Thread by @MelodyChakatsva

1/12 Of Sanctions and "Regime Repression"

I was having a conversation with a fellow political analyst about Sanctions and my question was why #Zimbabwe was on a Sanctions list and Saudi Arabia or Uganda was NOT. The wily old fox smiled and asked me...

2/12 ... a basic question "What are the objectives of Sanctions". I replied "To make the people suffer by destroying their economy so that they can revolt against their government". He then asks the killer question "Do you think the US wants a revolt in Saudi Arabia...

3/12 ... and Uganda which are US strategic partners in their respective regions?"."NO" was my sheepish answer. He then went on to add why the US Sanctions regime was the best tool for #Zimbabwe "We have already agreed that as educated as #Zimbabweans are they don't like..

4/12 ... to research about Sanctions right?". I nodded my head in agreement. "So the masses are easily told that the Sanctions have no effect right?". I again nodded in agreement, I could see from his smile that he was again going for a jugular. "When the masses don't believe...

5/12 ... in Sanctions any action taken by the government to counter the Sanctions is either seen as insane or abuse of power e.g. the central bank being involved in quasi fiscal activities. But it doesn't only end there, take Elections for another example, as long as...

6/12 ... the masses don't see the brutality of Sanctions and how they tilt the electoral playing field in favor of the opposition anything that the 'Regime' does to level the playing field will be seen as regime brutality. Take banning opposition rallies as an example, it will...

7/12... just be taken as a paranoid 'regime' coming from nowhere to level an already level playing field. The US knows that people cannot see Sanctions, but people can see violence when the 'regime' reacts to level the playing field. This is a normal human reaction like when...

8/12... a woman verbally abuses a man and the man reacts by beating the woman up. People can't see verbal abuse but can see the man beating up the woman. They will condemn the man as being brutal and the woman will get off scot free. It's the same with Sanctions, the...

9/12 ...US knows it will never be labeled as an instigator in #Zimbabwe because people don't see Sanctions. It's the same in Ukraine. No one wants to see NATO as an aggressor because it did not fire the first shot. But experts will show that NATO was encroaching on Russia. The...

10/12 ... question becomes whether Russia or #Zimbabwe should then fold their hands because they fear they might be labeled as being brutal? The answer is an emphatic no. Most countries at the UN are now aware of the tactics employed by the US and no longer support the...

11/12 ... Unilateral US Sanctions because they now recognize them as brutal, even when people don't see them". At that point I knew why #Zimbabwe was the perfect place for US Sanctions. The masses or not alive to the brutality of Sanctions BUT only come alive when ...

12/12 ... GoZ is countering the effects of Sanctions. Most #Zimbabweans will never comment on Sanctions but will come alive on RBZ activities or #ZanuPF violence. I will also ask the same question I was asked "Should GoZ fold its hands fearing to be labeled the aggressor?