2010-09-27 12:31:47

U.S. sanctions remain until Zimbabwean human rights improve


Following a meeting with Zimbabwean ministers last week, the U.S. state department yesterday said that Zimbabwe must show greater respect for human rights and political freedoms before the U.S. sanctions can be removed.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle have been subject to Western sanctions since his ZANU-PF party won an election in 2000 after a violent campaign.

A top U.S. diplomat for Africa and other U.S. officials met three Zimbabwean ministers on Thursday and had praised the economic advances but raised concerns "that political progress has not been as successful” and that as long as human rights violations continue, the sanctions are unlikely to be removed.

Press officer for the Zimbabwe Vigil, Dennis Benton, says these sanctions are a propaganda tool for Mugabe.

He told Vatican Radio “[Mugabe] has been able to use these targeted sanctions to explain the catastrophic economic situation in Zimbabwe. This is a line that has been widely bought in Africa and the third world in general.”

“On the other hand,” he says, “the United States … are unlikely to remove the sanctions unless there are substantial improvements in the political situation in Zimbabwe.” RealAudioMP3







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