afrol News, 14 July - Britain will step up frantic efforts to seek more sanctions from the European Union against officials of the Zimbabwean government, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, told a news conference in London on Monday.

Britain and its allies were shocked last week after Russia and China vetoed against an arms embargo, travel bans and assets freezing of Zimbabwean officials. Russia and China blocked the motion, insisting that more time should spared for diplomatic efforts to solve the Southern African country's political crisis.

"I think it is difficult to justify the vetoes that were put on the Zimbabwean resolution by both China and Russia," Mr. Brown said.

"I think it is very hard to defend taking action when we know that we have got an illegitimate government that is holding power through violence, that is arresting people and putting them as political prisoners, incarcerating them, and a government that seems determined to hold onto power.

"That's why I regret what China and Russia did. Russia in particular had supported what we were proposing at the G8." he said announcing plans to step up "our sanctions." In that, UK will ask the EU to add a number of names to the sanctions list.

Besides planning to widen the sanctions list, the Brown administration has also instructed the treasury to track Mugabe's wealth in Western banks.

Mr Brown's statements were corroborated by his Foreign Secretary David Miliband while on tour in the French capital Paris.

"We are looking at a deeper hit on the financial sector and a wider travel ban," Miliband told reporters ahead of next week's European Foreign Ministers in Brussels.

The European Union's current sanctions target 132 individual Zimbabweans, but the planned meeting which takes place on 22 and 23 July is expected to address the extension of the list.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister's Spokesperson said London would seek to add 36 individuals linked to Mugabe's regime to its blacklist. This will include two state-owned in Zimbabwe.

"Europe has a united world view, we have a set of values that we stand up for. This is a opportunity for Europe to speak up, and I think it should take it," Miliband said, saying the sanctions were "not an economic boycott" because "those members of the regime who are propping up Mugabe" would be targeted.

He criticized China and Russia for vetoing a resolution that aimed at "14 people who are directly responsible for the maintenance of the regime." Miliband did not agree with the two super power nations that the Zimbabwean problem is not a regional crisis.

President Robert Mugabe, 84, who had been ruling Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, was returned to office after he had won an election run-off in which he became the single contender. The candidate of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change Morgan Tsvangirai withdraw from the race barely four days before the poll, citing increasing intimidation, harassment and killing of his supporters by the state and ruling party organs.

The party said at least 113 of its supporters have so far been killed while 200,000 others fled their homes since the 29 March elections.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories