A UNITED States senator Jim Risch has called on the Joe Biden-led administration to tighten screws on Harare and condemned President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime for “systematic” repression of the opposition.
Risch is a high-ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In a statement on Monday, Risch called on the Biden administration to abandon the belief that it can negotiate with Zimbabwe’s current leaders.
“It is clear the Mnangagwa regime is entrenched,” Risch said.
“The United States must not be complicit in their efforts to undermine democracy and human rights.”
Risch’s statement comes against the backdrop of what the United States called a continuous cycle of oppression in Zimbabwe.
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“The United States must abandon any misguided belief that it can negotiate with Zimbabwe’s current leaders, who have a lengthy history of human rights abuses, corrupt practices, and anti-democratic actions spanning over two decades. It’s past time the Biden administration amplified its condemnation of this severe repression,” he said.
Risch accused the Mnangagwa regime of using a proxy (Sengezo Tshabangu) to expel 15 opposition legislators from Parliament.
He also accused Harare of abducting and torturing legislator Takudzwa Ngadziore, arresting and detaining numerous opposition figures — including former Zengeza West legislator Job Sikhala who has been denied bail countless times and has clocked more than a year in jail without trial.
He also urged the United States to use every diplomatic avenue to forge a coalition of regional and global partners to support the people of Zimbabwe’s aspirations.
“The United States should use every diplomatic avenue to forge a coalition of regional and global partners to act in support of the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe and who will not ignore the government’s manipulation of the dire democratic, economic, and humanitarian situation for its corrupt benefit,” he said.
Risch said the August 23 and 24 general elections failed to meet the democratic standards set by local and regional bodies, including the Southern African Development Community.
In a recent statement, Human Rights Watch said the Zimbabwean government was “engaged in a systematic campaign of repression and intimidation against its critics”.
The group called on the Biden administration to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, while demanding the release of all political prisoners.
The Zimbabwean government has refuted human rights abuse accusations, insisting that it was committed to democracy and the rule of law.