Miliband comments: no diplomatic gaffe, but MDC snub
Comment
Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:43:00 +0000
IT is naive for anyone to think that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband made a diplomatic blunder when he mentioned that the MDC-T party controlled some sanctions and that Britain was waiting to take the cue from that party on whether to lift sanctions or not.
While most leaders try to achieve political unity, some do use divisive tactics to maintain control, or to expand influence by fostering disunity and mistrust. Britain is well-known for "Divide-And-Conquer" or "Divide-And-Rule" tactics. They are playing those tactics with Zimbabwe now. MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai is no longer an asset to Britain, he is now dispensable and disposable.
The way to dispense of Tsvangirai it is to create confusion. His crime is that he entered into an inclusive Government with President Mugabe against the advice of the British, now he is no longer an asset to them, nor their foreign policy.
Miliband's comments are merely a public diplomatic strategy to discredit the inclusive Government and cause problems for the new administration. He did it very well on January 19 during that Q&A session in the House of Commons.
Britain wanted someone to replace, not work with, President Mugabe. They have a regime-change agenda, and they will not rest until that's achieved.
Miliband gave Tsvangirai a rope to hang himself with, and thereby divided the new Government.
The British Foreign Secretary never issued a retraction, only the British embassy tried to explain the statement.
Britain is now looking to the next person, or group, to use in their foreign policy objective on Zimbabwe, or rescucitate Tsvangirai by discrediting the inclusive Government.
Simply put, the relationship between Britain and the MDC is finished - as long as the MDC remains in the inclusive Government.
The issue was never about the welfare of Zimbabwe or Zimbabweans, otherwise how does one explain the fact that Britain shipped, and are still shipping, Zimbabweans of British descent to Britain and left thousands of senior citizens and vulnerable groups at the mercy of their illegal sanctions?
Infact, Britain claims that the sanctions are not hurting ordinary people, so why ship out their own?
The MDC-T party, with all its naivety, aided Britain to achieve what was already a planned move: to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe so that the land reform programme can be reversed.
The Chilcot Iraq Inquiry recently found out that Tony Blair would have deposed Saddam Hussein whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction. In the same vein, Blair also wanted President Mugabe removed with or without the various arguments proffered against political governance in Zimbabwe.
The MDC was merely a pawn in the wider scheme of things. They were only duped to believe that they were taking part in a game that was already in place.
The absentee British landlords that sat in the House of Lords wanted President Mugabe to go, at any cost, so that they could keep the land that had been conferred to them by the white supremacist and racist Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Smith.
The Westminster Foundation (WF) that funded the MDC works to fund "emerging democracies". What are emerging democracies? They are merely former British colonies, or places where Britain has a foreign policy objective.
Otherwise, why did Britain not fund them pre-1992 before it was established? Why was Britain not as vocal about human rights when Ian Smith and South Africa's PW Botha were brutalizing blacks?
Why does the WF, a branch of Miliband's office, only work with "partner organisations to foster democracy" and not with governments?
As they seek to strengthen civil society institutions and opposition parties, why do they not also strengthen "and help foster democracy" by working with ruling party and government departments?
Infact the name Movement for Democratic Change is found within the objects of the WF.
The Foundation's website says it aims to "establish contact with, offer assistance to, and work with individual political parties or MOVEMENTS with which they have a political affinity" to encourage "DEMOCRATIC CHANGE".
The WF only works in areas where Britain has foreign policy objectives: Kenya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, etc. They train women, youth, parliaments, trade unions, etc. but never engage governments.
Here is a snapshot of their work: Giving Iraqi People a Voice, Citizens' Empowerment in Kenya, Women in Local Government in Sierra Leone, Engaging Sierra Leonean Youth in Politics, Sudan Mirror Sheds Light, Developing the Skills of Young Iraqi Trade Unionists, Parliamentary Committees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Promoting Active Youth Participation in Ukraine, Training Young Political Leaders in Moldova, The Serbian Code of Conduct, Paralegal Training in Uganda, Promoting Information Sharing, etc.
Now that the MDC is in government, they are slowly being disposed of.
Morally, Britain could not have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe without a local political group to support that process.
Afterall colonial Britain was responsible for the decades of suffering of the black population in Zimbabwe, South Africa and many other areas where they colonised. They cannot be seen as recolonising these lands, so they use pawns: the MDC is one such pawn. That pawn is no longer useful and it is being disposed of gradually.
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Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, DAVID MILIBRAND, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, NEOCOLONIALISM, UK, WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION
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COMMENT - First of all, ms. Carolyn Davidson, I do not accept lies from elected or government officials. When you talk about 'restrictive measures', you are lying. You are using language that obfuscates the economic sanctions that are in place against Zimbabwe, and I don't care if that is your government's cowardly official stance or not. The economic sanctions against Zimbabwe have destroyed that country's currency, and were intended to destroy their economy to the point that the people would riot against their government. Secondly, the destruction of the Zimbabwean currency was intended to make the government's agricultural reforms fail, so your kith and kin could keep their stranglehold on Africa's land. Just as they are maintaining their stranglehold on Africa's mines, to where they rip off Zambia to the tune of $2,400 million a year or more. Your collective $600 million in donor aid does not come even close to compensate for that.
Your insistence that economic sanctions 'do not hurt ordinary Zimbabweans' is only more evidence of your complete cowardice and lack of character. Of course economic sanctions hurt ordinary Zimbabweans - that is the idea. How else could they be moved to overthrow their own government? Economic sanctions killed upto 500,000 Iraqi women and children because of lack of access to basic medication. Why would economic sanctions somehow exempt the ordinary Zimbabwean citizen when it comes to Zimbabwe? We all know the extent of the cholera outbreak - well most of those deaths would have been prevented if the local councils had access to imported chemicals for water purification. Those deaths are directly on your head. And you dare come onto a public forum and state that economic sanctions that have destroyed the national currency 'do not hurt ordinary Zimbabweans'.
You are a coward, a hypocrite and a liar.
British High Commissioner respondsBy British High Commission,Lusaka
Sat 06 Feb. 2010, 04:00 CAT
Your editorial on Sunday January 31, 2010 focused on Zimbabwe and the UK and EU "sanctions."
As the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, made clear in Parliament on January 19, the most important factor influencing the United Kingdom's views on lifting EU restrictive measures will be evidence of actual change and reform on the ground in Zimbabwe. These are not MDC-T measures. These are not ZANU(PF) measures. They are the EU’s, and we will make our own judgements as to when they should be reinforced or eased.
But the key to having restrictive measures eased, or lifted, is for those in Zimbabwe who are currently resisting progress to implement the commitments to reform they agreed to in the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
The EU measures currently impose restrictions on 203 key figures involved in the violence and human rights abuses of the Mugabe regime and 40 companies associated with these individuals and their sources of finance. They do not hurt ordinary Zimbabweans. They do not affect the development of legitimate trade or business. They do not have any adverse effect on humanitarian assistance.
Indeed, levels of British aid - $100 million this year - to Zimbabwe and ordinary Zimbabweans have never been higher.
Yours sincerely,
Carolyn Davidson
British High Commission,Lusaka
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, NEOCOLONIALISM, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Miliband revelation put MDC-T beyond redemption
Campion wekwaMereki - Miliband revelation put MDC-T beyond redemption
Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:41:00 +0000
DEAR EDITOR — The damage done to MDC-T by David Milliband’s statement about sanctions cannot be undone. All people who are trying to do damage control by saying he was quoted out of context are just applying lipstick to a frog.
