The Truth About U.S. Sanctions Against Zimbabwe

The U.S. just levied new sanctions against Zimbabwe.

While the media hardly mentioned them, the US & EU have sanctioned Zimbabwe for 21 years.

BT's Kei Pritsker explains the devastating sanctions and how they punish the country simply for reclaiming land for the Black majority.

[texajp]

You could do a whole series on usa sanctions around the world, dozens of countries

[Andy-tubo]

Instead of going to meet Biden the african countries should have stated only after sanctions on Zimbabwe are lifted

[heaven]

I am Zimbabwean 🇿🇼 and thank you so much for this report, no one in the western media ever talks about the crippling impact of these sanctions and all because we wanted our land back. Well that land is the one that is making us survive these past 21years and we will never relinquish it again

[stephaniecarrow]

France did something similar to Haiti by demanding that Haiti remunerate France for the land and income lost when Haitians overthrew the plantation owners and gained their emancipation. I.e., punishing them for their liberation from slavery. Such greed. Haiti's been paying to this day, one of the reasons for its poverty, in addition to US political and economic interference.

[eomguel]

Well said. Hands off Zimbabwe, hands off Africa, hands off the global South!

[dlfields]

The whole of Mother Africa must unite together and ensure justice peace and prosperity for every citizen . The colonial countries should all be thrown out immediately and forcefully .

[Octoberfurst]

Thank you for this coverage! I had no idea there had been sanctions on Zimbabwe for 21 years! And yet all I hear from Western commentators is how bad the Zimbabwe economy is and that it is all the fault of Mugabe! No mentions of the sanctions! The lies drive me crazy! The West is more concerned with property rights than human rights! Zimbabwe must be free from sanctions! Keep up the good work and maybe do a longer video on how the West ruined Zimbabwe and other countries around the world.

[yetenayetadmasu]

Thank you for telling the truth to the world...

[rikondjakaramata]

Zimbabwe must take advantage of the sanctions and accelerate cooperation with China and Russia and join the BRICS block of nations assert her sovereignty after all the shift in the Global International system points to Global South, America and it's Western Allies of imperialism has nothing to offer Zimbabwe but to undermine it's developmental growth.

[rhiannonwilliams]

China is now investing in Zimbabwe and historically treats the African nations fairly.

[BoydGilbreath]

I have no words to properly denounce the US Government.

[elonchieftwatt]

Here in South Africa as soon as the land issue is mentioned, protests start breaking out or some crisis occurs. It’s really ruthless what the western countries are doing to our neighbours including our country.

[MrK-wuci]

The problem is that like with most issues, it is difficult to get through the corporate propaganda.

- Al Jazeera is just a neocolonial outfit, spreading the British line on Zimbabwe.
- Landreform scares the European aristocracy, because land ownership is the basis of their power.
- They are afraid of successful landreform in Zimbabwe, because it would set a positive example for their own population.

Basically the British government had an agreement with the Zimbabwean government called the Willing Buyer, Willing Seller landreform program. The Zimbabwean government was supposed to pay for improvements made to the land (wells, roads, storage facilities, etc.) and the British government for the value of the land itself. It was never going to work, because it depended on bits and pieces of land becoming available at whatever prices the landowners would ask for it.

In November 1997, Clare Short in Tony Blair's government put in the final nail, when they publicly declared they would not hold up their end of the deal.

Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development at the DfID, November 1997:

"I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised, not colonizers."

So Clare Short thought that an international agreement between two states was a gift to the Zimbabwean government by former colonials who felt guilty?

Anyway, when there is an international agreement between 2 states, and one states withdraws from it or decides to just no longer abide by it, the other state has no obligation to continue with it.

So the Zimbabwean government was in the right. And these sanctions are illegal.

Years ago, the damage to the Zimbabwean economy by economic sanctions was estimated at $42 billion. It must be a lot more today, well over $60 billion I would guess.

It is time they were compensated for it.

[petermura]

Like the river to the sea Africa will be free. Zimbabwe will be free politically, economically and socially. Aluta Continua!

[kn]

this made me cry, you guys doing the good work.

[theatlantean]

It’s the reason why the dollar is falling and the world will be free..

[diosamurcielaga]

Spot on, let Zimbabwe be free and grow !!

[mambonashe]

I am a Zimbabwean and a Pan Afrikan. Great cover of historical colonial injustices. What is evidently clear and sad is the fact that the West bullied my country for trying to correct a historical imbalance they created through colonialism. Ours is a struggle for self determination based off land, because land is the fundamental vehicle behind all economic processes. Land is the source of life. Land is literally God. These sanctions have a ripple effect on my country's economic psych as evidenced by millions who have fled the country because of economic hardships.

Another sad point is how the West is utterly committed to systematic oppression and imperialism using access to credit and international trade as weapons, something Western audiences have no idea how this plays out in countries they oppress, with democracy and religion as tools of cultural imperialism.

[lukethomeret-duran]

I am from Zimbabwe and struggle explaining the situation in Zimbabwe to Europeans. Can you make a bigger series or longer video explaining Zimbabwe?

[keithmuzondo]

As a Zimbabwean i was carefully listening and waiting for incorrect infor....you nailed it...keep up the good work...