Kinnock pulls out of trip to Zimbabwe

Date: 14/03/02

By Laurence Frost and Dennis Abbott

MEP Glenys Kinnock has cancelled a visit to Zimbabwe and called for a toughening of EU sanctions against the country after President Robert Mugabe held onto power in disputed elections.

Kinnock was to have travelled to Harare yesterday (13 March) in her role as co-president of the EU-ACP joint assembly of MEPs and parliamentarians from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

But the Socialist MEP was forced to cancel after receiving a letter from Mugabe's government saying the timing of the visit was 'inappropriate'.

'I took that to mean in diplomatic speak that they wouldn't let me in,' said Kinnock.

The EU has already imposed targeted sanctions against Mugabe and other government figures.

Kinnock said she would press for these sanctions to be extended under the EU-ACP Cotonou agreement when the assembly meets in Cape Town on Sunday.

Conservative MEP Geoffrey van Orden was scathing about the conduct of last weekend's poll, saying that Mugabe had stolen the presidency from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. 'It was a blatant fix,' he said.

'The registrar declared there were 80,000 spoilt ballot papers; what's a spoilt ballot paper - a vote for Tsvangirai?

'The EU should have acted earlier and international diplomacy should have been more effective in getting South Africa and other African states on-side,' he added.

Van Orden fears Mugabe will now order his militia to carry out a further crack-down on supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Human rights group Amnesty International has also voiced concern over a number of election observers and polling officials it says are being held by the Zimbabwean authorities.

MEP Glenys Kinnock has cancelled a visit to Zimbabwe and called for a toughening of EU sanctions against the country after President Robert Mugabe held onto power in disputed elections.