The European Union and the United States of America have said that the Anti-Sanctions March which Zimbabwe embarked on last Friday is not enough for them to lift the sanctions they imposed on the country.
The urged Zimbabwe to implement reforms saying that was the only way of ensuring the removal of sanctions. Seeking to Hstv on Friday, EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen said:
(The) EU is looking at what is on the ground, what is the actual situation on the ground and these are the kind of issues that can come into play for us to lift the sanctions.
Lifting of the sanctions is not decided on street marches or social media campaigns; this will not divert attention on the situation on the ground. Frankly speaking, there are a lot of other issues challenging Zimbabweans that would warrant attention than the EU restrictive measures.
The Anti-Sanctions march came after SADC leaders declared the 25th of October a day for member states to call for the removal of sanctions.
Days before the sanctions, president Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the anti-sanctions march’s main objective was to make those who imposed sanctions know that citizens were against them.
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