AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD: Britain leads EU boycott threat over Mugabe

The Daily Telegraph ^ | January 28, 2003 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

[MadIvan]

The European Union's relations with Africa were heading for a crisis last night after a British-led group of states threatened to boycott the EU-Africa summit in April if Robert Mugabe was allowed to attend.

In a rebuke to France, which has been dragging its feet on tough action, Britain, Spain, The Netherlands and Denmark said it was time to stop bending the EU sanctions to accommodate the Mugabe regime.

All said that their heads of government would stay away from the Lisbon summit if the EU went ahead with plans to let Mr Mugabe attend. They were tacitly supported by Germany and Sweden.

In a day of acrimonious exchanges in Brussels, foreign ministers failed to agree an extension of EU "smart sanctions" against Mr Mugabe and his inner circle, which include an asset freeze, an arms embargo, and a travel ban. Geoffrey Van Orden, a Tory MEP and a leading campaigner for human rights in Zimbabwe, said the squabbling made a mockery of the EU's pretensions to be a serious maker of foreign policy on the world stage.

"Once again the EU has sent a message of weakness and ambivalence when a clear message is needed, just as it is doing over Iraq," he said.

The sanctions will lapse automatically on Feb 18 unless all 15 EU states vote for a "roll over".

So far the travel ban has proved to be almost worthless since Nigeria, Sudan and other states seen to have scant respect for democratic values have rallied behind the Mugabe regime in recent months, insisting that banned envoys from Harare are admitted to EU-related events.

They are now refusing to take part in the Lisbon summit unless Mr Mugabe is there, too.

But the British-led stand yesterday was a clear sign that much of the EU is losing patience with African states that receive billions of pounds in Union aid but fail to fulfil their side of the bargain by ensuring "good governance" and respect for human rights.

Sweden's foreign minister, Anna Lindh, said: "It gives a very strange signal if the EU is having sanctions against Zimbabwe and at the same time is inviting Mugabe, even if it is one country inviting him to a special conference."

France, which has been the chief obstruction over the renewal of the sanctions, appeared to have overplayed its hand yesterday by continuing to demand a waiver to allow Mr Mugabe to attend a Franco-African summit in Paris in February in exchange for rolling over the travel ban for another year.

Glenys Kinnock, a Labour MEP and the chairman of the European Parliament's Africa, Caribbean and Pacific committee, said the French government had attempted to "blackmail" the rest of the Union, but had underestimated the widespread disgust over the escalating abuses in Zimbabwe, where famine is now an immediate peril.

"The French policy thoroughly discredits President Chirac, but at least there was a core of states that spoke up and said they were not going to be held hostage by Mugabe."

The French view the Zimbabwe crisis as a post-colonial spat between Harare and London, chiefly over the fate of white farmers.

Zimbabwe's main opposition party accused yesterday Mr Mugabe's government of sanctioning the torture of its supporters.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the president of the Movement for Democratic Change, demanded an independent judicial investigation into a tide of violence that had led to some 30 political murders last year.

[MadIvan]

What weasels the French are.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[sheik yerbouty]

That is why they're the leaders of "The axis of weasel"!

[OldFriend]

What a shameful bunch are the French.

[Jorge]

France, which has been the chief obstruction over the renewal of the sanctions, appeared to have overplayed its hand yesterday by continuing to demand a waiver to allow Mr Mugabe to attend a Franco-African summit in Paris in February in exchange for rolling over the travel ban for another year.

France probably can't afford to be too picky these days when it comes to entertaining world leaders.

[wimpycat]

Why, does Idi Amin not vacation in France anymore?

[wimpycat]

What is it they say in the British Parliament?

Shame! Shame!

[Brian Allen]

<< Why, does Idi Amin not vacation in France anymore? >>

No.

Like every other of the Brussells-based Neo-Soviet's squalidly-socialist satelite states, it is too darned primitive for him there.

An idea: Seeing that the pre-stone-age criminal gangs that pass for governments in Nigeria and Sudan and in Africa's other totalitarian-savage states are refusing to take part in the Lisbon summit unless Rhodesia-zimbabwe's Ooboo Mugooboo is there, too -- and that the gummints of Britain, Spain, The Netherlands and Denmark and possibly those of the North-Eastern EURO-peon germanic states, say they won't attend if he does; doesn't common sense suggest that he be invited and thus save the taxpayers of the EURO-peon states the expense of sending their erstwhile representitives a-junketing? And that at the last minute his invitation be withdrawn and he be banned, causing the totalitarian-savage states' reps to stay away -- and thus save the taxpayers of the EURO-peon states the expense of sending the foreign aid to those places to fund their sending THEIR erstwhile representitives a-junketing?

Sounds like a win-win to me!

[happygrl]

The French view the Zimbabwe crisis as a post-colonial spat between Harare and London, chiefly over the fate of white farmers.

Disgusting.

Next thay'll be telling all the starving black people in Zim to "just eat cake."

[happygrl]

We call that "pulling out the tablecloth" here.

It's a funny mental picture though, watching them go back and forth in lemming-like waves.

[backhoe]

IMO, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is one of the few "real reporters" remaining- I put this together some time ago:

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b60ad4969a8.htm

[Cuttnhorse]

Sweden's foreign minister, Anna Lindh, said: "It gives a very strange signal if the EU is having sanctions against Zimbabwe and at the same time is inviting Mugabe, even if it is one country inviting him to a special conference."

It's a contest to see what country is the biggest weasle...a "strange signal" indeed.

[Brian Allen]

<< Next [The FRench will] be telling all the starving black people in Zim to "just eat cake ....." >>

..... or Chunneling them off to Blighty and join the invading hoards of African, Middle Eastern and [Soon] three and a half million or so of Eastern Europe's third-world savages who, as newly minted members of the EURO-peon union's Neo-Soviet, are; faster than we Americans can say "criminal-alien Mexican;" inundating, overwhelming and changing the very demographics and national characteristics of once great Britain.

And tell them "bon appetite!" as they eat up what's left of once great Britain's girly boys!