have said that 10 000 people were assisted to vote in a constituency with 17 000 people there would be something wrong and serious consequences would have to fall on those responsible for that, conversely if this is a false allegation, those who have made it like Deborah Bronnert have to be visited by the same consequences as well,” he said.
University of Zimbabwe political scientist Dr Charity Manyeruke said ambassador Bronnert had behaved like an activist.
“The ambassador acted like she is a civil society activist. She does not know that when you are an ambassador there is a code of conduct that you must follow and not engage in civic activism like she did.
“There was no need for her to make those unsubstantiated allegations that had no factual basis at all, she simply repeated what has been said by the NGOs most of which they fund.”
Dr Manyeruke said it was surprising that the allegations she made were also raised by MDC-T in its application that is before the Constitutional Court.
“What is surprising is that the allegations she made are also currently before the courts. We then wonder if she does not have a hand in all that is before the courts,” Dr Manyeruke said.
Another analyst Goodwine Mureriwa said statements by ambassador Bronnert were simply a repeat of the statement made by the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network.
“What she said was simply repeating what ZESN said and we all know that that organisation received over US$5 million to castigate the harmonised elections.
“She can’t identify that constituency because she knows it does not exist. What is however, important is that it shows how low these countries can sink in their attempts to effect regime change in Zimbabwe, they are resorting to peddling lies and falsehoods and this lie has exposed them for what they are,” Mr Mureriwa said.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, DEBORAH BRONNERT
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Zimbabwe has 'grave concerns' over UK envoy
15/08/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
ZIMBABWE has “grave concerns” about the British ambassador Deborah Bronnert, a senior official in President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party said on Friday after the envoy was caught apparently “lying” about assisted voters in the July 31 elections.
Bronnert told Sky News on August 4 that in an unnamed constituency, 10,000 voters out of 17,000 had been assisted, adding: “That means somebody else went in with them into the voting booth raising some big questions around the secrecy and security of the vote.”
The same claim was repeated by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in an affidavit filed with the Constitutional Court on Friday last week challenging the election results showing President Robert Mugabe winning by a landslide.
But just like Bronnert, the outgoing Prime Minister did not name the constituency where this took place – drawing fire from Mugabe who, in his replying affidavit to Tsvangirai’s petition, accused him of “bringing before the court an unsworn founding affidavit to parrot a false British claim without a factual basis.”
Bronnert was challenged on her claim on Thursday but would not answer the specific question about which constituency she was referring to, instead releasing a statement referencing the British Foreign Secretary.
She said: “As outlined by Foreign Secretary William Hague, the UK has grave concerns over the conduct of the elections. The SADC and AU preliminary statements outlined many of these. They include the voters’ roll that should, by law, have been made available to all political parties, the high incidence of voters turned away and the high numbers of assisted voters.
“These and other irregularities call into serious question the credibility of the election and it is important that all allegations of electoral violations are thoroughly investigated.”
Her response appears to have angered Mugabe’s Zanu PF party which says her actions justify the country’s refusal to invite western countries to observe elections.
Playing on Hague’s own judgement of Zimbabwe’s elections, Zanu PF politburo member and former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said: “Zimbabwe has grave concerns about the conduct of the British ambassador.
“She made inflammatory and inciteful allegations using a high-profile platform like Sky News. It was deliberate, calculated mischief by the former colonial power to smear a national process and to smear a national result without any factual basis.”
“If what they have said that 10,000 people were assisted to vote in a constituency where 17,000 ballots were cast is true, there would clearly be something wrong and serious consequences would have to fall on those responsible. Conversely, if this is a false allegation, those who have made it like Deborah Bronnert have to be visited by the same consequences as well.”
According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, 206,901 of the 3,410,767 total voters were assisted in the July 31 elections, representing an average of 985 per constituency.
Assisted voters are mainly the elderly, disabled or illiterate people who require assistance from election officials to indicate their choice on the ballot paper.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said if Bronnert and Tsvangirai’s claims were true, it would have taken a whole month to get 10,000 assisted voters to cast their ballots. It takes an average five minutes for an assisted voter to cast their ballots, he said.
Moyo added: “The problem with Britain and its allies, the US and Australia, is that they have a large Rhodesian population which controls the media and they have been telling themselves that the people of Zimbabwe are against their independence.
“So the result of the harmonised elections shocked them because they showed that the people of Zimbabwe and their liberation movement are together, they are a team under Team Zanu-PF.
“They wanted another government of national unity, but the people of Zimbabwe came with an expression of their sovereignty that shocked them.
“This is why we don’t want these people to observe our elections, they are liars. Bronnert did not have the capacity to observe the elections but made this lie. You can imagine the amount of lies they would have made if they had been invited to observe the elections.”
Labels: AMBASSADOR, DEBORAH BRONNERT
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Charamba blasts US envoy over ZBC
07/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s spokesman has accused US ambassador, Bruce Wharton, of behaving as if he was "an MDC councillor in Harare" after the envoy expressed concern over partisan political coverage by the ZBC.
Wharton wrote to the ZBC to express his concern after it emerged that the corporation demanded US$165,000 from the MDC-T to cover party leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s election campaign launch in Marondera on Sunday.
The MDC-T said it refused to pay the cash with Tsvangirai telling supports at the rally: “We (have been) shut out of the public media which has taken a position to cover live in the electronic media, the campaign of President Mugabe and Zanu PF.”
ZBC covered live President Robert Mugabe’s own campaign launch in Harare on Friday. It was not clear whether Zanu PF paid for the coverage.
“In that context, I wish to express concern about lack of access by political parties to ZBC, a situation which appears to run counter to these guidelines.
“This letter is an expression of my desire to support a credible electoral process in Zimbabwe and be clear about the elements I believe are important in that process. I will not distribute or share this letter with media, political parties, or civil society organisation.”