Everybody who read or heard Miliband’s statement heard that sanctions can only be removed at the behest of MDC-T. So how people are falling over each other trying to interpret it in a way that says that he meant that Zanu-PF should behave itself, boggles the mind. The damage has already been done.
Those trying to do the damage control are just hiding behind a finger. It is as clear as day that MDC-T is a tool of the British. They created it and it is their baby. The British have just washed the baby’s soiled nappies in public.
MDC-T can try to defend itself but that will not change the fact that they called for the economic sanctions. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Tsvangirai never called for the removal or condemnation of the ruinous sanctions.
His Canadian handler, Stephen Harper, had the guts to say President Mugabe must go before full engagement with the West. This is what we call regime change. Why do the Harpers of this world want President Mugabe out of the picture?
They know that all their modern day colonial tactics are not bearing any fruit and are being frustrated by President Mugabe through his unwavering principles.
Harper is overlooking the history of his country where his forbears chased away the Amerindians who are the rightful owners of Canada.
President Mugabe must stand firm together with all of us who do not want to be subjugated by the white man again who is using our black brothers and sisters.
MDC-T is falling apart.
lt’s beyond public relations redemption. lt is in public relations hell right now.
There is not a public relations man who can restore except propagandists.
Not long we will be writing its epitaph.
Campion wekwaMereki
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Sanctions will stay, says Britain
Ralph Mutema
Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:43:00 +0000
BRITAIN has declared that it will not be pressured into lifting the illegal ruinous sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe until the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) is implemented in full.
Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the House of Commons International Development Committee, gave the British position in a statement issued on the arrival of his delegation in Harare on Monday.
Bruce said the British government has “made it clear that the key to having (sanctions) lifted is for those blocking progress in Zimbabwe to implement the commitments they signed up to."
The news comes days after British Foreign Secretary David Miliband revealed that the MDC party of Morgan Tsvangirai controls some of the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Britain, the US and their allies in the West.
Top EU officials are to meet on February 20 to decide whether to extend the sanctions.
Bruce said he and seven other British members of Parliament are in Zimbabwe for four days to assess the "effectiveness of humanitarian aid".
Miliband's statement last month to the effect that London would look to Tsvangirai and his MDC-T formation for guidance on whether the sanctions should be lifted has caused tension in the inclusive Government and stalled power-sharing talks.
Tsvangirai is now under increasing pressure from Zanu PF to call on his allies in the West to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe illegally.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, SANCTIONS, UK, ZDERA
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MDC, Britain relations strained over Miliband comments
Philip Murombedzi
Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:31:00 +0000
Prime Minister Tsvangirai and David Miliband, British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary meet in London in 2009
PRIME MINISTER Morgan Tsvangirai's party's long time relationship with former Zimbabwe coloniser, Britain was strained over utterances made in the House of Commons by Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband.
Miliband on Tuesday last week made the shock revelation that the MDC-T party "controlled" some of the illegal and ruionous sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe by Britain, the United States and their allies in the West.
He said that sanctions should continue against Zimbabwe until PM Tsvangirai personally advocated for them to be lifted.
PM Tsvangirai, whose party has had cordial relations with the former coloniser, said Saturday that Miliband's remarks were unhelpful as Zimbabwe's inclusive Government negotiates a power-sharing pact President Mugabe.
The prime minister said he told Miliband that "his comment was unfortunate." There was no immediate comment from the FCO or from Miliband over the utterances.
The British embassy in Harare tried to tone down Miliband's statement last week, without much success. The embassy did not retract Miliband's statement, but said that issues of human rights and media freedom were important in lifting "restrictive measures" against Zimbabwe.
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara also attacked Miliband for "un-strategic” thinking in the West which is undermining the country’s formal opposition.
Speaking in the Swiss ski resort of Davos where he is attending the annual World Economic Forum, Mutambara said Miliband’s statements showed that Western leaders would do well if they “speak less and listen more”.
“It’s an example of how Western leaders can be very un-strategic. We know they mean well, we know they support the people of Zimbabwe but when they make such statements they are completely undermining our bargaining power as the formal opposition.
“So it’s very unfortunate and very ignorant for him to stay that. We are saying to these western leaders please can you be strategic for this challenge; can you talk to us before you make these unreasonable and meaningless statements because you are undermining Mr Tsvangirai; you are undermining all of us in this inclusive Government,” he said.
Zanu PF maintains that the MDC-T should cause the lifting of sanctions that it asked Western countries to impose on Zimbabwe before any other concessions are made in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
The Zanu PF Politburo, the party’s highest decision making body outside Congress, which sat on Wednesday declared that the party would not make any more concessions in talks with the two MDC formations on issues outstanding in the full implementation of the GPA until the economic sanctions are lifted.
Addressing the media on Wednesday afternoon, Zanu PF deputy secretary for information and publicity Ephraim Masawi said the removal of sanctions had become imperative.
He said recent revelations by that London would remove sanctions at MDC’s request exposed MDC-T’s "treacherous role" in the initiation and drafting of the illegal sanctions against Zimbabweans saying the party was "a tool" of Western imperialism.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, DAVOS, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZANU-PF
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Strangulation of Zimbabwe
By Editor
Sun 31 Jan. 2010, 04:00 CAT
TRUTH and sincerity are priceless virtues in any kind of dealings. These virtues make things better and easier. Yet many people choose to shy away from them.
This is clearly happening with regard to sanctions that have been imposed on Zimbabwe by Western countries, which have caused massive suffering on the innocent and defenceless citizens during the last decade. As if this is not enough, these sanctions have now become the single biggest threat to the life of Zimbabwe’s inclusive government.
The current tiff between partners in the inclusive government - ZANU-PF and MDC – is clearly a result of untruths that have been perpetuated over time.
The inclusive government, which will be one year old in two weeks time, has been hanging by a thread ever since its inception because of endless squabbles. These contretemps led to the near-collapse of the shaky power-sharing government on October 16, 2009 when MDC pulled out, only to be coaxed back by an urgent SADC summit on November 5.
Since then, the country’s leaders have been negotiating to deal with a host of outstanding issues to the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that bore the coalition, with ZANU- PF's main concerns being the removal of sanctions and the closure of foreign based radio stations beaming into Zimbabwe.
The MDC's list of outstanding issues include the “controversial” appointments of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, Attorney General Johannes Tomana, the country's ten provincial governors and the perceived persecution of Tsvangirai's close aide Roy Bennett, who is pending being sworn in as deputy agriculture minister. Before the parties took a break from the negotiations, there appeared to be a breakthrough on the talks as parties covered a lot of ground, clearing most of the issues of the 27-item agenda. The negotiators appeared to be within reach of an ultimate resolution of the issues which have been creating conflict in this shaky coalition until British foreign secretary David Miliband told the truth about the sanctions.
The talks have now been thrown into chaos. They have taken a dramatic turn for the worst after last week’s revelations by Miliband that the EU would only remove sanctions on Zimbabwe at MDC’s request.
Here is what Miliband said while addressing the House of Commons last Tuesday:
“I agree that numerous aspects of the situation in Zimbabwe are of deep concern. It is right to say that, over the past year, the economic situation has changed in a quite fundamental way, although it is not quite right to refer to the detention of Roy Bennett as a continued threat to him through a legal case. In respect of sanctions, we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way, as progress is made. I do not think that it is right to say that the choice is between lifting all sanctions and lifting none at all. We have to calibrate our response to the progress on the ground, and, above all, to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country. A range of EU sanctions is in place. Some of them refer to individuals, others to so-called parastatal organisations. Different sanctions have been brought in at different points, and different sanctions are the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system. I believe that EU sanctions have helped to send a strong message, and that they have had a practical effect without hurting the Zimbabwean people, which would have been a sanction too far.”
