EU removal of "sanctions" on ZMDC not enough: Zanu (PF)

On Tuesday, an EU diplomat reportedly told the international media that the continental bloc had begun the process of delisting the ZMDC following deliberations over the issue in Belgium in February this year.

Belgium has since called for the removal of the targeted measures.

However, in an interview with The Zimbabwean, Zanu (PF) spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, said the delisting of the ZMDC was not enough as his party wanted the targeted measures removed in their entirety.

He accused the EU of being blind to the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans which he said was as a result of the sanctions.

“There is nothing to write home about. We do not see that having any impact because we wanted total and unconditional removal of the sanctions. We are not interested in conditional removal of the illegal economic sanctions but we want their total removal.

“The selective removal of the measures shows that they are not concerned about the suffering of Zimbabweans and this is why we condemn this selective removal of the sanctions,” said Gumbo.

The EU imposed targeted measures on President Robert Mugabe and his inner cabal in 2002 at the height of human rights violations in the country and said that credible elections were a pre-requisite for the removal of the measures.

However, they both have expressed concern over the manner in which the July 31 elections were conducted. Mugabe is on record saying that the sanctions were likely to stay following his victory in the just ended polls.

Gumbo blamed the EU for being interested only in diamond trade with Zimbabwe hence the continental bloc’s decision to lift sanctions on the ZMDC in a bid to give a false assurance that they are ready to engage with Zimbabwe.

“It doesn’t mean that they are ready to engage with us. They are doing that to ensure that they can be able to trade in diamonds with Zimbabwe. That is why we are ssaying the removal of sanctions on the ZMDC is not enough,” said Gumbo.