Tony Blair will work to prevent Robert Mugabe attending the EU-Africa summit in Portugal this spring after coming under fire for acquiescing in a controversial visit by the Zimbawean leader to Paris next month.
In a clear attempt to limit the damage from the French invitation, which highlights inconsistencies in EU sanctions, the prime minister is to pressure European partners and African countries to ensure that Mugabe does not attend the Lisbon meeting in April.
”So much of this is to do with the political personality of Robert Mugabe that it is unthinkable for some EU leaders to sit with him,” one senior diplomat said.
A French foreign ministry representative confirmed the invitation to the Zimbabwean president and insisted it had been issued ”in complete accordance with the relevant rules”.
Britain believes that in a difficult situation, the key is the rollover of the so-called ”smart sanctions” imposed on Mugabe and his ministers by the EU last year. The sanctions are on the table for next Monday’s foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
Under EU rules unanimity is required so France could block the decision. By reluctantly accepting France’s decision to host the Zimbabwean leader, Britain hopes Paris will back the attempt to exclude him from the EU-wide Lisbon summit in April.
A French foreign ministry representative said the sanctions agreement that banned Mugabe and more than 70 other members of his regime from travelling to any European Union country made provision for an EU visa to be issued in a number of ”exceptional situations”.
Those included any trip ”for the purposes of conducting a political dialogue aimed at promoting democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe”, the representative said, quoting from the document.
He added that France had consulted ”extensively” with its EU partners — including Britain — before issuing the invitation.
Clare Short, the international development secretary, renewed her attack on President Jacques Chirac, telling MPs that Mugabe’s policies had made a containable drought into a disastrous regional famine and claiming the French had no understanding of southern Africa.
”They think it’s Britain and [President Mugabe] in conflict over white farmers. They’re not attending to the reality of the suffering of the people,” she said.
”Like the cricket, it’s not sending the right message. It’s just the thought of 7 — or 8 million people starving — and the government not cooperating with the international strategy to bring in aid.”
In Harare, European diplomats said France was not the only EU country opposed to sanctions.
Portugal, Greece and Italy would all prefer to engage Mugabe rather than isolate him. They believe the sanctions make the Mugabe government more entrenched and have made EU relations with other African countries more difficult.
But the Zimabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, lambasted France and Portugal for their stance on Mugabe: ”We are dismayed by the emerging discordant voices coming from certain quarters within the EU,” he said.
Brian Raftopoulos, of Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition, supported the French approach. ”By letting him go to these summits, they are opening a couple of doors to respectability, but there is a quid pro quo and they want some movement from Mugabe.” – Guardian Unlimited Â