News from Berlin – The government in Berlin is keeping an eye on Zimbabwe. After the African country adopted a new constitution last year the German Federal Government is keen to see whether the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, will uphold the values written on paper. Also, the officials in Berlin will watch whether Mugabe will re-align his country’s laws with the new constitution or not.

This is a signal of re-engagement with Harare. The focus, according to Berlin, will be on discussing the benefits of the implementation of the new charter and “asking who really benefits out of its implementation”. Zimbabwe officials, including Mugabe, are under sanctions that were implemented in 2002 as a punishment for alleged electoral fraud and violating human rights. Mugabe and his entourage were banned from traveling to Europe and had their assets frozen, but the EU removed some of the sanctions last July after Mugabe showed signs of moving towards a more democratic path.

The EU seems more willing to re-engage with Mugabe, but Germany says it will follow the European trend. Berlin appreciates the situation in Zimbabwe as being different than how it was in the previous years and this is being seen as a positive step. However, these improvements still need to backed by the implementation of the constitution for an opening up of the democratic space.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global