The Zimbabwean government Wednesday criticized the Group of Eight (G8) for its support for an arms embargo and sanctions against leaders of the African country proposed by the United States and Britain.
"We condemn this colonial and racist campaign against our country and government, but we are also very cognizant that it is Britain and the United States who are leading this campaign whose ultimate goal is to have the puppet in power," Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said.
The United States circulated a draft resolution among the UN Security Council last week, urging the 15-member body to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and freeze the assets of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and 11 other senior officials and restrict them from traveling abroad.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad Wednesday said a vote could occur "at any time."
Zimbabwe's elections attracted international condemnation after numerous media reports showed evidence of widespread violence and vote-rigging, claims the African country's government has denied.
In the latest G8 summit which gathered leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States in northern Japan earlier this week, they signed a joint statement which promised punishment for culprits in the election violence. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, however, also expressed misgivings about sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Saying that Zimbabwe is not a threat to world peace and security, Ndlovu argued that Security Council sanctions would not be justified.
Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi has said the country will not receive instruction from its "former colonial master."
"We are an independent country and we will never, never go back to being a colony," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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