US wants sanctions on Mnangagwa, Mugabe and Gono

US wants sanctions on Mnangagwa, Mugabe and Gono

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ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and the country's central bank governor are among those who, under a United States-drafted resolution, would face United Nations asset freezes and travel bans over last week's widely criticised election.

According to an annex to the latest version of the draft, obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, Mugabe is among 12 people who would face U.N. sanctions because he is the "Head of government responsible for activities that seriously undermine democracy, repress human rights and disrespect the rule of law."

Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono would also face sanctions because he is "responsible for funding repressive state policies," the text says.

Mugabe won re-election in the June 27 run-off ballot after Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, pulled out of the voting because of attacks on his supporters. He had won a first-round vote on March 29.

Also on the sanctions list are the army's chief commander, Gen. Constantine Chiwenga, who the MDC says coordinated Mugabe's campaign for the election, which African and world leaders condemned as illegitimate.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, who heads the rural housing and social amenities ministry, is also named in the annex.

Separately, a senior Western diplomat said Western powers are pushing for a U.N. senior envoy to be appointed to bolster African efforts to mediate a solution to the crisis.

An African Union summit in Egypt called on Tuesday for mediation efforts by the Southern African Development Community, led by South African President Thabo Mbeki, to continue.

But the diplomat, who asked not to be identified because the matter was still under discussion, said Western countries felt those efforts "need broader support from the AU and the United Nations".

He said the idea of a senior U.N. envoy to mediate in the crisis around Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election last week was "on the table," adding, "We're discussing it with (U.N. Secretary-General) Ban (Ki-moon) and others."

Names that had been mentioned as possible candidates included former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and current Ghanaian President John Kufuor, the diplomat said.

British U.N. Ambassador John Sawers said the U.N. Security Council would discuss Zimbabwe again next week on the basis of a briefing U.N. officials will give council members on the circumstances surrounding the election.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Russia disliked using sanctions as a way of dealing with any problem and said the AU and SADC should be the ones to deal with the problem.

"We never like the idea of sanctions," he said.

"We're encouraged to see that there is a serious regional effort to try to bring the situation to a political conclusion, an amicable conclusion for Zimbabwe and that of course would be the best possible scenario," he added.

Officials from China, which like Russia is a permanent veto-wielding council member, have made it clear that they feel the Security Council should not interfere in Zimbabwe and have repeatedly referred to the issue as "an African problem."

Council diplomats say South Africa, Russia and China are opposed to the U.S. draft resolution, which the United States hopes to circulate to all members of the 15-nation council later this week. - Reuters
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