But the letter drew the ire of information secretary, George Charamba, who said the envoy’s conduct was unheard of.
“It’s unheard of for an ambassador, especially from a perceived super power like America to write to an executive of a parastatal,” Charamba told the herald.
“He (Wharton) can’t even write to the President and there he is writing to the executive of a parastatal jumping foreign affairs, which is his country’s contact point.
“He skips the ministry of Media, Information and Publicity which is responsible for the media and leaps past the ZBC board which is the governing authority at the parastatal and lands on the desk of Muchechetere. Ooh, how the mighty have fallen!
“I am very happy that the ambassador is aware of the GPA and its various demands. I hope he can now tell his government that in this very important document called the GPA, there is some reference to pirate radio stations which must stop invading our airwaves. One of these pirate radio stations is Studio 7, which is funded by the Americans.”
Zanu PF strategist and former information minister Jonathan Moyo added: “How can the ambassador of a country that is funding Studio 7 try to lecture to us how ZBC should conduct its business?
“His hands are dirty, his mouth is dirty and he must be advised to shut up because that pirate radio station, Studio 7 is not only violating Zimbabwean laws, the GPA and Sadc guidelines but also international law.
“Nobody needs a lecture from this outpost of tyranny called America. They call ZBC, ‘dead BC’ so is the ambassador seeking to go to the grave with ZBC? Our elections will be free and fair if America and its friends including a neighbouring country leave us alone.”
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, GEORGE CHARAMBA
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(HERALD ZW) US ambassador showers President Mugabe with praises
Wednesday, 29 May 2013 00:00
Bulawayo Bureau
UNITED States ambassador Mr Bruce Wharton has praised President Mugabe for calling for peace ahead of the harmonised elections expected next month and said his country was willing to work with Zimbabwe.
Mr Wharton was addressing a Press conference at the just-ended Bike Across Borders initiative organised by US embassies in Zimbabwe and Zambia in Victoria Falls to promote tourism and wildlife conservation ahead of the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly scheduled for August 24 to 29.
He said Zimbabwe was a magnificent place.
“President Mugabe has been calling for peace, and I believe him. You can see that he is sincere, the situation has changed from previous years,” said Mr Wharton.
“We are responding to positive changes in Zimbabwe. The constitution process that has taken place is a positive thing.
“I think the Government of National Unity has been challenging and difficult for some people, but I think that bringing Zanu-PF and the MDCs together in Government has been useful. I think all sides have learnt something about each other and about the ability to work together.
“Our change in approach to Zimbabwe is simply a reflection of changes that the people and the Government of Zimbabwe are making on their own. We have to keep up with Zimbabwe.”
Mr Wharton said Victoria Falls was well positioned for tourism growth.
“Victoria Falls will be a shining light ahead of the UNWTO General Assembly,” he said.
“We encourage Americans to come to this part of the world. There is a connection between tourism and economic development of the country.
“We are optimistic of the future of Zimbabwe in general and Victoria Falls specifically.”
On the protection of foreign direct investment in tourism in the face of the country’s indigenisation drive, Mr Wharton said every country had the right to regulate its investment in ways that protect its citizens.
“The key is that those rules and regulations be transparent and consistent and be applied equally to all investors,” he said.
“Investors can deal with a broad range of issues, but predictability, consistency and transparency are the key issues in giving investor confidence and encourage them to look for opportunities in your country.”
Speaking at the same occasion, US Ambassador to Zambia Mr Mark Storella said the co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly by Zimbabwe and Zambia would result in development for the two countries.
“Zimbabwe and Zambia are cousins, they are close historically and close culturally and they share the Victoria Falls rainforest,” he said.
“This resource is opportunity for prosperity for the people. We think that a more prosperous and peaceful and democratic Southern Africa is in the interest of all nations.”
The United States took a leading role in condemning Zimbabwe, imposing illegal sanctions and travel bans on its citizens.
However, it has shifted its position and recently sent its former ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Andrew Young, and Reverend Jesse Jackson to convey a message of reconciliation to President Mugabe.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, MARK STORELLA, ROBERT MUGABE
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Being in the right direction
By Editor
Mon 27 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Akio Egawa has expressed confidence that the current Zambian government's policies will bring economic development and create jobs for many unemployed youths.
Ambassador Egawa says the PF and its government are headed in the right direction and hopes that these efforts will bring about the intended results, more benefits and more jobs for the Zambian people. But we should bear in mind that being headed in the right direction does not guarantee us anything. It simply offers us an opportunity to succeed as well as the risk of failure.
It offers us an opportunity that if we work together and manage our affairs well, we can get to where we are destined to be. It offers us a risk of failure because the success of what we are doing depends on us keeping in the right direction. You can start off in the right direction but along the way veer off from the course. To get where we want our country and our people to be will require toil and effort, labour and strife. It will also require a citizenry and a political leadership that does not shrink from danger, from hardship or from bitter toil.
A life of ease, of endless subsidies and all sorts of free things won't take us anywhere. We need to start striving after greater things.
It is very easy to keep things as they are and proceed in the same direction we have been pursuing for years. A life of ignoble ease, a life of that peace which springs merely from lack either of desire or of power to strive after greater things, is as little worth of a nation as of an individual.
It is easy to leave things as they are - leave the subsidies, all those free things that we can no longer meaningfully afford. We can do all this in the hope of having peace and stability in the country, of reducing strife and dissent; in the hope of ensuring no oppositional challenge to those in government. Yes, this may help maintain peace and stability in the country. But for how long? What will happen when the well runs dry?
We should not admire that type of peace and stability in the nation which doesn't take us forward but backwards. It is hard not to fail; but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life, we get nothing save by effort, sacrifice. Freedom from sacrifice in the present, merely means that there has been stored up sacrifice in the past. A mere life of ease is not in the end a satisfactory life, and above all it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it.
