EU and African MPs agree to invite Mugabe to Portugal Summit

By Tererai Karimakwenda
23 October 2007

The controversial issue of whether Robert Mugabe should be invited to the European Union-Africa Heads of State Summit in Lisbon Portugal in December has surfaced again. A delegation of EU MPs reportedly visited the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in South Africa last Friday, and after meeting to discuss the issue agreed it was better to invite Mugabe and engage him on the crisis in Zimbabwe, rather than snub him altogether.

The EU delegation was headed by Michael Gahler and PAP was represented by legislator Marwick Khumalo. At a joint press conference Friday they revealed that EU-Africa MPs will be meeting a day ahead of the heads of state summit in December, and hoped to influence the leaders to meet Mugabe and offer to discuss his problems.
The EU and PAP parliamentarians are the latest addition to a growing list who believe engagement is a better alternative to the decision made by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has insisted he will not attend the summit if Mugabe is invited. Brown said it was important to take a strong stance against the abuses of the Mugabe regime. But those favouring engagement with Mugabe continuing to grow in numbers.

Nickson Nyikadzino, information officer with the Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition in South Africa, described the decision by the EU/PAP parliamentarians as a “thorn in the flesh” because he believes Mugabe should not be permitted to attend the summit. He said: “There should be a clear cut agenda on what issues will be dealt with, particularly the issues of human rights violations in Zimbabwe, the economy and to what extent can Africa and also the EU assist to make sure they mitigate the crisis in Zimbabwe.”
Nyikadzino suggested that a committee be formed that would include both African and European heads of state, to engage Mugabe on the sidelines of the summit so he does not distract from the core business. He referred to Mugabe as “a loose canon” who will use the platform for his own propaganda. “He can be given a long rope and say a lot of stupid things while the country is suffering”, said Nyikadzino.