Harare, ZIMBABWE:
The President Donald Trump led United States Government has said Zimbabweans lived under better conditions during former President Robert Mugabe's tenure than they are doing now under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mugabe was removed through a military coup in November 2017 and replaced by Mnangagwa.
Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the statement on the first anniversary of the Zimbabwean military opening fire on opposition activists and civilians, killing at least six of them and injuring more than 40.
"As Zimbabweans mark this somber anniversary, we are reminded of all that can go wrong when regime preservation comes ahead of real democratic change. Zimbabwe is facing a worse political and economic crisis today than in 2017 when long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was forced from power by the country's military. Today, citizens are suffering under staggering inflation, regular fuel and water shortages, rolling blackouts, a failing currency, and an increasingly repressive political environment,"
said Risch.
He said Mnangagwa’s efforts to cleanse his government’s image abroad and to convince the Zimbabwean people that their economic woes are the fault of very targeted U.S. sanctions were wrong priorities.
"These sanctions are on individuals who violated the rule of law and caused this political and economic chaos. President Mnangagwa should instead focus on delivering the ZANU-PF government's long-promised reforms. He should also uphold his commitment to hold to account those in the military leadership responsible for ordering the shooting of unarmed civilians last August, and since then,"
said Risch.
said Risch.
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| Republican U.S. Senator Jim Risch of Idaho spoke with VOA Wednesday. Image: VOA. |
The US said the ZANU-PF-led government, under the leadership of Mnangagwa, who was installed after the military coup in November 2017 and in flawed elections in 2018, made sweeping promises upon taking office which included holding members in the military accountable for shooting and killing unarmed civilians in August 2018 and January 2019.
According to 'Voice of America', There was no immediate reaction from the government on this issue as presidential spokesperson George Charamba’s mobile phone was unreachable.
The Zimbabwean government has over the years criticized America for imposing targeted sanctions on top Zanu PF officials and several companies said to be linked to them, saying the measures have devastated the economy.
According to 'Voice of America', There was no immediate reaction from the government on this issue as presidential spokesperson George Charamba’s mobile phone was unreachable.
The Zimbabwean government has over the years criticized America for imposing targeted sanctions on top Zanu PF officials and several companies said to be linked to them, saying the measures have devastated the economy.
On August 1, the State Department publicly designated former Presidential Guard Commander Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe and his spouse under Section 7031(c) of the F.Y. 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (Div. F, P.L. 116-6) due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights, and in particular his role in the violent crackdown against unarmed Zimbabweans during the August 1, 2018, post-election protests.
The United States placed a former Zimbabwe army general on the sanctions list over the killing of six civilians during protests that followed last year’s disputed presidential elections.
Former head of the presidential guard Anselem Sanyatwe commanded the troops that opened fire on people protesting against the delayed release of president election results in Harare on August 1, 2018.
He became the first person to be sanctioned over the crackdown and the first Zimbabwean official to be put on the US sanction list since the military ousted long time rule Robert Mugabe in 2017.
Retired Brigadier General Sanyatwe, who is now Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania, blamed the opposition for the killings when he appeared before a commission of inquiry led by former South African president KgalemaMotlanthe.
The commission found that those soldiers’ use of love ammunition to quell the protests was “clearly unjustified and disproportionate.”
On the anniversary of the killings, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols said the heavy handed response by the army had dented the Southern African country’s efforts to end its international isolation.
Source:Bulawayo24. | U.S Foregn Relations.
VOA.
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| Zimbabwe former head of the presidential guard Anselem Sanyatwe. |
The United States placed a former Zimbabwe army general on the sanctions list over the killing of six civilians during protests that followed last year’s disputed presidential elections.
Former head of the presidential guard Anselem Sanyatwe commanded the troops that opened fire on people protesting against the delayed release of president election results in Harare on August 1, 2018.
He became the first person to be sanctioned over the crackdown and the first Zimbabwean official to be put on the US sanction list since the military ousted long time rule Robert Mugabe in 2017.
Retired Brigadier General Sanyatwe, who is now Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania, blamed the opposition for the killings when he appeared before a commission of inquiry led by former South African president KgalemaMotlanthe.
The commission found that those soldiers’ use of love ammunition to quell the protests was “clearly unjustified and disproportionate.”
On the anniversary of the killings, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols said the heavy handed response by the army had dented the Southern African country’s efforts to end its international isolation.
According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, the Zimbabwean government on Friday summoned United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols to express its dismay over Washington’s decision to impose targeted sanctions on Ambassador-designate to Tanzania Anselem Sanyatwe and his wife, Chido Machona.
The newspaper reports that the secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador James Manzou, met with Ambassador Nichols at his Munhumutapa offices where he expressed Zimbabwe’s displeasure over the imposition of sanctions on the couple.
Source:Bulawayo24. | U.S Foregn Relations.
VOA.
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