Far better is to dare mighty things, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who do not suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither sacrifice nor failure.
There are people who don't like sacrifice or strenuous life, who don't like the national life which is really worth leading. What they forget is that it's only sacrifice that goes to make up true national greatness.
The stage of development where our country is today, it calls for sacrifice, for a life of strenuous endeavour.
Let us therefore boldly face the life of sacrifice and be resolute to do our duty well; resolute to uphold righteousness by deed and word; resolute to be both honest and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical and sustainable methods. Above all, let us not shrink from any sacrifice that is needed of us. If it is the removal of subsidies from the things we cherish, let it be; for it is only through sacrifice, through hard endeavour that we shall ultimately move our people out of poverty and into prosperity.
Let no one deceive our people that they can move them out of poverty and into prosperity without them making a sacrifice, without them having to forgo certain things now. There is no nation in this world that has developed that way; that has developed without sacrifice and hard choices.
Those who are telling people to vote for them because they will deliver them from poverty without any sacrifice, without any pain on their part are liars who should not be listened to. The wealth of a nation is not created by politicians, by speeches. It is created by the efforts, the work of the people - the workers, peasants and working intellectuals. Politicians only lead and the people govern. Ultimately, it is the people who develop the country. If the people are not ready to sacrifice, to work, nothing moves.
The development we were hearing from statistics has not changed the people's lives in any meaningful way. Why? If there was development, why are we not seeing it? Where is it hiding? Who is enjoying it? Of course a few people got rich over the last few years but the true test of progress is not the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, but the elevation of a people as a whole.
Instead of the growth we were hearing about bringing comfort to the masses of our people, it is imposing additional burdens on them. At the bottom of the social scale, there is a mass of poverty and misery that doesn't seem to have been touched by the development we have been hearing about.
There is still a lot of work needed to move our people out of poverty. There is still need for more and more sacrifice to move our people out of misery. And as we have been consistently preaching, whatever little progress has been made, there is still more that needs to be done, and it won't be easy. Again we repeat, nobody should think things are going to be easy. More sacrifices are needed, more hard work is needed. We must be prepared to meet difficulties and to make more sacrifices. We are making sacrifices now, we have lost the subsidies we had on fuel and maize meal, and we will have even greater ones in the future, even if we do things the right way - and we should do them the right way, even if it calls for our greatest sacrifice.
Labels: AKIO EGAWA, AMBASSADOR
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Finland ponders helping Zambia go green
By Gift Chanda
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
FINLAND says it is seeking ways of helping Zambia move towards embracing green economy.
Finnish Ambassador to Zambia Pertti Anttinen said yesterday that there was need for Zambia to move towards embracing green economy because its emerging economy was increasing the demand for new and sustainable solutions in natural resource development, renewable energies as well as green building.
The concept of green economy focuses primarily on the intersection between the environment and economy.
Ambassador Anttinen said Finland wants to explore ways it could assist Zambia promote this concept of sustainable development.
He disclosed that a delegation of private sector players and government officials would next week arrive in the country to seek ways of forging ties towards a green Zambian economy.
Ambassador Anttinen said Finnish Minister of International Development Heidi Hautala and Alexander Stubb, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, would also be part of the delegation to attend what is called the Zambian-Finnish Business Partnership week aimed at deepening Finnish business engagement in Zambia's green economy.
Ambassador Anttinen said the green economy concept was important for both Zambia and Finland due to its immense benefits which include creation of sustainable jobs.
He also emphasized the need to diversify the Zambian economy to promote trade with other countries.
Ambassador Anttinen said the economic woes of western economies would entail taking a different approach towards assistance to Africa.
"The trend lately has been countries moving towards promoting trade while limiting ODA Official Direct Aid," Ambassador Anttinen said, adding that, "During the meeting, business firms from Finland will find ways on how they can forge ties to promote more trade with their Zambian counterparts."
The Zambia-Finnish Business Partnership week will run from today to Wednesday next week.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, FINLAND, GREEN ENERGY, PERTTI ANTTINEN, ZAMBIA
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My problem with Ambassador Bruce
18/03/2013 00:00:00
by Mai Jukwa
THERE is often a disparity between declared intent and the real motivations behind the actions of governments. Objective political analysis devotes itself to a careful examination of what politicians say and interrogates this against facts. These facts will either support or contradict their declared narrative. We cannot be so gullible as to place full reliance merely on what a politician happens to say.
The American Ambassador Bruce Wharton routinely subjects us to his scripted pieties of concern over human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. He tells us that it was toward these noble ends, and not without a heavy heart, that the United States felt compelled to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. These are noble boasts that paint his country in a very generous light.
If these are the Ambassador's real motivations then he is to be applauded, perhaps even encouraged. However, if his claims to goodness were disproved on the plateau of reason then the next natural point of enquiry would be an effort to understand his real agenda. We began by highlighting the case of declared intent versus real motivations; let us carry on along that thread.
Draconian Legislation
Laws are promulgated in response to national circumstances; it is through this lense that they must be viewed. What is considered good law in Saudi Arabia would likely be considered abhorrent and be rejected by a Zimbabwean parliament. This truth extends to all, including the ever-eager champions of democracy in the United States. On their statute books sit laws that many of us would object to as a gross violations of personal liberty.
Take for instance the argument by Eric Holder, the American Attorney General, that it is legal for Obama to put together a highly secretive kill-list of American citizens. This list is not subject to judicial scrutiny nor is any part of the American legislature allowed to examine the processes leading up to an individual being placed on the list for targeted assassination. Imagine the outrage if Robert Mugabe declared that he had the power to secretly tell the military or intelligence services to kill Zimbabwean citizens without any measure of judicial or parliamentary oversight. The United States recently killed a 16-year-old American boy, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, whose father was accused of involvement in terrorist activities. This unprecedented murder was carried out under the cover of these opaque laws. That child had not been charged with any crime and his voice will never be heard in a court of law.
