HOLD African diplomats decry Western sanctions on Zimbabwe

By Jamal Jamal

LILONGWE, Malawi (AA) – African diplomats based in Malawi on Thursday decried Western sanctions on Zimbabwe, saying that such measures, imposed nearly a quarter-century ago, have harmed people not only in the landlocked southern African country but across the continent.

To mark the 23rd anniversary of Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Day, ambassadors from the southern African country gathered at the Bingu International Convention Center in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe to demand that Western countries lift sanctions that are causing significant hardship for the people.

Western countries imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2001, a year after then-President Robert Gabriel Mugabe's government decided to implement land reforms and take land from minority white farmers for redistribution to landless indigenous Zimbabweans. Western countries imposed sanctions with little regard for the plight of average people.

South African Ambassador Yvette Manzini demanded the immediate and unconditional lifting of the sanctions, saying: “Sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe have been impacting negatively not only on the people of Zimbabwe but also on those in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region."

"For this reason, we are calling on Western countries to lift all sanctions on Zimbabwe immediately and unconditionally. These sanctions are no longer needed. They serve no purpose other than to hurt people," she said.

Zimbabwean Ambassador to Malawi Nancy Saungwemu criticized the West for exacerbating the poor's suffering by imposing unjust sanctions that she called "illegal."

"We don't understand why our country is still sanctioned. People suffer as a result of these sanctions. We are therefore calling on the West to have them removed so that our people can breathe," said Saungwemu.

For 23 years, Zimbabwe has been subjected to economic sanctions imposed by Western countries and donor agencies during the rule of Mugabe, who accused the West of being "tyrannical" over his government's decision to give lands to those who till the soil.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Day has been held annually on Oct. 25 since 2019, when the SADC heads of state decided to do so at their meeting in Tanzania.