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Dr Grace Mugabe

Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S Parliamentary delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), has castigated the extension of sanctions against President Mugabe and the First Family by the European Union (EU).In a statement yesterday, head of the delegation, who is also the Mberengwa East member of the National Assembly, Makhosini Hlongwane, said the move was not acceptable.

The EU removed five deceased politicians and heads of government departments from the sanctions list while maintaining the sanctions on the First Family.

In an EU journal published on Friday last week, the body removed the late National Railways of Zimbabwe general manager Retired Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai, the late Zanu-PF legislator Edward Chindori Chininga, Stanley Sakupwanya, Lovemore Sekeramayi and Nathan Shamuyarira.

Hlongwane, who is also the president of the ACP-EU Standing Committee on Political and Human Development said: “The delegation is deeply dismayed by the extension of the Common Foreign and Security Framework sanctions on President Mugabe and the First Lady Grace Mugabe, which itself is a reckless disregard for the attempts at full engagement between Zimbabwe and the EU. This isn’t acceptable.”

Hlongwane added that the delegation strongly rejected the EU’s approach to diplomacy, saying its trajection does not serve any collective European interest, but blocks the realisation of the full potential of the EU–Zimbabwe cleavage.

“The delegation observes that the EU, adorned in full colonial armour and colours, has predictably continued its brazen aggression on Zimbabwe, in the vain hope that Zimbabwe will kowtow to its neo-colonial aspirations.

“The EU is recklessly choosing tokenism as opposed to diplomacy, gun diplomacy as opposed to engagement and also choosing bribery instead of open engagement, in the vain hope of resurrecting its fallen damp squib opposition political project and the recently quashed Zanu-PF internal rebellion which had EU fingerprints all over the place.”

“The EU is clearly telling Zimbabwe and Africa that in this game, there are no rules and in the process discrediting the democracy project.  We note that the continued needless imposition of these sanctions on the First Family is a clear violation of the fundamental principle of equality of partners, as enshrined in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and is not in sync with the main spirit and objectives of the Euro-Africa strategy,” said Hlongwane.