It is against this bloodied background that Ambassador Bruce’s protestations against the relatively innocuous AIPPA and POSA become all the more amusing. He howls righteous indignation and disapproval at these ‘draconian’ pieces of legislation and demands that we submit to him and repeal these laws. Surely Bruce must have the decency to begin his noble acts of charity closer to home. AIPPA and POSA does not allow for the killing of any man, it is not subject to the vagaries of presidential whim and anyone charged under those acts is allowed to defend themselves in a court of law. Would the good Ambassador be kind enough to tell us how many people have been convicted under these laws that he so hysterically rails against? The fact of it is that the vast majority is acquitted in the same courts of law that the Ambassador tells us lack judicial independence.
Human Rights
The Ambassador’s beating-stick of choice is the noble sounding human rights cause. He tells us with confident moral authority that America will maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe because, in their view, the country violates human rights. Bruce will forgive me for being so prosaic but this is absolute nonsense. The Americans have very little to lecture us on human rights, if anything they should learn from us.
Is there a single Zambian or South African who has been captured by Zimbabwean security services, dragged away to a secret torture chamber and subjected to sadistic abuses such as water boarding? Is there a British national who can claim to have been stripped naked and sodomised by Zimbabwean security forces in a manner similar to what we saw in those ghastly pictures that came out from Abu Ghraib?
Today the British government is facing lawsuits from Libyans like Sami al-Saadi who were captured by MI6 and submitted to torture. Instead of allowing these cases to be heard in court the British want to maintain their dishonest prestige of being champions of human rights and have chosen to pay off these victims to the tune of millions. Has a single citizen of this world filed any similar lawsuit against Zimbabwe? Given these facts, how is it that Bruce has no shame in holding hands with his British mistress to condemn us a violators of human rights? Their hypocrisy stinks to the highest heaven.
Their self-anointed status as human rights ambassador’s looks all the more pathetic when one considers the contradictions of their policy on Zimbabwe. How can Ambassador Bruce justify sanctions on Zimbabwean when Obama dines with the Saudi King? Is America so determined to punish Zimbabwe for its Land Reform policy that it is willing to harass reason itself to justify its patently hypocritical policies? No mind blessed with sanity would attempt to compare a relatively free society like Zimbabwe to Saudi Arabia. That would be ridiculous but for the sake of sport I will indulge the good Ambassador.
Saudi Arabia is not subject to sanctions but is actually a close ally of the United States. How can this be if Ambassador Bruce’s argument is that America imposes sanctions in objection to perceived human rights abuses? Zimbabweans are free to worship any religion of their choice; the state does not interfere in this. Contrast this with Saudi Arabia, a country that continues to enjoy cordial relations with the Americans. In 2005 Mohammad al-Harbi, a teacher, was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment and 750 lashings for contradicting Islam. In Zimbabwe we recognise the rights of women as equals and the new constitution makes positive steps to enforce this equality in all sectors of society including public office. Women in Saudi Arabia are denied all these rights; they are not allowed to vote, they are denied the right to drive and cannot travel abroad without the authorisation of a man. Does the Ambassador charge that this nation has greater freedoms that Zimbabwe? Criminals in Zimbabwe are treated humanely and our constitution is taking steps to eliminate the death penalty. Compare this with Saudi Arabia were hands and feet are chopped off for something as petty as stealing a motorbike. If the United States policy was sincerely informed by a concern for human rights one would imagine that it is Zimbabwe that would be an ally of the Americans, not Saudi Arabia.
The rule of law
Habeas Corpus and the rules of natural justice do not allow the indefinite detention of any individual. The rule of law affords every person the right to be brought before a judge, to be advised of what charge they stand accused and to see the evidence held against them and to equally submit a defense against the same.
Consider that concentration camp called Guantanamo Bay where America employs savage impunity and violates the very foundations civilised society. Men from around the world are captured in the dead of night without a warrant of arrest; many are smuggled out of their countries of residence without any knowledge of the host government. Upon arrival at Guantanamo many detainees have questioned on what charge they were being held. Such is the contumelious self-regard of the Americans that they are not obliged to answer the question.
Shaker Aamer is a Saudi Arabian British resident. He has been held at that beastly facility for over ten years. He has never been charged with any crime nor has the United States offered an explanation as to why they abducted him and are keeping him from his family. He has a son who he has never seen and could very well die in that facility. Such is the nauseating impudence of the Americans, willfully disregarding the rule of law simply because they can.
Has Zimbabwe held anyone without charge? Is there any prisoner in Zimbabwe who has been denied their right to justice in a court of law? Certainly not! So how then does Ambassador Bruce stand up with puffed American ego to lecture Zimbabweans on the rule of law when his nation presides over such gross injustice? Does he feel so entitled as to think that rules apply to the rest of us but not to the United States? We reject that white supremacist spirit in the strongest terms and say no to it. What is good for the goose is certainly good for the gander!
Torture
The American Ambassador made not a small nuisance of himself following the death of Christpower. Even before the police had been allowed the chance to investigate, the said gentleman was already jumping up and down in uncontainable adolescent excitement and wasted no time in issuing a statement instructing Zimbabwe on how to conduct its internal affairs.
If Ambassador Bruce is so eager to poke his nose into the affairs of justice one then wonders why he continues to ignore the overweight elephant in his American bedroom. We have all heard consistent testimony of how CIA agents and American soldiers tortured individuals with simulated drowning in a process they called water boarding. Of all those American agents who forced prisoners to inhale water and suffer such intolerable pain that they wished they were dead, how many have been prosecuted for torture? How is it that Bruce wants to lecture us on our bed-wetting when his own sheets are soiled by his incontinent hypocrisy?
