MDC claim Mugabe not invited to Franco-Africa summit

By Tichaona Sibanda
12 February 2007

The MDC’s chief representative in the UK, Hebson Makuvise, said on Monday that French diplomats in London have assured him that Robert Mugabe has not been invited to attend the Franco-Africa Summit in Cannes this week.

There had been reports in the media that France was planning to invite Mugabe and senior Zimbabwean officials to Thursday and Friday's Summit, despite European Union travel sanctions against him and his henchmen. Diplomatic sources last week revealed that despite EU, particularly British, unrest over Zimbabwe’s participation in the Franco-Africa Summit this month, Harare would receive an invitation from President Jacques Chirac to attend.

According to the Sunday Mirror, sources at the French Embassy in Harare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Zimbabwe would be represented at the Summit though it could not be ascertained if the invitation was extended to Mugabe or any other senior government official.

In meetings with senior French officials in London last week Makuvise was told two influential African states had indicated their unwillingness to attend the summit in the event Mugabe was not invited. As it stands no invitation has been extended to the Zimbabwean government, for anyone to attend.

‘These two African states tried to influence other AU countries to boycott the Franco-Africa if Mugabe was not invited, but obviously this failed. The two states have apparently gone back to the French to indicate that they would be attending the summit in Cannes,’ Makuvise said.

This comes amid reports that a new split is developing within the EU over targetted sanctions on the Zimbabwean government, with both France and Portugal reportedly considering summit invitations to Mugabe, in March.

There are fears that these differences would weaken the diplomatic isolation of the desperate regime, that most EU countries are trying to maintain.

‘At the end of this week European officials are expected to unanimously agree to extend targeted sanctions against the regime’s top leaders. The sanctions are not against Zimbabwe, as Mugabe would want people to believe. The sanctions are against him and his cronies and they would be extended because it is the only way possible to keep him under pressure for human rights abuses,’ he said.

Reports in the media over the weekend suggest there had been a lot of resistance against France extending an invitation to Mugabe. Most European politicians and human rights groups argued that Zimbabwean participation in such high-profile events would make sanctions all but meaningless.

The regime joined in the debate when Nathan Shamuyarira, a spokesperson for the ruling Zanu-PF party, denounced the targeted sanctions. He told the state controlled media; ‘Britain is pursuing a colonial practice, repression of other nations, and I hope other countries will not be dragged in its sinister agendas.’

Donald McKinnon, the Commonwealth secretary general, told the UK Guardian last week that if the EU were to change its stance totally, that ‘would virtually be accepting the nature of the government in Zimbabwe.’