EU broadens sanctions

The European Union (EU) on Monday broadened sanctions against Zimbabwe's ruling elite, but analysts were sceptical the new moves would have any discernable impact on the country's leadership. The EU Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, added 52 names of political, business and military figures to the list of 20 members of the ruling party and government subject to a travel ban and the freezing of assets held in Europe. News agencies reported that among the 52 names added to the list was Grace Mugabe, President Robert Mugabe's wife. "All the members of his cabinet and leading members of the ruling ZANU-PF party are now on the blacklist," Reuters quoted an EU diplomat as saying. But in high-profile trips abroad, Mugabe has managed to duck the travel ban imposed by the EU and later the United States, attending United Nations conferences in New York and Rome recently. This, among other issues, has called into question the effectiveness of targeted sanctions. "Every little bit helps, however, I don't see them [sanctions] having any discernable impact," John Stremlau, head of the department of international affairs at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand, told IRIN. But he added that the EU's new measures could serve to remind Africa that it could not ignore the crisis in Zimbabwe. "Smart sanctions are good [but they] need to be stiffened. [They] do not hurt the majority of Zimbabweans, who are being ravaged by bad policy and mother nature in a real witches brew. Taking this action now is a reminder to Africa, post Durban summit, that if it wants to have a viable partnership under the frameworks of NEPAD [the New Partnership for Africa's Development] and the African Union ... it cannot ignore the worst cases of bad governance." In February, the EU imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and 19 associates following the expulsion of the EU's top election observer. The March presidential election, which returned Mugabe to power, were marred by violence and intimidation. The EU, Commonwealth and the United States declared that the election was not a true reflection of the will of the electorate. Stremlau predicted that broadening sanctions was "unlikely to have much of an impact on the behaviour of Zimbabwe's elite". The ruling ZANU-PF's response to the news from Brussels served to underscore Stremlau's analysis. Senior party official Emerson Manangagwa told IRIN: "We as ZANU-PF know that sanctions have been imposed on us for a long time, it's nothing new. They [the EU] can do what they want, it does not affect us at all." In addition to the travel ban, the freezing of assets and military assistance, the EU sanctions include an end to US $128 million in development aid.