Miliband had been asked by North-West Norfolk member of parliament, Henry Bellingahm whether he agreed that sanctions should not be lifted until the arrest of MDC treasurer Roy Bennet and concerns about human rights were addressed.
All along, the MDC has been untruthful and insincere about their role in the sanctions against Zimbabwe by the US and the EU. They have maintained that they have no role in the removal of sanctions. The US and EU have also been untruthful and insincere about the effects of the sanctions. They have maintained that the only sanctions in place are “targeted” at the 203 members of President Robert Mugabe’s inner circle, who are only not permitted to travel or do business in Europe and America.
To the contrary, the sanctions have not affected even one of the so-called targeted individuals. After all, they, including President Mugabe still travel to the US and EU. It is clear for all to see that the sanctions have affected the poor and “untargeted”.
Here is how. It is common knowledge that because of sanctions, the US and EU have suspended all forms of balance of payments support, technical assistance, grants and infrastructural development flows to both government and private sectors and stopped all lending operations to the country. Yes, the humanitarian aid comes in and is channelled through US and European NGOs and agencies, not through the government. Is it not because of sanctions?
The shortage of foreign currency resulted in the country accumulating external payment arrears.
Zimbabwe's balance of payments position deteriorated significantly since 2000 from the combined effects of inadequate export performance and reduced capital inflows. According to government figures, foreign exchange reserves declined as a result, from US $830 million or three months import cover in 1996 to less than one month's cover by 2006.
The foreign exchange shortages severely constrained the country's capacity to meet foreign payment obligations and finance critical imports such as drugs, grain, raw materials, fuel and electricity, leading to hunger, closure of hospitals, fuel shortages, power cuts etc.
We, as a newspaper, have been in Zimbabwe for almost three years now and we have not seen any of the so-called targeted people suffering. Instead, we, along with millions of the poor and untargeted people, have had to deal with everyday problems listed above.
The country has had a significant build up in external payments arrears. Total foreign payments arrears increased from US$109 million at the end of 1999 to US$2.5 billion by the end of 2006.The worsening of the country's creditworthiness and its risk profile led to the drying up of sources of external finance.
The withdrawal of the multilateral financial institutions from providing balance of payments support to Zimbabwe also had an effect on some bilateral creditors and donors who have followed suit by either scaling down or suspending disbursements on existing loans to the government and parastatal companies.
Prior to these developments, Zimbabwe was highly rated in the international financial markets.
The capital account, traditionally a surplus account, has been in deficit since 2000. As such, international investors prefer other countries for investment, depriving Zimbabwe of much-needed foreign direct investment.
Sanctions have also affected the image of the country through negative perceptions by the international community. Zimbabwean companies are finding it extremely difficult to access lines of credit. As a result, they have to pay cash for imports.
As a result of the risk premium, the country's private companies have been securing offshore funds at prohibitive interest rates. This has had a ripple effect on employment levels and low capacity utilisation as reflected by the recent shortages of basic goods and services. Declining export performance has also adversely affected the standards of living for the general populace, and because of the deteriorating economic conditions, the country has experienced large scale emigration, especially of skilled labour, thus further straining the economy. As at last year, three million people were estimated to have emigrated. The country recorded 90 per cent unemployment levels.
The sanctions have adversely impacted on Foreign Direct Investment to Zimbabwe. Investors are shying away and FDI inflows have collapsed from US$444.3 million in 1998 to only US$50 million in 2006.
In addition, Anglo-American companies have been strongly discouraged from investing in Zimbabwe by their home governments. This has adversely affected investment levels into the country, thus accentuating the foreign exchange shortages leading to further shortages of fuel and imported raw materials. The shortage of fuel has a domino effect on all sectors of the economy.
All these things are there for all to see. Zimbabweans themselves have opted to move forward and rebuild their country.
But in order for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery to go ahead, these sanctions must be repealed. This is also a call from SADC and the African Union.
The MDC, which entered into a partnership with ZANU-PF, has always maintained it has no influence over the issue insisting removal of the sanctions. The question is, if the MDC has had no role in the sanctions, why would the British government wait on its advice to remove them?
This only plays into what President Mugabe and ZANU-PF have always believed and have said consistently since 2000, that the sanctions came about following a lobby by the MDC and can only be removed following a similar lobby by the same party. This also plays into what President Mugabe has been saying all along, that actually sanctions were never about conditions in Zimbabwe but about an imperialistic agenda.
The MDC has found itself struggling under the weight of the same sanctions. And as long as these sanctions continue to exist they will undermine the position of the MDC in the unity government. They have been left exposed by Miliband. ZANU-PF can continue to point that the “MDC campaigned for these sanctions, it is their fault this has occurred and we will not implement our side of the GPA reforms until the MDC ask Britain or and the United States to lift these sanctions that these countries campaigned for.”
For Miliband to come out and then say we will take the cue from the MDC; we will wait for the MDC to tell us when to lift them; this is what President Mugabe has been saying all along. So Britain has to conduct itself very, very carefully with regard to the GPA in Zimbabwe particularly to sanctions.
US President Barack Obama is also demonstrating unhelpful double standards by directly negotiating with reclusive regimes in North Korea and Sudan and yet refusing to open direct channels with Zimbabwe.
When he campaigned for presidency, he said he would talk to his enemies unlike George W Bush.
He comes into power and has been seen to be doing this. The diplomatic relations and negotiations are going on with Korea, with Iran, with Al Bashir in Sudan, all these leaders of these countries considered human rights violators. But with Zimbabwe, that direct line between the White House and State House in Zimbabwe has not been re-opened. This only goes to show that there is an iota of vindictiveness against Zimbabwe. The US’s exclusive law on Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) - still remains.
For the interest of progress in Zimbabwe, the sanctions must be removed. There is a stalemate in the inclusive government and, as we have stated before, the sticking point is the issue of sanctions.
However, we think the removal of these sanctions must be a collective effort by all concerned. MDC must play its role. ZANU-PF must play its role. The US and EU must play their role.
MDC must play its role by, according to Miliband, advising Britain to lift the sanctions. ZANU-PF must also play its role by ensuring that conditions that brought about the sanctions are done away with. Political violence, human rights abuses and violent farm disruptions, repressive laws, which were reasons advanced by the West for imposing sanctions, must end completely. All agreed reforms must take place. ZANU-PF must realise that these sanctions are not entirely MDC’s baby.
The GPA does not in any way give the obligation of dealing with the restrictive measures on the MDC alone. It is a collective effort in the GPA between ZANU-PF and MDC in the context and within the aegis of the inclusive government.
The US and EU must play their role by removing the sanctions, letting Zimbabweans solve their own problems.
As long as sanctions remain, the inclusive government will not function smoothly. This means that the necessary constitution, political and economic reforms that are necessary to usher free and fair election within the 24 to 36-month lifespan of the inclusive government will not take place. It also means there will be no free and fair elections even next time around and it will be back to square one.
It will be sad indeed for all these things to happen when everyone concerned knows what to do.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZDERA, ZIMBABWE
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Tsvangirai deplores Miliband remarks
by
30/01/2010 00:00:00
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has condemned British Foreign Secretary David Miliband remarks regarding EU sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe saying the comments were “unhelpful” and likely to complicate the political situation in the country.
