Africa Says: Lift Sanctions Against Zimbabwe Now!

[XXPANTHAXX]

AU summit supports unity government and a reconstruction program

by Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor
Pan-African News Wire
Commentary

Recent political developments surrounding the formation of a national
unity government in the southern African nation of Zimbabwe provides
greater impetus for the peoples of the continent and the world to demand
the immediate lifting of economic sanctions against the country.

A stalled agreement reached during September of 2008 to create an
inclusive government of national unity was finally implemented after
weeks of discussions led by South Africa. The agreement is scheduled to
take effect on February 13.

Zimbabwe, which has been the target of a well-financed campaign of
destabilization over the last decade, has been severely affected by the
foreign policy imperatives of the western imperialist countries and
their surrogates who have created serious social and humanitarian
challenges for this nation which won its independence from Britain in
1980.

Results from the African Union (AU) summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
during the week of February 1, clearly urged the United States, Britain
and the European Union to end its economic blockade against Zimbabwe.
The African Union, the continental organization of independent states,
has worked for years to ensure a political solution in Zimbabwe that
would maintain the stability of the country and guarantee its future as
a sovereign state.

According to the Zimbabwe Herald on February 2: "The 53-member African
Union executive council on Saturday, (January 31) adopted a resolution
calling for the immediate lifting of the American and European Union-led
economic embargo, saying the international community should instead
support Zimbabwe's inclusive Government."

In response to the current situation in Zimbabwe, the Chairperson of the
AU Commission, Dr. Jean Ping of Gabon, said that: "I think that
everybody today should help Zimbabwe to rebuild its economy because an
agreement has been reached."

Ping hailed the efforts of the regional 14-member Southern African
Development Community (SADC), under the leadership of South African
President Kgalema Motlanthe, for its efforts in mediating the inclusive
governmental agreement in Zimbabwe between the ruling Zimbabwe African
National Union-Patriot Front (ZANU-PF) and the opposition parties, the
Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and the MDC-Mutambara
(MDC-M).

Outgoing AU Chairperson and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said
during the summit that: "The situation looks promising, it is a step
forward." Numerous messages of support and praise poured into the summit
after South African presidential spokesperson, Thabo Masebe, also
reiterated the call for the rapid lifting of sanctions, making the point
that "this stage is critical in terms of achieving political stability
and the first step towards the economic recovery of that country.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrived at the AU summit on January
31 and participated fully in the discussions on February 1 which were
designed to create a federal continental government for Africa. Libyan
leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was elected as Chairperson of the AU, is
urging the continent's leaders to establish the federal system, an idea
which has been advocated since 1958, when Ghana's first Prime Minister
and leader of the post-independence liberation struggles on the
continent, Kwame Nkrumah, hosted the All-African Peoples Conference in
Accra.

Gaddafi's proposal for a continental government would be based on three
pillars, namely foreign affairs, defense and trade. Some African states
have endorsed the idea of the continental government, while others have
taken a more gradualist approach that would see the creation of a
federal union government over an extended period of time.

The decision to openly debate the creation of a federal union government
was reached at the last AU summit held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt during
July of 2008. According to the Zimbabwe Herald: "Those countries
advocating for a Union Government have set an ambitious goal of uniting
the continent and sharing its wealth in a manner that benefits all
Africans."

Meanwhile, President Mugabe held an hour-long meeting with United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the AU summit.
Other statesmen within the so-called "Elders Group", including former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter,
called upon international humanitarian organizations to support Zimbabwe
as ZANU-PF and the other opposition parties plan to share power.

The Challenges of Reconstruction

Over the last decade, the nation of Zimbabwe has been seriously effected
by the imposition of economic sanctions and the corporate media
vilification programs that sought to justify the imperialist attacks on
this independent African state. At present unemployment is high inside
the country and hyperinflation has rendered the national currency
virtually worthless.

