Zimbabwe’s efforts to rejoin the Commonwealth are on course,
despite negative perceptions created by detractors, Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo has said.
Responding in the Senate, Minister Moyo said Zimbabwe
looked forward to the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in
Kigali, Rwanda next year.
“There are individual member States who express their
reservations in terms of their perception of what is going on in this country
and who may want to link up what is going on here with whether they would take
a position to support us to rejoin the Commonwealth or not,” he said.
“Nevertheless, as far as the systemic process of rejoining
the Commonwealth in terms of the secretariat is concerned, so far everything is
on course.”
Minister Moyo was responding to a question from Manicaland
Senator Douglas Mwonzora, who wanted to know progress on Zimbabwe’s readmission
to the Commonwealth in the context of concerns by British Parliament on the
human rights situation in the country.
“Some Member States or some British House of Commons
Members think that there were serious breaches of human rights abuses, but that
is their perception,” he said.
“Whether it is true or not, that is something which is
different, but I think you are aware as an Honourable Member that some of the
events that characterised those periods have been investigated, subject to a
Commission of Enquiry and police investigations, as well as a matrix that is
dealing with various activities.”
Minister Moyo said some of the organisations claimed that
Zimbabwe banned demonstrations, which was not true.
“What they say is their perception in as far as human
rights abuses are concerned,” he said.
“They believe that this Government has banned
demonstrations for good or something like that.
“As far as I know, it is not the policy of this Government
to ban peaceful marches and demonstrations — that is not the case.” Herald
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