Miliband unwittingly strengthened President Robert Mugabe’s hand in the ongoing political dispute with his rivals by suggesting EU sanctions would continue against Zimbabwe until Tsvangirai called for their removal. Zanu PF has since demanded that the MDC leader call for the removal of the sanctions.
President Mugabe’s party, further, vowed not to make any more concessions in the ongoing dialogue over full implementation of the coalition agreement the parties signed in September 2008 until the sanctions are lifted.
And, as pressure over the issue increases, Tsvangirai told reporters in the Swiss ski resort of Davos where he was attending meetings of the World Economic Forum that Miliband’s comments were ill-conceived and badly timed especially as the country's feuding politicians battle to bridge differences over their power-sharing pact.
He said he had told Miliband during a meeting in Davos that his comments could further complicate the situation in the country.
"I did draw to his attention that his comment was unfortunate, it was uncalled for, because what it literally meant was that the MDC has to accept liability for any restrictions that have been placed on the country, rather than that it is the mis-governance and the failed policies that caused the European Union and the rest of the world to take those punitive measures," Tsvangirai told reporters.
His deputy, Arthur Mutambara, who leads the other MDC formation and was also in Davos took a much more robust position.
"With friends like those, who needs enemies?"
"What he (Miliband) has done is completely unstrategic, is very ignorant and very patronizing. Why? Because he is completely undermining Mr. Tsvangirai's power in the negotiations right now," Mutambara said late Friday.
Tsvangirai said while he did not support Mutambara's strong language, he emphasised to the British envoy that the comments could easily complicate the political battle over how Zimbabwe should be governed.
The MDC-T leader said a general political agreement must be reached at the ongoing power-sharing talks before he could call for western nations to lift their sanctions, which include travel bans on top officials and some curbs on Zimbabwean companies.
"What we want is to re-engage the European Union and normalize our relations," Tsvangirai said. "That is the objective."
Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office issued a statement on Saturday saying that it, and not Zimbabwean officials, will decide when to lift the sanctions.
"The most important factor influencing the U.K.'s views on lifting EU restrictive measures will be evidence of actual change and reform on the ground in Zimbabwe," it said. "We will make our own judgments as to when they should be reinforced or eased."
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, DAVOS, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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COMMENT - The cowards of the MDC are still calling the economic and financial sanctions against the people and government of Zimbabwe 'restrictive measures', so they can pretend that there are only travel restrictions against individuals in the ZANU-PF. The truth is that in the year 2002, the Zimbabwean government was put on a credit freeze, that froze it's credit lines, including all lines needed to do business. That year, the year 2002, what was the Zimbabwean
rising trade surplus of $322 million in 2001 collapsed into a trade deficit of $18 million.
ZANU-PF, MDC differ anew over removal of sanctions
By Kingsley Kaswende in Harare, Zimbabwe
Sat 30 Jan. 2010, 04:00 CAT
ZANU-PF and MDC, the two major political parties that make up Zimbabwe’s inclusive government have renewed their differences over the removal of sanctions slapped on the country by the West.
Their renewed fight is likely to distract the resumption of talks aimed at stabilising the volatile situation in the shaky unity government that was formed last year after a violent election in 2008.
While ZANU-PF maintains that the MDC should cause the lifting of sanctions that it asked Western countries to impose on Zimbabwe before it can fully implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA), the MDC insists that ZANU-PF should first implement the GPA fully before MDC can call for the lifting of sanctions.
The ZANU-PF politburo, the party’s highest decision making body, which sat on Wednesday declared that the party would not make any more concessions in talks with the two MDC formations on issues outstanding in the full implementation of the GPA until the economic sanctions are lifted.
Addressing the media on Wednesday afternoon, ZANU-PF deputy secretary for information and publicity Ephraim Masawi said the removal of sanctions had become imperative.
He said recent revelations by British foreign and Commonwealth secretary David Miliband that London would remove sanctions at MDC’s request exposed MDC-T’s "treacherous role" in the initiation and drafting of the illegal sanctions against Zimbabweans saying the party was "a tool" of Western imperialism.
"The people of Zimbabwe, as the victims of the MDC and Western murderous collusion, now demand that Mr Tsvangirai and his Western allies remove their evil sanctions so that children can go to school, the sick can be attended to in hospitals, people can find jobs and farmers produce,” Masawi said.
“The Politburo therefore instructs its negotiators on the GPA to desist from making concessions in the negotiations until the sanctions are removed and the pirate radio stations cease to pollute airwaves.”
But MDC secretary for international affairs, Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, said the sanctions could not be lifted because the conditions that brought them about were still in existence.
"Most of the issues that led to the imposition of the restrictive measures still remain unresolved," Prof Mukonoweshuro told The Changing Times, a newsletter from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office, on Wednesday.
"The issues of violence, human rights abuses and violent farm disruptions are still taking place. These are outstanding issues that need to be eradicated.”
Meanwhile, the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mark Canning, said the EU would not lift the sanctions until there was reform in Zimbabwe.
”As the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, made clear in the British Parliament on 19 January, the most important factor influencing the United Kingdom's views on lifting EU restrictive measures will be evidence of actual change and reform on the ground in Zimbabwe,” said Ambassador Canning.
”These are not MDC measures. These are not ZANU-PF measures. They are the EU’s, and we will make our own judgments as to when they should be reinforced or eased. But the key to having restrictive measures eased, or lifted, is for those in Zimbabwe who are currently resisting progress to implement the commitments to reform they agreed to in the Global Political Agreement."
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZANU-PF, ZDERA
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Talks face collapse over sanctions
by
28/01/2010 00:00:00
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party says it will not be making any more concessions in the ongoing talks with its coalition partners over full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) until sanctions are removed.
As the fall-out from remarks by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband over the sanctions continued, the Zanu PF supreme decision making body, the politburo said on Wednesday that the party’s negotiators have been instructed not to give any more ground in the on-and-off talks.
The three coalition partners are engaged in intermittent dialogue over so-called “outstanding issues” in the implementation of the political deal which facilitated the establishment of the inclusive government.
But clearly emboldened by Miliband’s remarks that sanctions would only be lifted on the advice of the MDC, Zanu-PF deputy information secretary Ephraim Masawi said the matter had become imperative.
The Zanu PF spokesperson said Miliband’s remarks exposed MDC-T’s "treacherous role" in the imposition of the sanctions adding the party was "a tool" of Western imperialism.
"The hypocrisy of the MDC-T’s denial of its role in the evil saga of the imposition of illegal sanctions now stands exposed for all to see.
"The people of Zimbabwe, as the victims of the MDC-T and Western murderous collusion, now demand that Mr Tsvangirai and his Western allies remove their evil sanctions so that children can go to school, the sick can be attended to in hospitals, people can find jobs and farmers produce.
“These are the effects of the sanctions and not the ‘restrictive measures’ as Mr Tsvangirai euphemistically calls them.
"The Politburo therefore instructs its negotiators on the GPA to desist from making concessions in the negotiations until the sanctions are removed and the pirate radio stations cease to pollute airwaves," he said.
Tsvangirai’s party is demanding that the appointments of the head of the country’s central bank and the attorney general be reversed but Zanu PF insists these were made constitutionally.
The MDC also wants its pick for deputy agriculture minister, Roy Bennett sworn into office and an “equitable” distribution of ambassadors, governors and other senior government appointments.
