The EU is looking for an excuse for lifting sanctions against Mugabe and not be seen as rewarding the tyrant for vote rigging!

The European Union is preparing to lift the sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies. France the EU in that direction because it does not want any African country to boycott the France-Africa conference in protest the outstanding EU sanctions. When the French authorities extended the invitation to the Zimbabwe government, the latter asked if Mugabe was invited and the EU banning him from visiting would be lifted. The French answered no to both questions and the Mugabe regime said no Zimbabwean Official would attend.

 

The Zimbabwe regime has since offered Paris an inducement; the regime will accept Mugabe not being invited provided the EU lift the sanctions!

 

The other EU country pushing for the lifting of the sanctions is Belgium. They want the sanctions lifted so that Antwerp can recover its dominant position as the cut-diamond capital of the world. Because of the ban, Zimbabwe’s illicit diamonds have ended up in China, Lebanon, Israel and India.

 

Mugabe refused to grant anyone from West election observer status. “Not whilst the West retains its regime-change sanctions against us,” Mugabe had argued.

 

At the time, the EU promised to lift the sanctions if the elections were free, fair and credible. The EU said it would use SADC and the AU’s finding as the basis of its own decision.

 

Despite all the evidence of failure to implement even one of the democratic reforms which both SADC and the AU had agreed were necessary for free and fair elections, failure to produce key electoral documents like the voters roll, confirmed reports that nearly one million voters were denied the right to vote; well published video of Zanu PF supporters bussed in to vote in areas they were clearly complete strangers; etc.; etc.; SADC and AU still judged the elections “fairly” free and fair. Both SADC and AU were keen to wash their hands of Zimbabwe, and did just that.

 

Australia, Canada and USA said the elections were “not credible” without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Gudo kushata, kushata zvaro asi haridyi chakafa chonga!” So goes the Shona saying. The baboon may be ugly still he would not eat something he is not sure what killed it. The hyena has no such qualms. Still even a hungry hyena is known to turn away from a potential meal.

 

The vote rigging was so blatant that even the EU, under pressure from the Belgians to lift the sanctions and not to be seen as going back on its own promise to do so, hesitated. Mugabe is like the black and white striped mephitis skunk, a well delivered stench will have the hyena gasping for breath.

 

In February 2014, eight months after Mugabe blatantly rigged the elections, the EU is going to another go at lifting the sanctions; under pressure from France and Belgium. Why then and not in August?

 

Mugabe’s propaganda machine backed by well-paid PR firms, one in UK and the other in USA, have since the July rigged elections been calling on those accusing Mugabe of vote rigging “to produce the evidence”. Those of us old enough to know the dark old days of colonial oppression, this is an old trick.

 

Stories of blacks being shot died by Police, for example, were very common. The Police will then bury their victim and claim that he slipped and fall whilst having a shower or that he committed suicide in his cell. It was no use having eyewitness accounts of the shooting; the authorities, Police, the Judges, etc., will all be united in their demand “to produce the evidence” they themselves have buried and put beyond your reach.

 

In the corrupted voters roll we have the smoking gun of the rigged elections, everyone knows that. Mugabe has stubbornly refused to release the voters roll although is legally obliged to do so. This is a key election document that should have been made public at least a month before the elections. Mugabe cannot refuse releasing the roll for much longer and the truth, the whole truth about how he rigged the elections will come out.

 

The EU is going to lift the sanctions on the feeble excuse that no one has failed to produce the evidence of vote rigging by Mugabe! This is no more than bathing the skunk in Channel 5 but as long as the skunk has smell glands the threat of the over-powering stench will remain real.

 

The EU is looking for an excuse for lifting the sanction but not be seen as rewarding Mugabe for rigging the elections. The reality is they will be rewarding Mugabe for rigging the elections, period.

 

For the ordinary Zimbabweans all talk of free, fair and credible elections will remain just that talk; not until we can demonstrate that no one can rig elections and get away with it! It is for that reason that the truth about the rigged elections must be teased out regardless how long that takes!

 

If Mugabe thinks if he seats tight on the voters roll and all the other incriminating evidence of vote rigging everyone will give up; he could not be more wrong.