The ManicaPost
TODAY Zimbabwe is joined by the rest of the Southern African Community (SADC) in denouncing Western imposed sanctions on the country.
Apart from the much awaited march against sanctions in Harare today, SADC has declared October 25 as the solidarity day against illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and resolved to conduct various activities in their respective countries on the day to resoundingly call for the immediate removal of the sanctions.
As the nation amplifies its call against isolation, it is important to note that the Government of Zimbabwe under the new dispensation has started engaging and re-engaging other countries to drive the economy in line with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle-income status.
No doubt, economic sanctions have caused untold suffering on innocent Zimbabweans.
We are all aware of how the so called targeted sanctions have been extensively used by powerful states throughout history to achieve political objectives.
The opposition MDC and other mean-minded elements continue to exhibit highly disingenuous thinking where anyone who is against Western sanctions against Zimbabwe and calls for their removal, is automatically viewed as a Zanu-PF supporter.
This is wrong.
With this kind of mentality, we are going nowhere as a country and it means the opposition itself does not understand democracy, loyalty and patriotism.
Indeed, it is time to open our minds and think in terms of what is really good for our country.
After all, why do we hate ourselves with so much passion?
Politics should be politics, but objectivity should prevail for us to deal with our challenges.
Let us look at national problems as they are and avoid partisan politics on issues that affect us all as Zimbabweans.
In the same context, it is encouraging to note that Government will deployed police in numbers to maintain law and order and ensure public safety during the march against sanctions.
The good thing is that Government is aware of clandestine plans by rogue opposition activists and the civil society to infiltrate and capitalise on the anti-sanctions campaign.
There is information that there are covert plans by some members from the opposition and the civil society who want to take advantage and infiltrate.
In fact, their intentions of engaging in acts of violence and looting shops like what happened in January are known. It is therefore important for police to be ready and they should be out in full force to deal with such element
As we go for the march against sanctions we will remain mindful of the fact that we took back our land because it is our wealth.
The land is the anchor of our nationhood and that is why we repossessed our land, which is why the British decided to impose sanctions against us.
We do not need a rocket scientist to inform us that the logic behind the whole targeted sanctions debate has been that by creating a difficult economic situation, a leader will have no choice but to eventually bow to pressure from the ‘people’.
Some choose to call them ‘targeted’ or ‘smart sanctions’, ‘trade restrictions’, ‘travel bans’, ‘restrictive measures’, however, the effect of these measures have been to make the economy ‘scream’.
The smokescreen concerning the sanctions mantra has always been that they are intended to ensure that Zimbabwe adheres to the ‘rule of law’ and upholds ‘human rights’.
Interestingly, countries that imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe have some of the most appalling records when it comes to human rights and the rule of law.
The argument that sanctions against Zimbabwe are ‘smart’ or ‘targeted’ has been used by those who seek to justify their continued imposition as they are a means to an end.
For more than 20 years, Zimbabwe has struggled to receive lines of credit, investors have shied away from the country due to Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) and social and economic ills have slowly taken over the country as such a situation creates a jungle-like environment which forces individuals to survive by any means necessary.
This is the reason we think that we might have our own differences but removal of sanctions is for the common good for all Zimbabweans.