For its part Zanu PF has been demanding that the MDC do more to call for the removal of the sanctions and wants “pirate” radio broadcasts into the country stopped.
The talks, which are being facilitated by South Africa President Jacob Zuma have failed to take off this year and were moved to early next month.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT, MUGABE
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No more concessions to MDC: Zanu PF politburo
TH/TZG reporters
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:11:00 +0000
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe and his party's supreme decision-making body, the Politburo yesterday resolved never to give in to any more MDC-T demands until all sanctions they campaigned for are lifted by Britain, the US and their allies in the West.
The Politburo's resolution comes in the wake of revelations by Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband that the MDC-T party controls some of the sanctions and that Britain will take the cue from the MDC-T on when to lift sanctions agains Zimbabwe.
"Zanu PF will not make any more concessions in ongoing talks with the two MDC formations on issues outstanding in the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement until the illegal economic sanctions have been lifted," said a communique released to the Zimbabwe Guardian on Wednesday.
Any movement from Zanu PF would have to be predicated on an end to the illegal and ruinous embargo.
New members of the Politburo will also be announced after the next meeting of the organ in two weeks' time after briefing the Central Committe, the highest decision-making body after Congress.
Addressing journalists after the 230th Ordinary Session of the Politburo at the party’s headquarters in Harare yesterday, President Mugabe — who is Zanu PF’s First Secretary — said the Presidium will announce new members of that organ after briefing the Central Committee.
"You won’t see the Politburo now but in two weeks’ time after we have briefed the Central Committee as directed by the National People’s Conference in December last year.
"Congress allowed us to announce the Politburo after briefing the Central Committee first.
"There will obviously be old elements to be carried forward and new guys will be coming in," he said.
The Presidium deferred announcing a new Politburo during the Fifth National People’s Congress in December last year with President Mugabe indicating that consultations were still ongoing.
The Politburo is dissolved at the national congress every five years.
Zanu PF deputy secretary for information and publicity Ephraim Masawi said the removal of sanctions had become imperative.
He said recent revelations by British foreign and Commonwealth secretary David Miliband that London would remove sanctions at MDC’s request exposed MDC-T’s "treacherous role" in the initiation and drafting of the illegal sanctions against Zimbabweans saying the party was "a tool" of Western imperialism.
"The hypocrisy of the MDC-T’s denial of its role in the evil saga of the imposition of illegal sanctions now stands exposed for all to see.
"The people of Zimbabwe, as the victims of the MDC-T and Western murderous collusion, now demand that Mr Tsvangirai and his Western allies remove their evil sanctions so that children can go to school, the sick can be attended to in hospitals, people can find jobs and farmers produce.
"These are the effects of the sanctions and not the ‘restrictive measures’ as Mr Tsvangirai euphemistically calls them.
"The Politburo therefore instructs its negotiators on the GPA to desist from making concessions in the negotiations until the sanctions are removed and the pirate radio stations cease to pollute airwaves," he said.
Zanu PF GPA negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche were instructed to negotiate with the decisions of the Politburo in mind.
MDC-T Secretary General Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma represent MDC-T while Professor Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga represent the smaller formation of the MDC.
Masawi said the Politburo reaffirmed the legitimacy of Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono, Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana, and the 10 provincial governors’ appointments as they were constitutionally made.
"The Politburo raised concern that the MDC-T negotiators were raising more issues than the previously agreed seven, most of which were of an administrative nature," he said.
MDC-T now has about 27 "outstanding issues" to the GPA.
Among their demands is extra security for Prime Minister Tsvangirai, including a motorcade with police escorts.
MDC-T also wants the Joint Operations Command absorbed into the National Security Council, the appointment of their own nominee as ambassador to South Africa and the removal of Media, Information and Publicity Permanent Secretary George Charamba.
Sources said MDC-T would like to place people like Andrew Chadwick in the Information Ministry. He is currently a Principal Director in the PM's office responsible for communication.
Insiders told The Herald newspaper that most of MDC-T’s demands were "administrative issues that could be discussed between President Mugabe, Mr Tsvangirai and (Deputy Prime Minister) Arthur Mutambara and had nothing to do with the GPA".
"These issues should not stop the wheels of governance in Zimbabwe, the NSC is a legislative body whose decisions are implemented by JOC.
"Some issues, like the appointment of ambassadors, can be discussed by the principals.
"They are administrative issues that can be dealt with outside the GPA," a source said.
The Politburo yesterday condemned "in no uncertain terms the morbid interest to interfere in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs by external forces through the recruitment of their agents in the Government".
"For instance, last year’s partial disengagement from Government by the MDC-T purportedly triggered by the trial of Roy Bennett had factors more subterranean as it became quite clear that the influence was from outside forces who wanted to see their interests fulfilled," Masawi said.
The Politburo meeting discussed the constitution-making process and the December congress.
"The meeting resolved that the outreach programmes be intensified in order to ensure that the ideals and principles of the revolution are enshrined within the (new) constitution."
Yesterday’s meeting saw recently elected party Vice President John Nkomo and national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo take their positions at the high table.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, MUGABE, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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MDC resists pressure on sanctions
by
27/01/2010 00:00:00
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), put on the spot by the British government over western sanctions on Zimbabwe, resisted Zanu PF calls to call for the end of the embargo on Wednesday.
Britain’s Foreign Minister David Miliband told parliament on Tuesday that his country will only lift sanctions against Zimbabwe on the advice of Tsvangirai's MDC party.
"In respect of sanctions,” Miliband said, “we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way, as progress is made. I do not think that it is right to say that the choice is between lifting all sanctions and lifting none at all.
"We have to calibrate our response to the progress on the ground, and, above all, to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country.”
The comments were seized upon by Zanu PF officials who have long accused Tsvangirai’s party of campaigning for the imposition of sanctions since 2002.
Under a September 15 power sharing agreement, all three of Zimbabwe’s main parties agreed to call for the lifting of the sanctions.
In its first response to Miliband’s comments, the MDC issued a brief and rather confusing statement. The press brief avoided the word “sanctions”.
The statement, sent out under the title ‘MDC’s position on measures’, said: “While we enjoy the goodwill and integrity of the majority of Zimbabweans and indeed the international community, we are not responsible and accountable for Zanu PF’s failed policies and repression of the past which led to the country’s circumstances.
“As a partner in the inclusive government we are committed to remedying those failed policies and bring real change to the people of Zimbabwe.
“In our quest to rejoin the family of nations we expect to be assessed on the progress that is made on the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).”
MDC officials are said to be privately furious at Miliband’s comments which they fear has given Zanu PF a defence shield to stall political reforms which it would justify by saying the MDC has the power to get sanctions lifted, but is reluctant to do so.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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MDC impoverished millions of Zimbabweans
Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:38:00 +0000
DEAR EDITOR - The genie is out of the bottle after the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's unintended diplomatic gaff. Only a fool can now dispute that there are no sanctions against Zimbabwe and that these sanctions were implemented at the behest of Morgan Tsvangirai and the two MDC formations.
Zimbabweans should now take a class action (legal action) against Tsvangirai and the MDC formations for deliberately killing, maiming and impoverishing millions of us via sanctions. Tsvangirai and MDC-T have control over these sanctions (as Miliband has stated) and should ask for their prompt removal.
This revelation by Miliband demonstrates that Tsvangirai and MDC-T have cynically used sanctions to make the economy explode so as to try and change the voting behaviour of Zimbabweans.
