THE United States administration’s point man for Africa, Walter Kansteiner said on Thursday the US would only restore normal relations with Zimbabwe when violence there ends and rule of law is reestablished. Kansteiner, the US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, said there had been a significant deterioration in Zimbabwe’s human rights record, a breakdown in the rule of law, a furthering of Zimbabwe’s economic collapse, and a negative impact throughout southern Africa,” Kansteiner, US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, said “Our message to President Mugabe and his government must be consistent and clear: while the United States desires open and friendly relations with Zimbabwe, we cannot have normal relations until the violence and intimidation are ended and the rule of law is restored,” he said. The United States has excluded Zimbabwe from its Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), passed in May 2000. – AFP
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