EU split over sanctions against Mugabe regime

Date: 14/02/02

By David Cronin and Martin Banks

THE European Commission's chief representative in Zimbabwe says that imposing sanctions on Robert Mugabe's regime is not on her agenda - despite its attempts to thwart EU election monitors.

Mugabe had ignored a Commission deadline for the team to start operating by 3 February, but the Union's Harare envoy, Francesca Mosca, believes it should focus on his earlier 'positive declaration' to allow EU observers to inspect the conduct of the 9-10 March election.

'We are not now trying to discuss sanctions,' Mosca said. 'Our main objective is to get the observer mission on the ground. That's what's driving our activity at the moment.' The team of 30 observers was last night (13 February) still awaiting news on whether the country's authorities would give them the accreditation needed to start working.

A spokesman for the team's leader, Swedish UN Ambassador Pierre Schori, echoed Mosca's view. 'We're not in the sanctions business here,' he remarked. 'We're more concerned with the training of observers.'

The comments are the latest twist in a heated debate over whether Mugabe's autocratic government should be punished for its violent clampdown on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and laws restricting press freedom.

Chris Patten, commissioner for external relations, stated in late January that 'smart sanctions' such as a ban on travel to Europe and a freezing of foreign assets would automatically be slapped on Mugabe and his henchmen if they ignored the 3 February deadline. That threat was not carried out.

MEPs are now insisting that next week's (18-19 February) meeting of EU foreign ministers hits Mugabe hard. Welsh Socialist Glenys Kinnock, new head of the EU-ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) parliamentary assembly, said the Union's reputation is 'on the line'.

'If the EU is to retain its credibility it can't keep setting deadlines without then fulfilling the threat of sanctions. Mugabe's behaviour is totally unacceptable and the EU must stand firm in deciding the make-up of its delegation. The team must have unrestricted access to the whole of Zimbabwe.'

She warned Zimbabwe would suffer a 'lost generation' if Mugabe stays in power: 'The country should be a beacon of hope in Africa. Instead, this tyrant...is destroying all the hopes, dreams and ambitions of its young citizens. An estimated 500 people are leaving the country every day and many of them are young people.'

UK Conservative Geoffrey Van Orden agreed with Kinnock, adding: 'We have been warning for weeks that Mugabe would not take the international community seriously unless it showed resolve. Mugabe has now reached the endgame. At this critical stage, the EU must not allow him to dictate terms.

'We do not want to find ourselves in a month's time, merely recording that the election was fixed. We need tough action now.'

EU officials have confirmed that all legal texts required for imposing sanctions have been finalised so foreign ministers could rubber-stamp them on Monday. The ministers will study a report from Schori before making a final decision. He was still preparing it yesterday but would not divulge its contents.

Earlier in the week Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwe's foreign minister, said his government would not recognise Schori as the team's head because it has decided to accept observers from nine EU countries only. Sweden is not among them.

EU states have been divided over how Mugabe should be treated. The UK is outraged by how he has fomented hostility to white farmers. But Belgium and France have argued he could play a constructive role in efforts to secure peace in Africa's Great Lakes region.

Diplomats believe there is a general consensus that the EU's focus should be more on making sure the elections are free and fair than on sanctions.

The European Commission's chief representative in Zimbabwe, Francesca Mosca, says that imposing sanctions on Robert Mugabe's regime is not on her agenda, despite its attempts to thwart EU election monitors.