Security council holds fire on Zimbabwe sanctions
Friday, 11 Jul 2008 09:47
The UN security council has not yet voted on Zimbabwe sanctions
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The UN security council is delaying voting on sanctions in
Zimbabwe as talks between the country's main parties continue.
A resolution announced by the US and UK earlier this week was originally due to be tabled on Wednesday but this was cancelled at the last minute, UN security council president Le Luong Minh of Vietnam told reporters.
The AFP news agency cites a western diplomat as saying concerns about whether Russia or China might veto the resolution contributed to the decision to delay. Russia has already made clear its reservations about such a vote.
It is believed the main reason for the pause, however, is ongoing negotiations between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which controls a majority in Zimbabwe's parliament, and Zanu-PF, the party of its president.
Mr Mugabe has received widespread international condemnation for his supporters' campaign of violence and repression against the MDC, which forced presidential rival Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out of a runoff vote on June 27th.
Its representative at the UN, ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku, has launched its own criticisms at secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
The state-run Zimbabwe Herald newspaper quoted him as saying: "We have noticed a partiality on the part of the secretary general who we feel has been siding with the US and Britain whenever he has had to deal with Zimbabwe.
"We find that he is parroting whatever America and Britain say about Zimbabwe and this will only dent the credibility of the office of the secretary general. This is wholly unacceptable."