Chester Crocker (the former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs) had this to say during US Senate hearings on Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act before it was put into law in 2002: “To separate the Zimbabwean people from Zanu PF, we are going to have to make their economy scream, and I hope you, senators, have the stomach for what you have to do.”
The sanctions have been used by MDC formations and their western allies to wage a psychological war against Zimbabweans.
Chester Crocker further stated that, “The second option, and I speak very candidly, is to work through all appropriate channels for a change in power in Zimbabwe.
"So if we were to decide to try and work for change in power in Zimbabwe, I would hope that we would have the wisdom to be discrete, to be low-key and to avoid giving those in power there the excuse that foreigners are out to get them.” (Chester Crocker, 106th Congress House Hearings - Zimbabwe: Democracy on the Line - Tuesday, June 13, 2000).
The US and UK and their allies have been trying to play the discrete game so that any political changes in Zimbabwe are seen to be home grown and not engineered by the West.
MDC-T and MDC-M and the NGOs were supposed to present this home grown front. The truth of the matter is the West deliberately destabilised the Zimbabwean economy in order to further its own economic interests.
The explosion of Zimbabwean economy was to be blamed on Zanu PF mismanagement and policies.
Eddie Cross, Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti and Roy Bennett were at the forefront of advocating the sanctions regime.
The question every Zimbabwean should ask himself or herself is whether anyone who advocates sanctions that kill you, maim you and impoverish you has your interests at heart?
*Tendai Nyathi writes via email.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, MDC CORRUPTION, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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MDC-T must act on sanctions now: Zanu PF
Ralph Mutema
Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:17:00 +0000
THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) must immediately ask the West to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe as they have taken part in the formulation of those sanctions in the first, Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo has said in the wake of revelations by Britain that the lifting of sanctions is dependent on the MDC-T.
On Tuesday during a Question and Answer session in the House of Commons, British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband said that Britain was waiting for MDC-T to ask for the sanctions to be removed.
Miliband also revealed that some of the sanctions in place are controlled by PM Tsvangirai's MDC-T party.
MDC-T leaders have in recent months tried to wriggle out of the Global Political Agreement obligation of lobbying for an end to Western sanctions by claiming that they hold no sway over the European Union and the US position on the embargo.
Speaking in Harare yesterday, Khaya-Moyo said, "Britain has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of sanctions. They have admitted that the MDC called for the sanctions and it can only remove them on the request of the MDC.
"Thus Tsvangirai should go and ask for the removal of those sanctions. The declared and undeclared sanctions are affecting the country because we are not getting lines of credit and companies are being forced to close."
Newsnet quoted MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa as saying sanctions were "an outstanding GPA issue". The spokesman has previously denied that sanctions were an outstanding issue saying the MDC-T party did not have a hand in the sanctions formulation process.
A founding member of the MDC, Gabriel Chaibva said last year that the MDC was the brainchild of the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy Recovery Act (ZIDERA) legislation which imposes sanctions on Zimbabwe.
“I was there when Zidera was crafted in Nyanga by the MDC. At that point Munyaradzi Gwisai stood up in protest and told everyone present that the MDC had been taken over by the U.S. and Europe and business was no longer controlled from Harvest House…,” said Chaibva in September last year.
The MDC-T secretary for international relations Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro tried to dismiss Miliband’s statement saying it was just an "insinuation" and did not indicate that they had any influence over Britain or the EU’s decisions.
Miliband categorically stated that they were waiting for instructions from the MDC-T party regarding the removal of sanctions.
"In respect of sanctions, (that) is something that we will discuss. We have ... to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country," Miliband told the House of Commons in response to a question posed by Henry Bellingham, the Conservative MP for North-West Norfolk.
Miliband also revealed that some sanctions are controlled by the MDC-T party of PM Tsvangirai, but he was not in a position to inform the House which ones were controlled by that party.
"A range of EU sanctions is in place. Different sanctions have been brought in at different points, and different sanctions are the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system.
"Some are controlled by the MDC. I would be happy to give ... a more detailed answer, but I think that it might detain the House beyond the time available for the question."
In the GPA the MDC-T party agreed to call for the lifting of the illegal sanctions and campaign for the closure of pirate radio stations illegally beaming into Zimbabwe.
MDC-T party ministers still offer interviews to these pirate stations despite having agreed to campaign for their closure or licensing.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, SANCTIONS, SIMON KHAYA MOYO, ZANU-PF, ZDERA
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British embassy firefighting after Miliband revelation
Mutsawashe Makuvise
Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:39:00 +0000
REALISING that they had made a diplomatic blunder by admitting that
the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) was controlling some of the sanctions illegally imposed on Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom has issued fire fighting statements to try and mitigate the effects of the statement made on Wednesday.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the House of Commons that a decision on lifting sanctions would be informed by advice from the as well as developments on the ground in Zimbabwe.
The British Embassy in Harare issued a statement as it became clear that Miliband had made a diplomatic blunder that exposed the MDC-T's hand in the formulation and control of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
First Secretary Keith Scott said in a statement that Britain wants to see the inclusive Government adopt wider reforms before it backs the lifting of sanctions. Scott was more cautious that Miliband. He did not mention the MDC-T party in his comments.
"We need to see progress on implementing the political and economic reforms that are in the global political agreement before we can move on these issues. The sanctions do not affect ordinary Zimbabweans, they only affect those they are targeted at," said in the statement.
The Embassy issued a statement which tried to neutralise Miliband's saying “the most important factor influencing the United Kingdom’s views on lifting European Union restrictive measures will be evidence of actual change and reform on the ground in Zimbabwe.”
The Embassy also avoided the word "sanctions" which was used by Miliband, opting for the one favoured by the MDC-T party, "restrictive measures".
"The key to having restrictive measures eased, or lifted, is for those in Zimbabwe who are currently resisted progress to implement the commitments to reform they agreed to in the Global Political Agreement," said the statement.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, EMBASSIES, SANCTIONS, UK, ZDERA
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Act on sanctions now, MDC-T told
Herald Reporter
MDC-T can longer claim to have no say in the subsistence of the Western sanctions regime and must ask for the lifting of the illegal Western embargo, Zanu-PF national chairman Cde Simon Khaya-Moyo has said.
This follows the revelation in the House of Commons on Tuesday by British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband that Britain was waiting for MDC-T to ask for the sanctions to be removed.
MDC-T leaders have in recent months tried to wriggle out of their Global Political Agreement obligation of lobbying for an end to Western sanctions by claiming that they hold no sway over the European Union and the US position on the embargo.
Speaking in Harare yesterday, Cde Khaya-Moyo said, "Britain has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of sanctions. They have admitted that the MDC called for the sanctions and it can only remove them on the request of the MDC.
"Thus Tsvangirai should go and ask for the removal of those sanctions. The declared and undeclared sanctions are affecting the country because we are not getting lines of credit and companies are being forced to close."
Last night Newsnet quoted MDC-T spokesperson Mr Nelson Chamisa as saying sanctions were "an outstanding GPA issue".
In an interview with The Herald, MDC-T secretary for international relations Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro said Miliband’s statement was just an "insinuation" and did not indicate that they had any influence over Britain or the EU’s decisions.
"We don’t formulate foreign policy on any country’s behalf . . . We are saying that they should judge us by the progress that we have made so far in the commitments we have undertaken (in the GPA).
"We can’t instruct them on what to do as regards their foreign policy on Zimbabwe," he said.
Below is the full text of questions posed to David Miliband on Zimbabwe and his responses in the House of Commons on January 20, 2010.
