Shortly after President Robert Mugabe was sworn in for a sixth term in a discredited runoff vote, Canada announced measures to restrict its relationship with Zimbabwe.
World leaders have condemned Friday's presidential runoff, in which Mugabe was the only candidate.
In a statement released Sunday, Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson condemned "the illegitimate and illegal actions of the government of Robert Mugabe in the conduct of Zimbabwe's June 27, 2008, election, and has rejected the results of this 'election'."
"As a result, Canada will immediately put in place measures designed to seriously restrict its relationship with the Government of Zimbabwe."
The initial series of measures Canada announced:
- Impose restrictions on travel, work and study on senior Zimbabwean government, military and police officials and their families.
- Summon the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Canada to convey messages to her home government.
- Reconfirm its long-standing policy against exporting military goods to Zimbabwe.
- Will not allow any aircraft registered in Zimbabwe to land in, or to fly over, Canada.
- The Government of Canada encourages Canadian companies to voluntarily divest from Zimbabwe.
- Canada will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need in Zimbabwe through trusted Canadian and international partners.
On Â鶹´«Ã½net Sunday, Emerson said "We don't expect the measures we've imposed so far to be the final determiner of what will happen in Zimbabwe, rather this is signal that had to be sent."
Without announcing sanctions today, it would have amounted as a pass for Mugabe, he explained.
"We were hopeful that the election would progress in a reasonably democratic way . . . but everyone can see that the democratic process in the presidential runoff has been a complete sham," Emerson said.
The newly-named foreign minister denied that Canada was too focused on Afghanistan and was not contributing in other parts of the world.
But Emerson said that the "real heavy lifting" in Zimbabwe, such as a peacekeeping force, would have to come from the country's African neighbours.
More sanctions to come?
The United States has warned it will bring the issue of economic sanctions before the UN Security Council.
But, on Saturday, a growing chorus of African officials said sanctions against Zimbabwe will not work.
Instead, the officials say the world should focus on establishing a power sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangiraim, who pulled out of the runoff because of attacks that left more than 80 dead and forced some 200,000 to flee their homes.
Emerson will attend G8 meetings in Japan this week.
"Canada is working with its partners in the G8 and elsewhere to ensure a concerted international approach to dealing with the flagrant abuse of the democratic process in Zimbabwe. The current government of Zimbabwe is illegitimate in the eyes of the international community," Emerson said in the release.
Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy says the situation in Zimbabwe is similar to one he dealt with in the late 1990s, with the military regime in Nigeria.
"Canada took sanctions, then worked with a broader range of actions with other countries," Axworthy told Â鶹´«Ã½net Sunday.
The best options for dealing directly with Zimbabwe is for Canada to turn to the Commonwealth and African neighbouring countries for support, Axworthy said.
Economic sanctions that target the country's leadership work best, plus restricting participation in international athletic events and Mugabe's travel abroad.
"Put the leaders essentially under house arrest in their own country, and if that doesn't work you ratchet it up," Axworthy said.
________________________________________
Following is a chronology of events leading to Sunday's swearing in of Robert Mugabe for his sixth term as Zimbabwe's president.
March 29: Zimbabweans vote peacefully in presidential, parliamentary and local council elections.
April 2: Opposition Movement for Democratic Change says its own tallies show its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won presidential elections outright with 50.3 per cent of vote.
April 4: Ruling ZANU-PF party says there will be a run-off and endorses President Robert Mugabe as its candidate. Opposition goes to court to try to force release of all election results; court rejects demand.
May 2: Electoral Commission releases presidential results, saying Tsvangirai won most votes, but not enough to avoid run-off with Mugabe, the second-place finisher.
May 10: Tsvangirai, who left Zimbabwe after the election, announces in South Africa that he will participate in the run-off.
May 16: Electoral Commission sets run-off date as June 27, after moving the deadline to 90 days after official election results are released -- beyond the legally required 21 days.
May 17: Tsvangirai postpones return to Zimbabwe after his party said he learned about a planned assassination attempt.
May 24: Tsvangirai returns to Zimbabwe.
May 27: Tsvangirai says politically motivated violence has killed 50 of his supporters since the election.
June 3: Government orders international aid groups to suspend operations, after accusing them of campaigning for the opposition.
June 4: Tsvangirai detained for nine hours north of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city.
June 5: A mob believed loyal to Mugabe assaults a convoy of U.S. and British diplomats, beating a local staffer. The government orders aid groups to halt operations indefinitely.
June 6: Tsvangirai detained briefly while campaigning near Bulawayo.
June 12: Zimbabwe's No. 2 opposition official, MDC secretary general Tendai Biti, arrested at Harare airport upon returning from South Africa. Tsvangirai detained by police twice briefly while campaigning in the south.
June 19: Biti formally charged with treason, which can carry the death penalty.
June 20: Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights says it has recorded 85 deaths in political violence since the first round of voting.
June 22: Tsvangirai announces he is pulling out of the run-off, citing violence against his supporters.
June 27: Second round of voting is held. Tsvangirai's name remains on the ballot even though he has withdrawn from the race. Residents say they were forced to vote by threats of violence or arson from the Mugabe supporters.
June 29: Electoral officials say Mugabe won the run-off and he is sworn in for a sixth term. Results show more than two million votes for Mugabe, 233,000 for Tsvangirai, and 131,000 defaced or spoiled votes.
--The Associated Press
