PRESS RELEASE
African Leaders: Lift Sanctions
Against Zimbabwe Now!
Jan. 31 (EIRNS)—London, which has consistently taken the lead in attacks against the Zimbabwe government for not being democratic, is taking a chilly attitude toward the agreement between three Zimbabwe parties to form a Government of National Unity, instead of helping the new government to be a success.
African leaders, on the other hand, from Zimbabwe, to South Africa, to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa are now calling for the immediate lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe. Arthur Mutambara, the leader of MDC-M and a prominent scientist, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, "It's not for Britain or America to judge our agreement, your job as America or Britain is to support what we try to do. All the sceptics must now shut up and support what Zimbabweans want. Listen to us as Zimbabweans.... This agreement is a flawed arrangement. It is imperfect. But it is the best short-term answer... Let's forget our political differences and think about Zimbabwe's national interests." He called for aid, but more especially, investment, and said he was encountering "a lot of appetite to be involved in Zimbabwe" at the Davos meeting.
In South Africa, the Director General in the Presidency, Frank Chikane, told the South African public radio station SAfm, "We expect Europe and the U.S. and other countries to stop the sanctions."
The execitive council of the African Union Commission today adopted a resolution ahead of tomorrow's summit, calling for "the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe to help ease the humanitarian situation in the country." The Chairman of the Commission, Jean Ping, put a sharp point on it when asked about European and U.S. sanctions: "Imagine that you don't help Zimbabwe, who will be blamed?"