Mr Henry Bellingham (Conservative): When (does) he (Gordon Brown) next expect to meet his EU counterparts to discuss EU relations with Zimbabwe?
David Miliband: Zimbabwe will be considered by EU foreign ministers during the course of February, and I look forward to having discussions then. The UK and the EU are strong supporters of the global political agreement — the GPA — and we will continue to press for progress. We welcome the recent agreement of the GPA signatories to establish key commissions, and we urge implementation of that agreement.
Mr Bellingham: I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for that reply. Does he agree that, although the economic news coming out of Zimbabwe is now more promising, there are still huge concerns about human rights abuses and about the detention of Movement for Democratic Change MPs such as Roy Bennett? Does he also agree that the existing sanctions should not be lifted until those issues have been dealt with?
David Miliband: Yes, I agree that numerous aspects of the situation in Zimbabwe are of deep concern. It is right to say that, over the past year, the economic situation has changed in a quite fundamental way, although it is not quite right to refer to the detention of Roy Bennett as a continued threat to him through a legal case. In respect of sanctions, we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way, as progress is made. That is something that we will discuss. I do not think that it is right to say that the choice is between lifting all sanctions and lifting none at all. We have to calibrate our response to the progress on the ground, and, above all, to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country.
Kate Hoey (Labour): Does the Foreign Secretary share my concern that President Zuma of South Africa has not challenged Mugabe and the MDC fully to carry out the terms of the Global Political Agreement? He seems continually to be urging compromise on the MDC.
David Miliband: President Zuma is playing a careful hand, and he is playing it rather skilfully. The Prime Minister (Brown) was able to discuss Zimbabwe, among other things, with him at the Commonwealth conference in November. President Zuma will be making a state visit to the UK in early March, and I have had discussions with my South African opposite number. The position of the South Africans has certainly been to urge adherence to the Global Political Agreement, which requires compromise on all sides, and I do not think that they have been less than even-handed in the way in which they have done that.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Con): Should not all European Union governments recognise that Morgan Tsvangirai was right to enter into a coalition with Robert Mugabe, if there was to be a prospect of peaceful change? Is it not worth remembering that even Nelson Mandela entered into a coalition with the white South African National Party, and that Solidarity in Poland entered into a coalition with the communists? They all recognised that change has to be gradual if it is to have any chance of producing peaceful stability.
David Miliband: No European country, to my knowledge, has condemned Mr Tsvangirai for the move that he made. I am not sure what the implication of the right honourable and learned gentleman’s question was, but I hope that it was not to question the fact that this is a transitional agreement whose conclusion will be a proper democratic election that respects the will of the Zimbabwean people. There was a hint in what he was saying that there is perhaps — to echo the term used by my honourable friend the Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey) — rather more compromise with Robert Mugabe than the mood of the House would wish. Mr Tsvangirai’s position has been well established, however: he has shown himself to be a man not only of principle but of competence, and we should support him strongly.
Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): There is one EU member country that has a very direct effect on Zimbabwe, through the Kimberley diamond certification process. Belgium is a member of that process. Will the foreign secretary speak to his Belgian counterpart about the human rights abuses in the diamond mines in Zimbabwe, and discuss whether it would be right to threaten suspension of the Kimberley Process in order to ensure that the human rights of people working in the diamond mines are protected?
David Miliband: As it happens, I now have another new Belgian opposite number in the new Belgian government. I spoke to him at the end of last week. I will be happy to talk to him about a range of issues, including Zimbabwe, when I next meet him.
Mr Keith Simpson (Mid-Norfolk) (Con): The foreign secretary has talked about specific EU targeted sanctions, and said that they should be calibrated. Will he explain which of the current EU sanctions are really having an effect and encouraging Zanu-PF to move towards removing the human rights abuses that have been in place for so long?
David Miliband: The honourable gentleman will know that a range of EU sanctions is in place. Some of them refer to individuals, others to so-called parastatal organisations. Different sanctions have been brought in at different points, and different sanctions are the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system. Some are controlled by the MDC. I would be happy to give the honourable gentleman a more detailed answer, but I think that it might detain the House beyond the time available for the question. I believe that EU sanctions have helped to send a strong message, and that they have had a practical effect without hurting the Zimbabwean people, which would have been a sanction too far.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Sanctions: Ball in MDC-T court
BRITISH Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband’s statement that Britain stands ready to remove the illegal economic sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe if it receives a request from the MDC is a call to action on the MDC formations to make such a request with immediate effect.
Speaking during a question and answer session in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said Britain would lift the sanctions while the EU would take a phased approach to scraping the embargo.
‘‘In respect of sanctions, we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way . . . to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country,’’ Mr Miliband said.
The ball is now, as it always has been, in the MDC-T’s court. It’s time to condemn the sanctions. Mr Miliband’s statement could not have come at a better time for three reasons.
Firstly, the parties to the inclusive Government — Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC — are currently engaged in dialogue pursuant to resolving all outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement, chief among them the economic sanctions that have been identified as the biggest stumbling block to the viability of the inclusive Government.
Secondly, the EU is set to meet in Brussels next month to review the sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe, hence a unified call from the country’s leadership will send the right message that the sanctions have had a deleterious effect on livelihoods.
Thirdly, the US has also, through its Ambassador here Mr Charles Ray, announced that it is ready to review the sanctions by supporting the restoration of Zimbabwe’s voting rights in the IMF at its next meeting.
From the foregoing, it appears those who imposed the sanctions are ready to scrap them.
Regrettably, what has been lacking in the anti-sanctions lobby that has drawn in the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, Sadc and Comesa, is willingness on the part of the MDC-T to have the sanctions lifted as the party leadership appears to believe sanctions give them political leverage against Zanu-PF.
Yet the effects of the sanctions on the ordinary people have been apparent. The sanctions know no race or political affiliation.
To Mr Miliband, we say, does your government really have to wait to be told to lift the sanctions when it knows fully well the effects they have had on the lives of ordinary people? A graphic illustration of this was evident last year, when the British government airlifted its pensioners resident in Zimbabwe who had been reduced to lives of penury after their savings and pensions were wiped out by sanctions-induced hyperinflation. This was despite the fact that these pensioners had been cushioned by money from London channelled through the British embassy and aid agencies.
Just imagine the impact the sanctions have had on the ordinary black Zimbabwean without recourse to such social safety nets.
The onus is thus on both the British government to be humane; and the MDC-T to impress on its Western allies to scrap the ruinous embargo that has eroded livelihoods, destroyed lives and dreams and set Zimbabwe back several years in terms of economic and infrastructure development.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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MDC-T must act on sanctions now: Zanu PF
Ralph Mutema
Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:17:00 +0000
THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) must immediately ask the West to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe as they have taken part in the formulation of those sanctions in the first, Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo has said in the wake of revelations by Britain that the lifting of sanctions is dependent on the MDC-T.
On Tuesday during a Question and Answer session in the House of Commons, British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband said that Britain was waiting for MDC-T to ask for the sanctions to be removed.
Miliband also revealed that
some of the sanctions in place are controlled by PM Tsvangirai's MDC-T party.
MDC-T leaders have in recent months tried to wriggle out of the Global Political Agreement obligation of lobbying for an end to Western sanctions by claiming that they hold no sway over the European Union and the US position on the embargo.
Speaking in Harare yesterday, Khaya-Moyo said, "Britain has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of sanctions. They have admitted that the MDC called for the sanctions and it can only remove them on the request of the MDC.
