Mugabe may face UN sanctions
02/07/2008 22:02  - (SA)  

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New York - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the country's central bank governor are among those who, under a US-drafted resolution, would face UN 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 UN 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.

Army chief

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

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

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

An African Union summit called on Tuesday for mediation efforts by the Southern African Development Community, led by SA 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 UN."

He said the idea of a senior UN 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 (UN 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.

Russia dislikes sanctions

British UN Ambassador John Sawers said the UN Security Council would discuss Zimbabwe again next week on the basis of a briefing UN 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'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 said.

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 US draft resolution, which the United States hopes to circulate to all members of the 15-nation council later this week.

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