Britain said those tests include "the immediate release of political
prisoners; an end to political violence and intimidation; the repeal of
repressive legislation; crucially, the appointment of a credible
financial team and the production of a credible economic plan; and a
clear road map to the national elections, with guarantees that they
will be conducted freely and fairly, in full view of the international
community."
"Those are the tests that we will apply, and urge
others to apply, to the new power-sharing arrangements," said Ivan
Lewis, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International
Development.
Answering questions from MPs in the House of
Commons on Wednesday, Lewis said Britain "respected Morgan Tsvangirai's
decision to assume the position of Prime Minister" in a government with
Mugabe, adding: "Equally, however, we will judge that agreement and the
Government on their behaviour and conduct in the period ahead."
The
African Union and the regional trade bloc SADC this week called on
western countries, particularly Britain and the United States, to begin
unrolling a sanctions regime which has been in place for over seven
years in recognition of Mugabe's decision to share power with his
opposition rivals after 29 years of uninterrupted rule.
The
United States shot back on Wednesday, insisting that lifting sanctions
at this early stage of the formation of the unity government would be
premature.
Acting State Department spokesman Robert Wood said:
"We need to see evidence of good governance and particularly real, true
power sharing on the part of Robert Mugabe before we are going to make
any kind of commitment."
Along with good governance, the Obama
administration wants to see "a government that truly reflects the will
of the Zimbabwean people," Wood said.
While welcoming
Tsvangirai’s inclusion in the government, and acknowledging that he
would need international help to confront Zimbabwe’s food, health and
economic crises, Wood said the United States "will not consider
providing additional development assistance or even easing sanctions
until we see effective governance in the country."
" That’s going to be key," he said, "And then we’ll see what … we can do."
Paul
Moorcraft, director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis in
London, said: The assumption is money is going to flow in. It is not.
There are a whole lot of benchmarks which are tied to EU (European
Union) funds.
I can understand the MDC; Zimbabwe is in such
terrible state but in a sense the MDC has undermined a major American
push to … get rid of Mugabe.
Middle East and Africa analyst
Mike Davies said: Probably the major test for the MDC is going to be
on the economy, and its own legitimacy to some extent is going to be
tested. The MDC is repeating what happened to Joshua Nkomo and his
party.… It is going to be swallowed up.
Economist John Robertson said it remained to be seen if western states would accept that Mugabe was still in power.
Post published in: News