Zimbabwe denounced the G8 yesterday for planning sanctions on its top officials, saying it was part of a colonial and racist move led by Britain and the US to install a puppet government.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at the G8 summit in Japan that a draft UN resolution calling for sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s government would include an arms embargo and financial and travel restrictions on 14 officials.
“We condemn this colonial and racist campaign against our country and government, but we are also very cognizant that it is Britain and the United States who are leading this campaign whose ultimate goal is to have their puppets in power,” Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said.
The two Western allies successfully lobbied their G8 partners at the summit to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe’s leadership for holding a violent June 27 presidential poll boycotted by opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai.
They say Mugabe’s re-election was a sham and want the UN Security Council to follow their lead in punishing the 84-year-old ruler. Washington and other Western countries are pushing for the council to vote for sanctions this week.
Ndlovu said the issue did not belong in the UN Security Council because Zimbabwe was not a threat to world peace and security.
However, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev emphasized yesterday that the G8 statement would not necessarily lead to sanctions.
Medvedev told a news conference after the G8 summit that the statement “reflects our concerns ... But there are as yet no concrete decisions on how the United Nations should act in this situation.”
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