We all watched that shocking video of American soldiers in Iraq firing a helicopter gunship into a funeral procession. Was that not murder in cold blood? Listening to the audio of those bloodthirsty young men toy with the lives of human beings as though they were playing video games, one got a clear picture of the wickedness of American foreign policy and how they view the lives of other nationalities as being of less value.
These killers have not been prosecuted. Instead, they are celebrated as veterans and war heroes and given medals of honour. We are then told to accept this idiotic narrative that Americans are ambassador of peace and justice. As the president once said, they have little to lecture us on and very much to atone for.
It’s our right to monitor your elections
The Americans and British have made for a pitiful sight these past few weeks as they tried every desperate trick in the book to get a chance to send in their election monitors. Their political surrogates were distressed beyond measure when Amai Mujuru barred countries that have imposed sanctions and made it clear they would not be allowed to observe the elections.
In an effort to lend weight to their pathetic argument, their witless surrogates have been jumping up and down declaring that the necessity of ‘international’ observers. I need not remind Bruce that the international community is not defined as the handful of Western white nations that imposed sanctions on us in solidarity with the British farmers that we kicked off the land they stole from us.
The international community remains welcome to observe our elections. The only nations that are crying foul are white Western countries that have imposed illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, Japan, South Africa and the rest of the international community is welcome. Bruce must not flatter himself and imagine that the international community is defined as his racist kith and kin club of white nations. They are not welcome and must keep out.
Consider how these shameless hypocrites want to impose themselves under the guise of international observation yet they are unwilling to equally submit themselves to scrutiny by the United Nations. The case of Bradley Manning makes a perfect example. This is the heroic young man who released thousands of secret American files detailing their abuses around the world. Since his arrest he has been held in an American military facility where is kept in solitary confinement and routinely stripped naked. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture called his treatment cruel and inhuman. Bradley Manning’s defense has requested that the UN torture expert be allowed to give testimony during the trial. The United States refused.
It astonishes how the United States wants to poke its nose into the affairs of sovereign nations but refuses to subject itself to a similar standard. Consider how the United States makes a nuisance of itself ululating at prosecutions conducted by the ICC whilst at the same time refusing to ratify the Rome Statute. Not only so, George Bush signed into law the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2002 (ASPA) which authorises the use of military force to free any American agent if they are ever held by that court.
My problem with Ambassador Bruce
I could carry on and speak of the drone attacks that continue to take the cheap lives of Afghan and Pakistani civilians. For every fifty people killed in drone strikes only one is an actual insurgent. One could speak of the illegal invasion of Iraq or the hypocrisy of the Americans in siding with Israel when it continues to violate international law by building settlements on Palestinian territory. In such talk could we miss the hypocrisy of Americans frothing at the mouth at the thought of a nuclear Iran when it has stockpiles of nuclear weapons for its own protection? Such is the depth of their hypocrisy that an exhaustive list is impossible.
When Ambassador Bruce tells us that he is sanctioning us because of human rights, the rule of law or democracy, it is quite clearly not the case. The contradictions are all too plain for all to see. The truth of it is that America cares little for the rule of law as evidenced by their refusal to prosecute the agents responsible for torturing detainees. They are not concerned about democracy as shown by their cosy relationship with Arab despots. We could not accept the argument that they care for human rights when they allow their soldiers to shoot into innocent civilians with helicopter gunships and get away with it.
Ambassador Bruce carefully clothes his real intentions in the admirable language of virtue. However, the facts speak much louder than the eloquence of his voice. His only concern is furthering American economic interests. Their determined campaign against Zimbabwe has nothing to do with their supposed love for human rights. Their punitive sanctions are meant to punish us for daring to kick out the British settler farmers after Britain reneged on the agreements reached at Lancaster.
Bruce can jump up and down and chant the slogans of liberty to his hearts content but it is all in vain. We now see clearly past his empty and self-serving rhetoric. He is the mother of all hypocrites. Let him begin his charity at home before he presumes to lecture Africans on how best to conduct their affairs.
Amai Jukwa is a loving mother of three. She respects Robert Mugabe, is amused by Tsvangirai and feels sorry for Mutambara. She answers questions on Facebook and Twitter
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON
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New Report: Brennan’s ‘Black Ops’ In Libya Caused “Benghazigate”, Stevens Death
By Patrick Henningsen
Global Research, February 13, 2013
21st Century Wire
Benghazigate’ continues to unravel, and the man who’s front and center at this week’s Washington DC hearings is now being blamed for the villa siege last September…
According to a new investigative book published by two former US special operations soldiers, and serialised exclusively in yesterday’s Daily Mail, former CIA Director, David Petraeus, was blackmailed by two senior CIA officers into resigning and was made to publicly admit to his affair with intelligence operative Paula Broadwell. Of course, this angle of the story will surely drive book sales, but it’s not the most significant revelation in the story… Drone-Master J: John Brennan
In their book which is due to be release tomorrow entitled, Benghazi: The Definitive Report, authors Jack Murphy (Army Green Beret) and co-author Brandon Webb (Navy SEAL and friend of Glen Doherty who died in the Benghazi siege) also revealed that ‘Drone-Master J’, John O. Brennan - President Barack Obama’s current CIA Director nominee who was the President’s own deputy NSA advisor at the time, had been authorizing covert ‘unilateral operations outside of the traditional command structure’, using the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) across Libya and North Africa. It is Brennan’s black ops that are said to have prompted retaliation inside Libya that led to the September 11 Benghazi compound siege that killed four Americans, including ‘Ambassador’ Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
It’s worth noting here that the Benghazi siege was initially blamed by Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and the entire US media and the BBC at the time – on a highly deceptive YouTube film entitled, “The Innocence of Muslims”. That was the first stages of the cover-up.
