On Monday 18 February, the EU Council decided, without holding a debate, to renew for the duration of one year, the targeted sanctions imposed by the EU on a list of persons and entities close to former President Mugabe (an arms embargo and the freezing of assets held in the EU).
These sanctions will continue to apply to Mr Mugabe, his wife, Grace Mugabe, and the defence industries. It was decided, however, to remove two of the senior members of the security apparatus from the list, namely former police commissioner Augustine Chihuri and the former Director General of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), Happyton Mabhuya Bonyongwe.
In response to the press, who have questioned why this easing of sanctions has taken place given the violent repression against demonstrators seen last January, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, conceded that this repression had undermined the commitments that had been made in respect of rule of law and democracy. “We will monitor the situation closely. We are ready to adapt if necessary”, she said. EU sanctions were introduced for the first time in February 2002 for the obstruction of democracy. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)