London | Monday
LONDON will recommend to EU foreign ministers that they put Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe “on the spot” and threaten him with tough sanctions, a representative for Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Sunday.
“We believe it is time to focus President Mugabe’s mind more sharply on the consequences of his repression and essentially say he has a choice,” the representative said.
European Union foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss possible sanctions against the southern African nation, ahead of crucial presidential elections set for March.
The ministers will have four options: immediate sanctions; a declaration of sanctions in principle with implementation at a later date; a formal threat of sanctions; and, the resumption of consultations with the government in Harare.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw “now believes that the time has come to put Mugabe on the spot,” said the Downing Street representative.
But officials in Brussels said immediate sanctions in the form of banning visas for Mugabe or his close aides, or freezing their assets held in foreign accounts were unlikely.
Straw may also call on members of the Commonwealth to take a harder stance against Mugabe on Wednesday, when its Ministerial Action Group meets to discuss developments in Zimbabwe, said Blair’s representative.
Britain has pushed hard for its EU partners to strike a common position on Zimbabwe, in parallel with its efforts to have Harare suspended from the Commonwealth over Mugabe’s political style.
“Clearly what has been happening in Zimbabwe is totally unacceptable and I think the word the prime minister used last Wednesday was that Mugabe’s actions were a disgrace to his own country and also badly affected the reputation of the whole of southern Africa,” he added.
On January 11, the EU gave Harare one week to respond in writing to a request to allow international observers and foreign journalists into the country to follow the electoral campaign and the elections on March 9 and 10.
Zimbabwe agreed, but EU officials say Mugabe has not done enough to ensure that such conditions will be met.
Meanwhile, a Zimbabwe court has ruled in favour of the opposition, ordering that voters be permitted to cast their ballots anywhere in the country and not just in their own constituencies as decreed by the government, the Daily News reported over the weekend.
The judgement comes six weeks ahead of watershed presidential elections, when President Robert Mugabe will face his toughest challenge in his 22 years in power from the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
The independent Daily News said High Court judge Rita Makarau gave the order to the Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede, on Friday following an application by Tsvangirai.
“Mudede shall make adequate and reasonable administrative arrangement for all voters registered on the common roll who will not be in their constituencies on the polling days, to exercise their vote,” Makarau ordered.
The MDC says the ruling will allow its supporters who have fled their homes to escape political violence to vote.
MDC representative Learnmore Jongwe said on Saturday that 60 000 MDC members, or perceived MDC sympathisers countrywide have been displaced by Zanu-PF supporters.
“This judgement is historic and we welcome it,” Tsvangirai was quoted as saying.
“We trust that all political parties contesting this crucial election will naturally welcome the judgement as it seeks to grant full suffrage to all Zimbabweans to elect their president.” – AFP