"Thus Tsvangirai should go and ask for the removal of those sanctions. The declared and undeclared sanctions are affecting the country because we are not getting lines of credit and companies are being forced to close."
Newsnet quoted MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa as saying sanctions were "an outstanding GPA issue". The spokesman has previously denied that sanctions were an outstanding issue saying the MDC-T party did not have a hand in the sanctions formulation process.
A founding member of the MDC, Gabriel Chaibva said last year that the MDC was the brainchild of the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy Recovery Act (ZIDERA) legislation which imposes sanctions on Zimbabwe.
“I was there when Zidera was crafted in Nyanga by the MDC. At that point Munyaradzi Gwisai stood up in protest and told everyone present that the MDC had been taken over by the U.S. and Europe and business was no longer controlled from Harvest House…,” said Chaibva in September last year.
The MDC-T secretary for international relations Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro tried to dismiss Miliband’s statement saying it was just an "insinuation" and did not indicate that they had any influence over Britain or the EU’s decisions.
Miliband categorically stated that they were waiting for instructions from the MDC-T party regarding the removal of sanctions.
"In respect of sanctions, (that) is something that we will discuss. We have ... to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country," Miliband told the House of Commons in response to a question posed by Henry Bellingham, the Conservative MP for North-West Norfolk.
Miliband also revealed that some sanctions are controlled by the MDC-T party of PM Tsvangirai, but he was not in a position to inform the House which ones were controlled by that party.
"A range of EU sanctions is in place. Different sanctions have been brought in at different points, and different sanctions are the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system.
"Some are controlled by the MDC. I would be happy to give ... a more detailed answer, but I think that it might detain the House beyond the time available for the question."
In the GPA the MDC-T party agreed to call for the lifting of the illegal sanctions and campaign for the closure of pirate radio stations illegally beaming into Zimbabwe.
MDC-T party ministers still offer interviews to these pirate stations despite having agreed to campaign for their closure or licensing.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, HOUSE OF COMMONS, SANCTIONS, ZANU-PF, ZDERA
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Zanu PF pounces on Miliband remarks
23/01/2010 00:00:00
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ZANU PF has demanded that the MDC calls for the removal of sanctions, seizing on tactless remarks made by British foreign secretary David Miliband that the UK government would be guided by advice from Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s party on the issue.
Simon Khaya Moyo, who took over as Zanu PF national chairman in December, said the MDC could no longer claim it had no influence over the issue and “must” now call for the removal of the sanctions.
NewZimbabwe.com reported on Wednesday that Miliband had told the British House of Commons that the sanctions would only be lifted on recommendation of the MDC.
“In respect of sanctions, we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way, as progress is made. I do not think that it is right to say that the choice is between lifting all sanctions and lifting none at all.
“We have to calibrate our response to the progress on the ground, and, above all, to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country,” Miliband said in response to a question by one parliamentarian.
Now Khaya Moyo has moved in for the kill.
"Britain has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of sanctions. They have admitted that the MDC called for the sanctions and it can only remove them on the request of the MDC.
"Thus Tsvangirai should go and ask for the removal of those sanctions. The declared and undeclared sanctions are affecting the country because we are not getting lines of credit and companies are being forced to close," the former Zimbabwe ambassador to South Africa said in Harare yesterday.
Zanu PF has always insisted that the sanctions were imposed at the instigation of the MDC and is demanding that the part calls for their removal.
On the other hand Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s party has all along denied any involvement, but Miliband’s unguarded remarks will now make that position difficult to sustain.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro tried to limit the damage.
"We (the MDC) don’t formulate foreign policy on any country’s behalf . . . We are saying that they should judge us by the progress that we have made so far in the commitments we have undertaken (in the GPA).
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, HOUSE OF COMMONS, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Zanu PF pounces on Miliband remarks
by
23/01/2010 00:00:00
ZANU PF has demanded that the MDC calls for the removal of sanctions, seizing on tactless remarks made by British foreign secretary David Miliband that the UK government would be guided by advice from Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s party on the issue.
Simon Khaya Moyo, who took over as Zanu PF national chairman in December, said the MDC could no longer claim it had no influence over the issue and “must” now call for the removal of the sanctions. NewZimbabwe.com reported on Wednesday that Miliband had told the British House of Commons that the sanctions would only be lifted on recommendation of the MDC.
“In respect of sanctions, we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way, as progress is made. I do not think that it is right to say that the choice is between lifting all sanctions and lifting none at all.
“We have to calibrate our response to the progress on the ground, and, above all, to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country,” Miliband said in response to a question by one parliamentarian.
Now Khaya Moyo has moved in for the kill.
"Britain has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of sanctions. They have admitted that the MDC called for the sanctions and it can only remove them on the request of the MDC.
"Thus Tsvangirai should go and ask for the removal of those sanctions. The declared and undeclared sanctions are affecting the country because we are not getting lines of credit and companies are being forced to close," the former Zimbabwe ambassador to South Africa said in Harare yesterday.
Zanu PF has always insisted that the sanctions were imposed at the instigation of the MDC and is demanding that the part calls for their removal.
On the other hand Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s party has all along denied any involvement, but Miliband’s unguarded remarks will now make that position difficult to sustain.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro tried to limit the damage.
"We (the MDC) don’t formulate foreign policy on any country’s behalf . . . We are saying that they should judge us by the progress that we have made so far in the commitments we have undertaken (in the GPA).
"We can’t instruct them on what to do as regards their foreign policy on Zimbabwe," he said.
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, ELIPHAS MUKONOWESHURO, HOUSE OF COMMONS, MDC, SANCTIONS, SIMON KHAYA MOYO, ZANU-PF, ZDERA
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Miliband on Zimbabwe: Arrogance or ignorance?
Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:50:00 +0000
DEAR EDITOR - I read on your website a recent statement by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband regarding lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe by Britain and the European Union. It was unfortunate that a man of his supposed stature could demonstrate such arrogance or ignorance, or both.
Miliband denied that sanctions were hurting the people of Zimbabwe. I wonder what planet the British Foreign Secretary has been living for the past 5-10 years. I wonder if he ever reads the news or cares to find out about the struggle of the black person on the African continent.
Sanctions are responsible for thousands of deaths in the country and countries in the region have said time and again that they should be lifted as they are neither helpful nor effective in altering the policy of the government of Zimbabwe.
They are hurting everyone in the country including the weak and vulnerable.
Zimbabwe went through a protracted Liberation War that is about to be trivialised by the likes of Miliband who have never been to Zimbabwe, nor bothered to read in depth, the history of the country.
Miliband also said: "Some of them (sanctions) refer to individuals, others to so-called parastatal organisations."
"Different sanctions have been brought in at different points, and different sanctions are the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system. Some are controlled by the MDC."
These are very disturbing statements exposing the Foreign Secretary's sheer arrogance or ignorance.
We do not know how sanctions imposed by Britain and the EU can be "the responsibility of different ministries in the Zimbabwean system."
We do not know what he means by "so-called parastatals".
It is also troubling to hear also that "Some (of the sanctions) are controlled by the MDC".
Maybe the British Foreign Secretary would care to explain to the thousands of Zimbabweans living in poverty what he means by these statements, and whether he wishes to see a few whites own former ancestral lands of the black population.
PM Tsvangirai could help him in that process as he "controls some of the sanctions".
*Peter Chimutsa writes from the United States of America. He can be reached via peterchimutsa@yahoo.com
Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, HOUSE OF COMMONS, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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