So, according to the new book, it’s John O. Brennan who was the architect of events that led to the debacle known as Benghazigate? Apparently, yes, but not quite…
Murphy and Webb’s book, although very hard-hitting and well-researched, through what the authors describe as “a vast network of military insiders and intelligence officers to uncover the ‘untold’ story behind the attacks”,focuses on the Petraeus Affair, but only provides surface detail on the actual nature of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens’s mission there in Libya.
Nor do the authors explain that the compound in question was not an “Embassy” in Benghazi as the Obama White House first referred to it, nor was it a “US Consulate”, or a “CIA safe house” as came to be known in later reports. Susanne Posel of OccupyCorporatism.com, reports what is more likely to be the real story:
“In Benghazi, Stevens stayed at a gated-villa, leased by the US State Department from a local man named Mohammad al-Bishari. The villa in Benghazi was not a US Embassy, diplomatic mission or extension of the embassy. In fact, the nearest US Embassy is Tripoli. This location housed Stevens where he spoke with the NTC, a defaco-government in Libya that assisted the US in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Stevens had previously been designated as a special representative to the NTC during the US-controlled Libyan revolution. To mask Stevens new role, he was given US Ambassador status by Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, and stationed in Tripoli.
Bishari has confirmed that Stevens would stay at the villa when he met with the NTC. Stevens’ mission in Benghazi was to gather intelligence for the CIA “conducting surveillance and collecting information on an array of armed militant groups in and around the city.”
Hand in the honey pot: Petraeus and Broadwell.
According to The Mail story, Petraeus’s ousters were,’high-level career officers on the CIA who got the ball rolling on the investigation’. The Mail exclusive goes on to explain how the Petraeus story unfolded and triggered a ‘palace coup’:
“The authors say that senior intelligence officers working on the 7th floor of Central Intelligence headquarters in Langley, Virginia, used their political clout to ensure that the FBI investigated the former Army general’s personal life.
They then told Petraeus that they would publicly humiliate him if he didn’t admit the affair and resign.
‘It was well known to Petraeus’s Personal Security Detachment (bodyguards) that he and Broadwell were having an affair. He wasn’t the only high-ranking Agency head or general engaged in extramarital relations, but when the 7th floor wanted Petraeus out, they cashed in their chips,’ Webb and Murphy write.
The book continues: ‘The reality of the situation is that high-ranking CIA officers had already discovered the affair by consulting with Petraeus’s PSD and then found a way to initiate an FBI investigation in order to create a string of evidence and an investigative trail that led to the information they already had—in other words, an official investigation that could be used to force Petraeus to resign.’
… Senior officials were furious over the way he had been running the agency since he was appointed in September 2011… He was turning the agency’s focus from intelligence gathering and analysis to paramilitary operations, including drone strikes.”
What they reveal about the Petraeus scandal is that the sensational extramarital affair was deployed in the media in order to keep the public distracted from the real story.
Chris Stevens and CIA gun-running
According to the Daily Mail, Webb and Murphy’s book does document that “Stevens likely helped consolidate as many weapons as possible after the war to safeguard them, at which point Brennan exported them overseas to start another conflict”.
Although both authors, who run a website called SOFREP.com - a news site written and edited by current and former members of the special operations community, appear to be ‘well-positioned’ to access classified insider information about events and a ‘vast network’ of contacts in the game, they could have gone a lot deeper into what are now mainstream allegations: that Chris Stevens was CIA point man for running illegal guns out of Libya via Turkey into Syria for the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Even Kentucky Senator Rand Paul challenged Hillary Clinton on these charges, but was stonewalled by the outgoing Secretary of State.
The book says that Stevens was aiding John Brennan in highly illegal international gun-running, a fact alone that should (in theory, anyway) kill Brennan in the CIA directorate conformation hearings this week in Washington DC. It’s amazing how this aspect of the story is given a back seat to a sex scandal – which makes us suspicious of this book, and its peculiar timing.
Posel also explains Stevens role as CIA gun-runner:
“Some of Stevens’ deals for arms can be realized in the artillery and weapons being funneled to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Syria who are fighting the proxy war for the US. Stevens became the “liaison” between US-sponsored terrorist factions and the movement of arms to Syria to assist the FSA.
Shipments to the FSA have come from Saudi Arabia where the Salafi terrorists originated and the Partisans of Sharia is used to further subversive interests. Thanks to the US, the Saudi government and Stevens, the FSA are the most heavily armed state-sponsored jihadist group in the Middle East.
In reality, Islamic terrorist factions that work with the US were employed by the Saudi Arabian government to take out one of Petraeus’ CIA spies. That spy’s name was J. Christopher Stevens.”
Author, former SEAL Brandon Webb
Author, former Ranger Jack Murphy
Chemical Weapons to Syria
The other obvious and very big aspect of this story which they also miss, is the very visible thread which first appeared in early Dec 2012 of reports ‘chemical weapons in Syria’, and these are likely to have originated in Libya – in the form of Gadaffi’s aging chemical weapons stocks being smuggled out of Libya and into the hands of the FSA in Syria… in order to blame Syria Assad government for using “chemical weapons against his own people”.
In late December, the US intelligence community, via the US General Console in Istanbul, Turkey, appears to have set-up the thread for the Assad chemical weapons story to go public, but quickly began to back track on this talking point, practically abandoning it altogether in the end.
In ‘Benghazi: The Definitive Report’, it does appear that the authors have opened up the door to some incredible and perhaps crucial insights into events surrounding Benghazigate – and their book will make a big media splash but it seems like black-ops ‘insiders’ Murphy and Webb missed the biggest story in all of this – which just happens to be the very scandal that would certainly bring down the Obama Administration in one swoop. Amazing how these events are borne out - and not borne out in the media, as the case may be.
