Different Voices Sing Sadc Anti-Sanctions Day Hymn

Today different voices will be singing from the same hymn book with Africa and many different leaders joining hands in commemorating the Sadc Anti-Sanctions Day which the region came up with to pile up pressure on the United States to remove its punitive sanctions on Zimbabwe.

This day which is today is being commemorated on the backdrop of widespread calls for the unconditional removal of the unilateral sanctions that were imposed on Zimbabwe by the US as punishment for human rights abuses , no rule of law which has seen the likes of the Nyatsime 16 including Citizens Coalition for Change CCC Vice Chairman Job Sikhala and CCC legislator Obey Sithole better known as “Commander” jailed without trial for a record over 100 days, though the Zanu Pf led Government believes the sanctions are a result of the land reform programme which redressed colonial land inequities which it embarked on in 2000.

Today, the SADC-anti sanctions is being commemorated under the theme: “Enhancing Zimbabwe’s Resilience through Economic Development and Engagement and Re-engagement”, an apt summation of President Mnangagwa policy that saw the world roundly condemning the sanctions at the recently held United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Zimbabwe’s embassies will today across the whole world host events to inform host nations on  the effects of the illegal sanctions that have bled the country’s key sectors of health, education and basic social services.

These sanctions are blamed on worsening the burden on the Government to provide basic social services such as water, health and education, a mess that has ruined livelihoods of the country’s populace.Sadc in 2019 adopted the Anti-Sanctions Day, adding their voice to that of Zimbabweans who are united in their calls for the removal of sanctions.Some Analysts believe unilateral sanctions are in contravention of international law which stipulates that unilateral measures without or beyond authorisation of the UN Security Council may only be taken when they comply with states’ international legal obligations or in the course of countermeasures in accordance with the rules of law of international responsibility: to be applied against states for violations of international legal norms, to aim to restore the fulfilment of international obligations, to be proportional to the breach occurred, to be necessary, and to not violate fundamental human rights.

Analysts further add that sanctions are also a crude interference into the domestic affairs of a sovereign country and are in breach of the United Nations Charter and other international statutes.For this reason, Zimbabweans, from across the political divide have joined hands in the unconditional call for the removal of the sanctions.
 

Different religious leaders, Muslims, Christians, politicians, students, farmers, teachers, doctors, diplomats, graduates and many Zimbabweans have called for the removal of the sanctions.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa said Africa is using the occasion to express outrage that has hobbled the development  opportunities of a fellow member state of the African Union brotherhood.
“The Anti-Sanctions Day was announced by  the late President Magufuli of Tanzania. It harks back to the mutual support rendered by a united Africa in the epic struggles against the racist and apartheid colonial and settler regimes of the southern tip of the continent.

“An attack on one is regarded as an attack on all. Africa is indeed exorcising the ghost of imperialistic divide and rule that was the bane of the continent during slavery,  partition and colonial subjugation.
“President Mnangagwa and his Second Republic is waging a holistic war on every front to blunt the deleterious impact of sanctions. In the same vein, it is placing a positive premium in risk capital seeking rewards in natural resource-rich and bountiful Zimbabwe. It’s a source of comfort and strength as Zimbabweans savour the breadth and depth of African solidarity on this occasion. Zimbos are not alone as they grapple with ruinous perfidy,” said the Zanu Pf Spokesperson Mutsvangwa.