SW Radio Africa (London)
Tererai Karimakwenda
25 July 2008
The United States Embassy in Harare said the Bush administration has strengthened sanctions against individuals blamed for the brutal pre-election violence. President Bush signed a new Executive Order on Friday.
The new sanctions by the White House and the State Department target individuals that they 'hold responsible for subverting the will of the people of Zimbabwe, people associated with the regime and those responsible for the recent violence and political problems.'
This time the US government has included media personalities and academics on the new sanctions list. The sanctions restrict both travel by individuals and their finances.
According to a US Treasury Department spokesperson, the sanctions would be imposed on 17 companies or entities and an Omani national for their links to Mugabe's government. The so-called entities include Operation Sovereign Legitimacy, which is the commercial arm of the Zimbabwean Army, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), a minerals marketing and export agent, the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO), and a number of banks and holding companies.
In their statement, the Treasury Department said: "Robert Mugabe, his senior officials and regime cronies have used these entities to illegally siphon revenue and foreign exchange from the Zimbabwean people."
President Bush is reported to have also announced US$2.5 million in aid from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund, to assist Zimbabwean refugees and asylum seekers that were displaced due to political violence.
On Tuesday the European Union also broadened its sanctions against individuals who back Robert Mugabe. They widened the sanctions to target 37 more individuals and, for the first time, four companies linked to his government. Two Zimbabwe newspaper journalists Caesar Zvayi and Munyaradzi Huni are included on this list.
Existing EU sanctions include an arms embargo, visa bans and asset freezes on senior officials including Mugabe. Tuesday's additions now mean the list comprises 168 individuals, and the four companies.
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Why should the US trade and lend money to a country that doesnt have a democratically elected goverment if it doesnt want too? If the elections this year were free and fair, then, and political leaders respected the result, then we wouldnt be in this mess to start off with. You cant have money for free. Its quite reasonable to me that people shouldnt give away money for nothing.
awt independence, you are just another low "IQ" like George Bush! Is America really the ideal democracy in the world? The last ranking I saw was it was placed number 17th (mainly due to respect than reality). The reality is the USA has had very strange election out come and a whole lot of lost black voters. Almost 8 years ago the USA election was determined by the USA supreme court and voters rights completed ignored.
You don't know what you are talking about! Botswana or even South Africa have a much better system than the USA. What matters in the USA is big "money"
Your are also wrong that the USA trades only with democratic countries...Ahaa...how about Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq etc The USA has traded with every dictator in the world you can name, with your small brain. Before you open your loud mouth think a bit also!!!
Then what? This shows how desperate and how empty headed Bush is. he surely deserves to be called a Chaotic president, that drunkerd..