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| author/source:Financial Gazette (Zimb) |
| published:Thu 21-Feb-2002 |
| posted on this site:Thu 21-Feb-2002 |
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| Article Type : News |
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| Zanu PF insiders, some of them Politburo members, this week said the way the list had been crafted was a divide-and-rule tactic by the EU |
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By Sydney Masamvu Political Editor
Debate raged this week within the top echelons of Zanu PF on the party's leaders blacklisted by the European Union (EU) for their alleged promotion of violence, with many questioning why other top party members had apparently escaped the net. Zanu PF insiders said Zimbabwe's ruling party was also mapping out its response to the EU's smart sanctions, which ban President Robert Mugabe and 19 top members from any travel to EU states, freeze their overseas assets and will result in the expulsion of their children from schools and colleges in Europe. A list released by the EU after its imposition of the sanctions on Monday blacklisted nearly all of Mugabe's Cabinet members. But it inexplicably excluded vice presidents Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika, Finance Minister Simba Makoni, Mines Minister Edward Chindori Chininga, Tourism Minister Francis Nhema, Transport Minister Swithun Mombeshora, Water Resources Minister Joyce Mujuru and Industry Minister Herbert Murerwa. A significant number of members of Zanu PF's supreme policy-making organ, the Politburo, was also spared. Msika has been conspicuous by his absence on Mugabe's gruelling campaign rallies ahead of the crunch March 9-10 presidential ballot while Muzenda is reported to be unwell. Notable among those blacklisted is Elliot Manyika, Zanu PF's political commissar who is spearheading Mugabe's electoral campaign and is responsible for training the party's militia, propaganda chief Jonathan Moyo and police boss Augustine Chihuri.
Zanu PF insiders, some of them Politburo members, this week said the way the list had been crafted was a divide-and-rule tactic by the EU. Analysts noted that the EU was apparently doing the same as Mugabe, who himself has sought to drive a wedge among EU member states by inviting others to observe the presidential election while rejecting others. The insiders said some ruling party members, including Mugabe, wanted to take a tougher line against the EU by reviewing Zimbabwe's ties with Europe in the aftermath of the sanctions. "The list is a divide-and-rule tactic by the EU and it should be seen in that light," one Politburo member told the Financial Gazette. "Some of these machinations should force a review of our relationships with these countries, even at diplomatic levels," the official said, preferring not to be named. The insiders said other ZANU PF leaders were urging caution, preferring to wait for the outcome of the March ballot before any action is taken - that is assuming Mugabe wins, which is far from certain. Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge could not be reached for comment this week on whether the government was contemplating reviewing its diplomatic ties with the EU.
According to the EU, those targeted with the sanctions are judged to be chiefly responsible for political violence sweeping Zimbabwe, violations of human rights and for preventing the holding of a free and fair ballot. The EU slapped Zimbabwe's leadership with the sanctions after concluding on Monday that Harare was not committed to holding a fair plebiscite next month. Harare had earlier expelled the EU's head of poll observers, Pierre Schori. EU sources this week said the list of Zimbabwean leaders being targeted by the sanctions could be revised and updated, depending on the unfolding situation. The EU also reserved the right to take additional but still targeted restrictive measures at a later date, if Zimbabwe's decline into anarchy persisted, they said. The EU has made clear the sanctions have been carefully designed not to harm ordinary Zimbabweans or their neighbouring countries. The embargo should also not prevent dialogue between the 15-nation bloc, the world's largest, and Zimbabwe to address the latter's economic and other ills.
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