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EU extends sanctions on Zimbabwe's Mugabe for another year

Xinhua, February 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) has renewed sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace for another year, but the Zimbabwean ruling party dismissed the move and insisted the "illegal" sanctions must be totally removed.

"The restrictive measures will continue to apply to Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace Mugabe, and Zimbabwe Defence Industries, while measures against five high ranking members of the security apparatus will remain suspended," according to the decision endorsed by the EU Council, presented by EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Philippe Van Damme on Wednesday.

The EU ambassador added that an EU arms embargo on Zimbabwe stays, while measures against high ranking members of the security services will continue to be suspended.

The EU said it had also removed sanctions against 78 of Mugabe's allies.

Simon Khaya Moyo, a senior ruling party official and the party's spokesman, reputed the EU decision, saying that "all those sanctions are illegal".

"They must be totally removed including the ones on President Robert Mugabe and his wife," he said. "We are not going to be trying to justify illegality in any manner. They must be removed in total."

The EU first imposed the sanctions on Mugabe and more than 200 senior members of his party including their business entities in 2002 after accusing Harare of human rights abuses, a charge that Mugabe denies.

The EU has, however, removed most of the sanctions with the Western bloc resuming financial support to Harare last year.

Mugabe still travels to Europe for meetings of the United Nations and its organs.

The sanctions move on Mugabe comes a week after the United States which also imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2003 removed two Zimbabwe state-owned banks from its sanctions list. Endit