More and more these days, we see an endless parade of ex-Navy SEAL and ex-Special Ops commando authors – who may very well have a great black book when comes to inside info but they are not journalists, and in some cases their relationship to the special operations world may be a little too close for comfort to consider them objective and independent investigators.
To authors Murphy and Webb, you cannot call it a “Definitive Report” a few months after the event. It’s a bit cock-sure, to be sure.
We’re waiting for the sequel, the book which blows the lid on the real story.
Until then, this might just be a ‘controlled media detonation’.
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Capture
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‘Benghazi: The Definitive Report,’ written by Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy, is published by William Morrow Company, an imprint of HarperCollins. It will be available for download in ebook format on Tuesday.
Labels: 2007 BUDGET, AMBASSADOR, CHRIS STEVENS, DRONE STRIKES, JOHN O. BRENNAN, LIBYA, NEOCOLONIALISM
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Storella hails govt's efforts in improving health sector
By Brina Siwale in Livingstone
Wed 13 Feb. 2013, 14:00 CAT
US Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella says the PF government has made tremendous efforts in improving the health sector. And Ambassador Storella says the US government will continue to render support to Zambia's health sector.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Ambassador Storella said helping Zambia develop and improve the health sector would always remain a priority for the US government.
"The Zambian health sector is doing ambitious things and we have seen government doing so much to raise the health standards of the Zambian people," he said.
"One improvement is that here in Southern Province government will start scaling up cervical cancer screening; this will save a lot of lives. So we will begin to work together to construct some cervical cancer screening wards and expand to other areas. So my impressions are positive though we still have a long way to go."
Ambassador Storella said he was impressed that the country was working hard to get to zero new infections of HIV and AIDS. He said this was seen through the increase in the professional practice which would reduce the mother to child transmission of HIV.
"The US will always be a reliable partner for the Zambian health sector, and we have been increasing our funding in the last five years. In Southern Province, we spend US$5 million dollars every year and US$400 million every year on the Zambian health sector as a whole," Ambassador Storella said.
He said with First Lady Dr Christine Kaseba's commitment to fighting cervical cancer and President Michael Sata's award for spearheading the fight against malaria, the country was poised for a developed health sector
Labels: AMBASSADOR, CIRCUMCISION, FRAUD, HIV/AIDS, MARK STORELLA
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PF govt in right direction - Anttinen
By Fridah Nkonde
Tue 05 Feb. 2013, 15:40 CAT
FINNISH Ambassador to Zambia Pertti Anttinen has expressed confidence that the government will deliver development to the poorest in society. In an interview, Ambassador Anttinen said it was evident that the government is trying its best to ensure that the needs of ordinary people are addressed. He said the issue of inequality needed to be addressed by the government at all costs.
"Issues of inequality is the biggest the Zambian government needs to address. The issue of ensuring that resources trickle down to everyone in society is very tricky. I think the issue of rural and urban areas in Zambia has somehow contributed to the issue of resources failing to get to everybody in society. Poverty is mostly prevailing in the rural areas of Zambia," Ambassador Anttinen said.
He said the PF and its government were in the right direction in as far as ensuring that resources trickle down to everyone in society was concerned.
"They are in the right direction. If we look at the current budget, the amount of money spent on social services and education, we can all see that there has been an increase. These are the things that should be addressed," Ambassador Anttinen said.
He said he was confident that things will change in Zambia, adding that the government was doing everything possible to address many challenges.
Ambassador Anttinen said there was also need to ensure that most people in the country were skilled to prevent a situation where many of them find it very difficult to get formal employment.
"People who are skilled are more likely to be employed, as compared to those that are not. Creation of jobs can also help the economy to grow. Government should also make agriculture more efficient so as to benefit those in rural areas," said Ambassador Anttinen.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, PERTTI ANTTINEN, POVERTY
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US envoy stumped by thong protest
Naked aggression ... Ambassador Wharton is given an eyeful by Zanu PF protester
21/01/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton has faced many protests from Zanu PF supporters since arriving in Harare last year – but none of them have been as quite revealing as this encounter in Mutare last week.
The envoy was forced to abandon a visit to the American Corner at the Turner Memorial Library in Mutare on Wednesday after Zanu PF supporters angrily confronted him demanding the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Among the protesters was Sheila Mutsenhu, who grabbed the ambassador’s attention by stripping to her bra and thong.
Mutsenhu’s naked rage shocked the ambassador who said later that the Zanu PF protesters were “not interested in a conversation”.
The envoy also said he supported their right to protest, but demanded a "respectful sharing of ideas”.
Mutsenhu later told the Manica Post:
"Our beautiful country is reeling under the effects of illegal sanctions imposed by the West, yet we have an Ambassador coming here to tour what they say are developmental projects.
"We cannot wine and dine with the enemy and the message we are sending to them is that enough is enough, we want the country's economy to be back on track and this can only be achieved if the illegal sanctions are lifted.”
Unconfirmed reports say Mutsenhu is the same woman who stormed the newsroom of the Daily News in April last year and excoriated journalists before urinating in the reception area.
The Daily News raid woman, who was never identified, scolded journalists over a report in the paper claiming that President Robert Mugabe was seriously ill in Singapore.
The US embassy has demanded better protection for diplomats after Wharton was confronted by protesters in Rusape and Makoni in recent weeks.
"We call on the government of Zimbabwe to ensure the safety and security of diplomatic personnel, and to condemn the harassment and intimidation of peaceful exchanges between the US and the Zimbabwean people," an embassy statement said.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, SANCTIONS, SHEILA MUTSENHU, ZDERA
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Storella calls MPs to go for male circumcision
TIME PUBLISHED - Monday, November 19, 2012, 4:44 pm
United States (US) Ambassador to Zambia, Mark Storella, says national leaders hold the key to the reduction of new HIV infections through medical male circumcision.
