EU renews sanctions on Zimbabwe another year

(BRUSSELS) - EU leaders Tuesday renewed sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year, citing a lack of progress in implementing the country's power-sharing agreement.

The 27-member bloc said travel bans and asset freezes "should be extended for a further period of 12 months," in an announcement in its official journal.

However the names of six individuals and nine companies were removed from the sanctions list.

President Robert Mugabe and his erstwhile rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a unity government nearly a year ago, aiming to end political unrest targeting mainly supporters of the premier's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The EU said it had based its decision on "the lack of progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement" signed by the former foes in in September 2008.

An EU delegation to Zimbabwe in September found benchmarks for reforms had not been met.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party brushed off the decision to maintain the sanctions, first introduced in 2002 on Mugabe and some 100 of his cohorts, and accused Tsvangirai's party of backing the measures.

"We are not worried by their extension. It's a continuation of the struggle, just like the liberation struggle. We are our own liberators. Why should we worry?" said Mugabe party spokesman Rugare Gumbo.

Human Rights Watch had called for extending the sanctions, accusing ZANU-PF of continuing to abduct and kill MDC activists without punishment. Oppressive media laws remained unchanged, and little progress has been made in protecting human rights, the group said.

Independent political analyst Bornwell Chakaodza said the extension of the sanctions will strain the relations between ZANU-PF and the MDC, but said the unity government would not fall apart.

"The relations between the two will move from bad to worse as ZANU-PF will feel that the MDC is not doing enough to have the sanctions lifted," Chakaodza said.

"However, I doubt the tension will result in the collapse of the inclusive government as Mugabe and Tsvangirai are both in it together. The bickering and squabbling will continue, but the inclusive government will not collapse as none would not want to be labeled as spoilers."

Ceaser Zvayi, a political analyst and columnist for the state-run Herald newspaper, said the extension of the sanctions would "sabotage" the unity government.

"What the EU has done is tantamount to sabotaging the inclusive government," Zvayi said. "In fact, the EU is preventing the full implementation of the GPA."

Zvayi however ruled out the collapse of the unity government saying "the inclusive government is there for the long haul."

Tsvangirai had appealed for an end to the sanctions at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, saying he would at least like to see "a two-stage approach" to ease some sanctions and acknowledge progress had been made.

Among those whose names were people who have died.

Among the living taken off the list are former intelligence head Dumiso Dabengwa, who split from Mugabe in 2008, and Oman businessman Thamer ben al-Shanfari, head of the Oryx Natural Resources company which was also struck from the list.

Thomsen Jangara, a police official implicated in violence committed in 2007, was also removed from the list.

The renewed sanctions, which also include an arms ban, will run until February 20, 2011.

Relations between Zimbabwe and the European Union were strained nearly 10 years ago by elections marred by violence and widespread allegations of human rights abuses by Mugabe's government.

The decision was made through the formal announcement in the EU's official journal to prevent the sanctions expiring.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation more fully when they meet in Brussels next week, said Guellner.