Diaspora petitions UK over punitive measures

Talent Chimutambgi-Herald Reporter

The Zimbabwe Diaspora Community Network (ZDCN) in the United Kingdom delivered an anti-sanctions petition to the UK government yesterday as the call against the illegal embargo grew louder, reverberating across the world.

Zimbabweans in the diaspora joined the Southern Africa Development Community to express their resentment towards the illegal embargo that has paralysed some sectors of the economy and inhibited economic renaissance for Zimbabwe.

Britain and its Western allies imposed illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe after the country embarked on land reform in 2000 as part of correction of colonial imbalances set during the settler white government.

This came after Zimbabwe had an understanding that development could not be achieved without agrarian reform as land is the backbone of the economy.

In light of this, Britain and its Western allies misconstrued the development and imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe as part of punitive measures of undermining the country’s sovereignty.

The ZDCN, led by Cde Xavier Zavare, expressed their anger against the illegal sanctions and petitioned Britain for the unconditional removal of the embargo.

In a letter that was addressed to the Minister of State for Development and Africa Mr Andrew Mitchel, ZDCN detailed how the illegal sanctions were affecting individuals and hindering the growth of the economy in order to attain an upper-middle income economy by 2030 as outlined in Zimbabwe’s national developmental goals.

ZDCN insisted that the illegal sanctions were imposing unnecessary suffering to the ordinary Zimbabweans, with the majority affected in different ways.

“We, as the Zimbabwean community based and resident here in the United Kingdom do hereby petition you in your capacity as the incumbent Minister of State in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland government responsible for Development and Africa as well as a Member of Parliament for some of our community members resident in the constituency you represent,” read the petition.

“The economic sanctions on Zimbabwe have been in place for over two decades and have only achieved tragic suffering and deaths of ordinary citizens in the Southern Africa state of about 15 million people. Ordinary Zimbabweans, particularly children, women and the elderly are profoundly vulnerable and suffering immensely because of these unfair, illegal punitive, targeted economic sanctions and restrictions on key sectors such as health provision, food manufacturing, agriculture and our general employment industries.

“Britain led economic sanctions have impoverished Zimbabwe, a country which less than 40 years ago was exporting essential beef and other farming produce to the United Kingdom and in the 1950s and 1960s ensured that British people were well fed as it answered the call for help from your country.”

The ZDCN quoted economist, Mr Eddie Cross, an opposition supporter and resident in Zimbabwe recently said: “The impact of these economic sanctions on ordinary people knows no race or colour and are worse than anything apartheid Rhodesia and South Africa ever endured, we are all suffering.”

They said Zimbabwe is a peace-loving country whose policies embrace tranquillity in the country, and had gone through a gruesome period of restrictive measures which had demolished the entire fabric of the society.

“Zimbabweans are peace loving people who went through a bitter 15 years of war to achieve their independence, democracy and human rights which we will not give up to appease your country and its allies as you seek to reverse the gains of their liberation war of independence through these illegal, inhumane economic sanctions,” said ZDCN.

Meanwhile, leaders in opposition parties could not hide their resentment against the illegal sanctions.

LEAD president Linda Masarira said calling for the unconditional removal of the illegal sanction was also a humanitarian effort meant to improve the standards of the people’s lives.

“Supporting the call to end sanctions against Zimbabwe is not only beneficial for the country but also a humanitarian effort to alleviate the suffering of its people,” she said. “It is time for the international community to come together and pave the way for a better future for Zimbabwe by lifting these unjust sanctions.”