Today German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a blistering attack on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at an EU-Africa summit being held in Lisbon. She told representatives from 80 EU and African states that "the current situation in Zimbabwe damages the image of the new Africa". She said that "the situation in Zimbabwe concerns us all, in Europe as in Africa. We don't have the right to look away when human rights are trampled on."
Mugabe sat impassively through her keynote speech. He is banned from the EU but has received a special visa from the Portuguese government to attend the summit. This followed pressure from African nations. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown boycotted the summit because of Mugabe's presence.
The decision to give Mugabe a special visa -to attend - was the correct one. He can gauge the strength of European public opinion which is nauseated by the barbarism of his regime. He has crippled the Zimbabwean economy. The eviction of the mostly white farmers has been largely responsible for Zimbabwe's worst famine in living memory. Zimbabwe was once the "bread basket" of Southern Africa. It is estimated that about two thirds of the 11.6 million people face severe food shortages. Hyper inflation has rendered Zimbabwean dollar practically worthless. Inflation runs at c15,000%. Many political opponents have been tortured and imprisoned.
Undoubtedly Mugabe will return to Zimbabwe and attempt to turn criticism at the summit to his advantage. He will argue that former colonial powers are anti African and hanker after their colonial past. He is impervious to criticism. In addition the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is riven by dissensions. All in all he is unlikely to be too worried by European criticism.
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