Banned Zimbabwe minister given visa
The Belgian government has confirmed that Zimbabwean Enterprise Minister, Paul Mangwana, will be attending a joint meeting of European and African states this week despite being subject to an EU-imposed travel ban.
UK Conservative spokesman for human rights in the European Parliament, Geoffrey van Orden, condemned the move as giving "tacit support" to the repressive regime of Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe.
"At a time when the suffering and repression of the Zimbabwean people is intensifying, it is appalling that members of the European Parliament should be meeting one of Mugabe's banned henchmen in Brussels," he said.
According to Van Orden, the ban could have been enforced using the terms of the Cotonou agreement - which defines the relationship between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states - if the political will had been there.
Article 96 of Cotonou states that a party may take "appropriate measures" in "cases of special urgency" when a "particularly serious and flagrant violation of one of the essential elements [human rights and democracy" has occured.
Mangwana will be attending a meeting of the political affairs committee of the EU/ACP joint parliamentary assembly on Thursday.
Many believe that the decision to move the location of the meeting outside the European Parliament was taken to circumvent the political tension seen last November when the parliament refused to allow any banned Zimbabwean ministers to enter the building.
While the UK Conservatives are planning to boycott the meeting, the remaining 22 MEPs on the committee are not expected to follow suit.
Co-president of the EU/ACP joint parliamentary assembly, Glenys Kinnock, said she would not encourage MEPs to shun the meeting because the valuable work on aid, trade and development should not be "taken hostage" by the Zimbabwean regime.
However, the senior MEP also criticised the lack of political will from the Council to impose the ban and take a stronger stand against Mugabe.
The decision by the Harare regime to send the minister was yet another indication of its determination to fly in the face of efforts to bring about democracy in the country, she said.
A spokesman for the Zimbabwean opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change, called the move "unacceptable and shameful."
"We expect the EU to be harsher. This is rendering the sanctions ineffective," she said.
|
|
You can make a difference
|
|
 |
Make a donation |
|
Support Zimbabwe at an event |
|
Lobby your local Government member |
|
Become a member of the ZIC |
|
