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Call to remove Zimbabwe sanctions Zimbabwe sanctions 'should end'
(about 20 hours later)
Southern African leaders meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo have called for the removal of all international sanctions on Zimbabwe. Southern African leaders have ended a regional summit by calling on the international community to lift all sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The call came at the end of a two-day summit of the regional grouping, SADC. The leaders, from regional bloc Sadc, said Zimbabwe had made enough progress in putting together a unity government.
The BBC's Karen Allen, in Kinshasa, says the statement is being seen as a significant victory for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. Analysts say Sadc's call is a victory for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has long argued against sanctions.
He has long wanted an end to sanctions and has accused partners in the unity government of being slow on the issue. Rights groups say removing sanctions now would benefit the very people the measures were meant to punish.
Mr Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai formed the power-sharing cabinet in February to try to end a political crisis following 2008's disputed elections. At the end of a two-day meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Southern African Development Community issued a statement saying it "noted the progress made in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement" in Zimbabwe.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai has maintained that full implementation of the agreement needs to come before any easing of international sanctions. It went on to call on the international community "to remove all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe".
Speaking after the SADC meeting, South African President Jacob Zuma said there was no reason to attach conditions to the lifting of sanctions. Tsvangirai snubbed?
He said the removal of restrictions was needed to help the process of implementation of the power-sharing agreement. The statement was welcomed by Mr Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba, who labelled measures against Zimbabwe as "unjustified and illegal".
Human Rights Watch has condemned the SADC position, saying it appeared to reward those who sanctions targeted. ZIMBABWE SANCTIONS EU: 2002 to presentAssets freeze and travel ban on some Mugabe allies, arms-sale banUS: 2003 to presentTrade ban against 250 Zimbabwean individuals and 17 companiesOther countriesCanada, Australia and UK among nations to have imposed their own targeted sanctions Sources: EU, Reuters, US treasury, UK Foreign Office
But Sadc seemed to have snubbed Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who had lobbied for a special summit to assess the progress of the power-sharing government.
He wants removal of sanctions to be conditional on how well the power-sharing deal signed last year has been implemented.
But Sadc leaders rejected that proposal.
South African President Jacob Zuma, who has criticised Mr Mugabe in the past and was expected to side with Mr Tsvangirai, said there should be no conditions placed on the removal of sanctions.
"We are saying the lifting of sanctions is going to help the process of implementation of the agreement by the parties in Zimbabwe," he said.
Sanctions are war without weapons Regina-Gabrielle Berry, Canada Send us your comments
Zimbabwe analyst Geoff Hill said Mr Zuma was outgunned in the Sadc meeting by other politicians.
He told the BBC's Network Africa programme that most Sadc leaders fear anything they say against Zimbabwe now could be used against them in the future.
The US-based group Human Rights Watch said it was too early to remove sanctions because "the levers of power are still very much in the hands of the oppressors".
"[Mugabe] has managed to persuade Sadc to call for the end to sanctions without making any significant improvement in the human rights situation in Zimbabwe," said HRW's Georgette Gagnon.