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Govt proposes Zimbabwe ban
04/03/2008 12:07 - (SA)
London - The British government is considering banning all Zimbabwean sports men and women from competing in any sporting events in Britain, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
According to the BBC's Inside Sport programme, which cited
sources at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street office, the ban is one of several options being considered to try to ensure Zimbabwe's cricket team cannot tour England next year.
Brown's office declined to comment and a spokesperson for the foreign office (foreign ministry) would not comment on a
complete ban, but said that Britain was concerned about future
cricket tours by countries ruled by "dictators" such as Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
"Although there are no sporting sanctions on Zimbabwe,
international sports should never be a way for dictators to
publicise their misrule," the spokesperson said.
"If the situation does not improve in Zimbabwe, we would not want to see the Zimbabwe team tour here in 2009, nor the England cricket team tour there in 2012."
'We are not surprised'
Zimbabwe reacted angrily to the reports, saying such a ban
would be "racist".
"We are not surprised by that. It's their country, they have the freedom to decide who goes in and out," said Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga.
"But it is a racist move because the majority of Zimbabwe
cricket players are black and the game is now being managed by
blacks. This is the same Britain that allowed its cricketers to
tour apartheid South Africa.
"This is a racist ploy, if we had an all-white team, they
would have allowed it to tour," he added. "Sport should be a unifying force, not a political battleground."
Britain, a former colonial power in Zimbabwe, has long been
sharply critical of Mugabe, accusing him of human rights abuses
and of ruining a once healthy economy.
The 84-year-old Zimbabwean leader, who has ruled for 28
years, is running for another five-year term in the elections
later this month.
He has vowed to defeat his rivals, including former finance
minister Simba Makoni and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
- Reuters
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