Speaking during a Medical Male Circumcision Workshop for Members of Parliament today, Mr Storella urged Members of Parliament and other leaders to go for male circumcision and thereby encourage other citizens to do the same.
He said male circumcision is a huge intervention in the fight against HIV and AIDS as it reduces the risk of HIV infections by 60 per cent.
Mr Storella stated that the circumcision of 1.9 million people by 2015 target that Zambia has set for itself could translate to 339,632 new infections prevented if combined with other methods of protection.
And speaking when he launched the workshop, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mkhondo Lungu, said the workshop is meant to provide a platform for Members of Parliament to share information on male circumcision in HIV prevention, and also explore ways of how MPs can use their leadership positions to increase the numbers of people undergoing male circumcision in their constituencies.
Mr Lungu expressed gratitude to the US for increasing funding to Zambia for male circumcision from US $ 5 million to US $16 million in 2012.
[ZANIS]
Labels: AMBASSADOR, CIRCUMCISION, FRAUD, MARK STORELLA
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US admits sanctions hurt Zim economy
Saturday, 17 November 2012 00:22
Hebert Zharare and Farirai Machivenyika
The admission comes after the World Diamond Council said it was also engaging the US government and the European Union to lift sanctions they imposed on Marange diamonds, despite Zimbabwe having received the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme nod to export the gems.
THE United States government has, for the first time, admitted that the illegal sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe were hurting ordinary people and the economy.
Incoming US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr David Bruce Wharton made the admission yesterday at a media roundtable discussion in Harare and pledged to work with authorities in Zimbabwe and the US to normalise relations.
The admission comes after the World Diamond Council said it was also engaging the US government and the European Union to lift sanctions they imposed on Marange diamonds, despite Zimbabwe having received the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme nod to export the gems.
Speaking in Victoria Falls this week during the inaugural Zimbabwe Diamond Conference, president of the WDC, Mr Eli Izhakoff, said the scrapping of the embargoes was the only way the KP’s integrity would be preserved.
So far, firms wishing to buy Marange diamonds have lost US$30 million which was intercepted by the US Treasury’s Office for Foreign Assets Control.
Said Mr Wharton: “Sanctions do harm. I do not dismiss or diminish the importance of sanctions, that is why I am so eager to work with the people of Zimbabwe, with the Government of Zimbabwe and with the people back in Washington so that we move beyond sanctions to return us to a normal bilateral relationship which I believe will be to the benefit of both countries.
“I think that sanctions do depress the value of Zimbabwe’s diamonds, I don’t know (by) how much,” he said.
“I have seen a lot of very different numbers about the effects of sanctions on the revenues from Zimbabwe’s diamond industry, but I think there is some effect, a negative effect.”
Over the years, successive US ambassadors have denied that sanctions were hurting ordinary people, arguing that they were targeted at a few individuals and entities they are accusing of undermining the rule of law.
Mr Wharton, who presented his credentials to President Mugabe on Thursday, said he intended to bring high-level officials from his government to assess the situation on the ground.
“That is my goal (to normalise relations) it is not something I can do alone. I have to work with my colleagues in Washington. There are people of various opinions in Washington and I need to work very closely with the Government of Zimbabwe and people of Zimbabwe in order to paint an accurate, clear and confidence-building picture of Zimbabwe so that we can move beyond sanctions,” Mr Wharton said.
He added: “It is important, though this is my own ambition, to bring high-level American leaders -- political leaders --- to Zimbabwe. I think it is important; the more people from Washington (who) come here and see what is going on, the better.
“I will certainly suggest to the White House that Zimbabwe would welcome (US) President (Barack) Obama, but that decision will rest in Washington but I know I can get some important American leaders here,” Ambassador Wharton said.
He, however, said it was important that Zimbabwe implemented the Global Political Agreement in its entirety and also respected the values of the liberation struggle.
The US envoy, who once worked at the US Embassy between 1990 and 2003 in the public affairs section, said he would not use his past experiences on assessing the situation in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, on the diamonds sanctions, the WDC president Mr Izhakoff said; “Zimbabwe’s diamonds should be allowed to be exported without restrictions. I want to engage the United States of America Treasury Department and the European Union to lift some sanctions imposed on diamonds from Zimbabwe. When I go back I want to convince my board of directors to allow me to do that,” he said.
Zimbabwe has attained the KP full membership after being certified to sell Marange diamonds after fulfilling the body’s requirements.
Mr Izhakoff commented after Minister Mpofu and the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation chairman Mr Goodwills Masimirembwa gave some incisive presentations that convinced all the delegates on the need to have the embargoes scrapped.
The US government is taking advantage of the fact that all money wired to any country or organisation the world over in US dollars passes through its Treasury Department and OFAC makes sure money is not sent to Zimbabwe.
The ZMDC and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe are targets of the OFAC sanctions because they are Zimbabwe Government’s investment arms.
The ZMDC has shares in all companies mining diamonds in Marange.
The delegates attending the diamonds conference held under the theme; “Unlocking Zimbabwe’s Diamonds Together,” were unanimous that it was suicidal for the KP not allow a country that had almost two million hectares infested with rough diamonds not to sell the gems.
According to experts the country had potential to produce between 110 and 160 million carats per year, about 20 to 25 percent of the world’s diamond output.
Delegates were unanimous that Zimbabwe was going to receive fair treatment from the KP when South Africa assumes the chairmanship of the gems regulatory body next year.
The Zimbabwe diamonds are likely to dominate debate during the KP intercessory meeting in the United States this year.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, DAVID WHARTON, SANCTIONS, WORLD DIAMOND COUNCIL, ZDERA
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