Mugabe could face personal EU ban

President Robert Mugabe and officials of his government could be subjected to sanctions and other punitive measures if a European Union (EU) general council meeting scheduled for 8 October finds that they have not done enough to end political violence and restore the rule of law in Zimbabwe, the ‘Financial Gazette’ said on Thursday.

Harare-based European diplomats were quoted as saying that the EU favoured “selective sanctions”. “The feeling among many is to try and avoid the Iraq situation,” one European diplomat said. “In Iraq, general sanctions ended up hurting Iraqi children. Selective sanctions are the only option if no sufficient progress has been made on the demands put forward by the EU in June,” the diplomat said.

EU president Belgium’s ambassador in Harare, Benedicte Frankinet, was quoted saying that the 15-nation body had not taken a decision yet to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe or individual members of its government.
But Frankinet repeated warnings made by the EU in June that it would take appropriate measures if Harare did not within two months (from 26 June) restore the rule of law, end political violence and publicly commit itself to holding free and fair presidential elections next year.

“There is no elaboration at this stage as to what those appropriate measures will be,” Frankinet was quoted saying. She said the EU was still committed to finding a solution through dialogue and was hopeful that pronouncements by Mudenge that Harare was prepared to engage the international community would lead to fruitful dialogue between Zimbabwe, the EU and the rest of the world.