Portugal says Mugabe not welcome

Portugal says Mugabe not welcome

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By Staff Reporter

PORTUGAL'S Foreign Minister Luis Amado said on Monday Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe would not be welcome at a European Union-African Union summit being held in November in Lisbon.

"Personally I have no interest in Mugabe coming to Lisbon," Amado said, adding that the veteran leader's presence would be a "factor of disturbance".

The EU imposed a travel ban on Mugabe and more than 100 people closely linked to his regime after the Zimbabwean leader won elections in 2002 that international observers said were rigged and marred by intimidation.

The octogenarian president has also been slammed for leading the once-model economy into ruin and trampling on democracy and human rights. The southern African nation currently has the world's highest inflation rate.

"It is a question of principle for the EU, in the same way that for the African Union the presence of the presidents of all the member states is a question of principle," Amado said.

Leading African politicians have denounced any suggestion that Mugabe be barred from what would be the first Europe-Africa summit in seven years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month accused Mugabe of "unspeakable acts" but said the November summit would go ahead even if he attended.

"It cannot be the case that we do not work with a continent just because one country commits unspeakable acts. So everybody will be invited," said Merkel.

Germany holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of June. It will then be taken over by Portugal, which will host the summit in Lisbon.

Ghanaian Foreign Minister Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, whose country heads the African Union, and his South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma both came out against the idea of a ban on Mugabe attending the summit. - AFP

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