A recent outbreak of cholera resulted from the inability of the
government to import the necessary water purification chemicals that
prevent water-born diseases. Civil servants, military personnel and
other workers are faced with tremendous hurdles in securing basic food
stuffs and transport services.

Although members of the Elders Group welcomed the inclusive government,
they cautioned that the economic reconstruction of Zimbabwe would
require monumental efforts from both those inside the country as well as
the international community. It has been reported that approximately
2,500-3,000 people have died from cholera over the last several months
and some 60,000 may have been infected.

"This is an important step towards ending the political impasse in
Zimbabwe, said the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "but it is
not a guarantee that Zimbabwe's distress is over."

"Rebuilding the economy and ending the people's suffering will take much
more work on the part of all Zimbabweans, regional leaders and the
international community."

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in a more cautious approach, said
that: "This political agreement is far from perfect, but political life
involves taking risks. Talking it down will not improve the situation
for Zimbabweans, it will only prolong their agony."

An International Appeal for Immediate Relief

Zimbabwe has been subjected to a campaign of destabilization and
underdevelopment since the ruling ZANU-PF party, at the aegis of the
revolutionary war veterans, instituted a comprehensive land reform
program for the country. The national liberation war during the 1960s
and 1970s had been fought by the African people to regain the land and
political independence stolen by the British colonialists beginning in
the 1890s.

During the year 2000, thousands of war veterans and their supporters
marched on to European settler-controlled farms and seized the land. The
Lancaster House agreements of 1979 that ended the revolutionary war and
brought Zimbabwe independence, did not institute the land reform that
was the basis of the liberation struggle.

However, the imperialist nations of the United States and Britain had
promised to provide assistance to the European settlers so that they
could hand over land to the African people who had been displaced during
the colonial era. This aid from the western states was never
forthcoming, and consequently, the ZANU-PF Government had no choice but
to support the land seizure, which beame known as the Third Chimurenga.

Consequently, the opposition MDC was formed and backed financially and
politically by the imperialist states. Nonetheless, with the creation of
an inclusive national unity government, the imperialist, even based on
their own logic, have no legitimate reason to continue the sanctions
against Zimbabwe. This has been the cry of the African continent
emanating from SADC and the AU.

Like Gaza in Palestine, the impact of the blockade in Zimbabwe has been
devastating to the civilian population. The UK-based Overseas Aid
Commission (OAC) announced on January 31, that it would send assistance
to both Gaza and Zimbabwe.

An AFP article published on January 31 said that: "Zimbabwe and Gaza
have both been chosen to each receive a grant of $150,000 dollars from
Jersey's Overseas Aid Commission (OAC). Sanitation packs, rehydration
and food parcels will be sent to Zimbabwe where more than 60,000 have
cholera."

The article continues by emphasizing that: "Food and medicines will be
distributed to civilian victims in Gaza of the fighting between Israel
and Hamas. The OAC said there had been long discussions with authorities
in Zimbabwe and Gaza to make sure the aid would get to the people who
needed it."

Anti-imperialist and anti-war activists in the United States and other
western capitalist states must demand that the sanctions be immediately
lifted against Zimbabwe. In addition to this demand, there should be an
appeal for the transport of medicines, medical personnel and supplies,
bottled water, food and other humanitarian assistance to the people of
Zimbabwe.

Also there needs to be a fundamental change in Africa policy emanating
from U.S., UK and the European Union. The Obama administration garnered
the support of the majority of the people in the United States because
of the mass sentiment opposing racism, economic exploitation, militarism
and military intervention.

It is the obligation of those that supported his election, as well as
all people of conscience, to demand that not only sanctions be lifted
against Zimbabwe but that a new foreign policy orientation be developed
that emphasizes people-to-people contacts, non-intervention and the
respect for the independence and sovereignty of African states.
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Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire and has been
following events in Zimbabwe involving the humanitarian situation and
the creation of an inclusive government inside the country.