Zimbabwe dominates ACP-EU conference in Rwanda

By Lance Guma
20 November 2007

Zimbabwe continues to dominate proceedings at the 14th session of the African Caribbean and Pacific- European Union (ACP-EU) meetings being held in Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Delegates who spoke to Newsreel say for the past 7 days, every time issues related to human rights and election processes are discussed Zimbabwe inevitably dominates discussion. On Tuesday Swedish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Olle Schmidt called on Robert Mugabe to stay away from the December summit of the ACP-EU in Portugal. Schmidt who is from the Liberal Party of Sweden said Mugabe had made Zimbabweans suffer and his presence was not going to help the country or Africa as a whole.

Glenys Kinnock, the co-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, added her voice to growing calls for the situation in the country to be resolved. She said the world could not afford to keep looking without doing something. Reports also say Kuwadzana MP and MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa presented a report to over 250 MP’s who are part of the assembly and expressed MDC concerns over current talks being brokered by South Africa. The party is not happy with a voter’s roll packed with ghost voters, the delimitation commission that is meant to re-draw the electoral constituencies and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which, they say, should be replaced with an independent body.

The report by Chamisa also stressed the need for international and regional observers to monitor the polls in 2008, equal access to the media for all the contesting parties, freedom for journalists to do their job without hindrance and people in the diaspora to be allowed to vote. Several MP’s from East and West Africa were eager to gauge the seriousness of Zanu PF in talks with the opposition and our source says they made enquiries on progress so far. Senators Clarisa Muchengeti and Forbes Magadu are representing Zanu PF at the conference but according to the judgment of those taking part, the Zanu PF duo look out of place and quite out of their depth in terms of contributions.

The ACP-EU assembly is scheduled to adopt a Kigali Declaration calling on the European Commission to give ACP countries more time to negotiate new terms for economic partnerships with Europe. This is meant to enable them access to European markets in the meantime, before final agreements are put in place.