Zanu condemns EU sanction extensions

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party slammed the European Union's decision to keep up sanctions on the country’s leadership and accused it of trying to topple its veteran leader.

EU diplomats told Reuters this week the bloc was likely to keep an arms embargo in place and extend a freeze on development aid to Zimbabwe for another six months in a decision expected to be announced later today.

While it would maintain most of its sanctions, the EU was expected to remove a third of the people from its list of those affected by asset freezes and visa bans.

Zanu-PF chief party spokesman Rugare Gumbo said the EU should scrap all sanctions, calling them "illegal" and blaming them for damaging Zimbabwe’s economy.

"The whole sanctions regime is illegal and racist, and we are not going to celebrate decisions meant to patronise us while they act as lords over our political affairs," he told Reuters.

"It’s very tragic that the EU is still being used by some of its members, principally Britain, in pursuing a neo-colonial agenda to remove Zanu-PF from power."

Mugabe, who turns 88 next week and has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980, and other Zanu-PF members were hit with sanctions 10 years ago in response to suspected mass human rights violations and vote rigging.

Analysts said the sanctions have been exploited by Mugabe for his political purposes.

– Reuters