The British government is welcome to stay away from the Africa Union (AU) and European Union (EU) summit in December, said African National Congress (ANC) secretary general, Kgalema Motlanthe.
If some countries decide to absent themselves from ”this critically important dialogue, to, feed their celebration of their holiness, regrettable as it is, we surely have the liberty to repeat what the Economist said — ‘so be it”’, said Motlanthe in the ANC Today newsletter on Friday.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated he would not attend the summit if Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is allowed to attend.
”I believe that President Mugabe’s presence would undermine the summit, diverting attention from the important issues that need to be resolved. In those circumstances, my attendance would not be appropriate,” Brown told the Independent on September 20.
On Friday, Motlanthe said the summit ”long delayed by the British insistence that President Mugabe should be excluded — should go ahead as planned”.
Motlanthe said the summit should attend to issues of importance for Africa and the EU, rather than becoming ”imprisoned and paralysed by dangerous and destructive neo-colonialist ambitions”.
Motlanthe said the ANC and the South African government had deliberately kept quiet about their efforts in Zimbabwe, because they believed it would help reach a speedier resolution to the problems on Zimbabwe.
”We have done so deliberately, understanding that it is more important to work, practically, for the resolution of the challenges in Zimbabwe than to engage in fruitless and self-serving rhetoric as many others have done.”
The December EU-Africa Summit will discuss, among other issues, a comprehensive EU support for Nepad, strengthening of the AU, sustained
resource transfers to help Africa meet the Millennium Development Goals, and genuine respect for the independence of Africa. – Sapa