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International assaults on Zimbabwe foiled

Russia, China double-veto sanctions

A new round of post-elections destabilization attempts by the Western imperialist countries suffered a monumental defeat when the U.S. and British-sponsored vote to impose additional sanctions against Zimbabwe in the U.N. was double-vetoed by Russia and China on July 11.

In an article published in the July 14 issue of the Zimbabwe Herald, the government thanked various countries for their assistance in preventing the passage of such a hostile resolution by the Security Council. “Deputy Minister of Information and Publicity Bright Matonga hailed China and Russia for vetoing concerted efforts by Britain and the United States to victimize Zimbabwe.” The official also commended Libya, South Africa and Vietnam for “their unreserved support for Zimbabwe.”

“We are grateful to our all-weather friends, particularly China and Russia. We thank them wholeheartedly for their continued support and for the work they have done before, during and after independence. They continue to support us even during these difficult times,” said Bright. “We are very grateful for their support.”

G8 Summit pressures African leaders to condemn Zimbabwe

At the recently held summit of leading capitalist countries in Japan, the Western nations invited several heads of state from the African continent including Presidents Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa and John Kuffour of Ghana.

The African heads of state questioned the G8 leaders about the delivery of at least $25 billion that was promised during the 2005 summit in Scotland. This aid would ostensibly have provided assistance to various African states to increase agricultural production, industrial development and tackling various health problems, including the high rates of HIV/AIDS. Despite the questioning, the capitalist states were mainly concerned about forcing the African representatives to condemn the president and government of Zimbabwe.

After the African leaders demonstrated resistance and reluctance to these attempts to further threaten Zimbabwe, the G8 leaders issued a special resolution on the situation inside the southern African nation.

The resolution on Zimbabwe reads in part: “We express our grave concern about the situation in Zimbabwe. We deplore the fact that the Zimbabwean authorities pressed ahead with the presidential election despite the absence of appropriate conditions for free and fair voting as a result of their systematic violence, obstruction and intimidation.”

This statement refused to acknowledge the work already done by South African President Thabo Mbeki in serving as a mediator between the Zimbabwe government and the pro-Western opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T). Talks resumed between the two Zimbabwean parties, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front as well as the Western-backed MDC-T, in South Africa during the week of July 7.

Moreover, by avoiding a discussion of the major concerns expressed by the African countries in attendance, the G8 leaders demonstrated the real agenda of the imperialist states. Even though they have targeted Zimbabwe and Sudan (see article this issue) for destabilization and regime change, no mention was made of the continuing wars of aggression by the U.S., Britain and their allies against the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, let alone the growing threats of military action against the nation of Iran by both the U.S. and the state of Israel.

With the deepening economic crisis in the imperialist states, resulting in the increasing loss of jobs, rising energy and food prices, home foreclosures, evictions and the increased levels of political repression against their own populations, the Western nations will continue efforts to exploit and oppress the peoples of the former colonial and semi-colonial regions.

The declining living standards in the oppressed nations provide opportunities for the workers and the oppressed inside the capitalist states to engage in solidarity actions, which will mutually benefit the masses in various regions of the world.