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(TALKZIMBABWE) EU waives ministers' travel ban after Mugabe threat

EU waives ministers' travel ban after Mugabe threat
Mutsawashe Makuvise
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:09:00 +0000
President Robert Mugabe

THE European Union (EU) has temporarily agreed to lift a travel ban on two Cabinet ministers from the Zanu PF party following President Robert Mugabe's threat to call off a re-engagement meeting with Brussels, officials said Wednesday.

The Brussels meeting intended to relaunch trade and development ties between the EU and Zimbabwe was getting increasingly unlikely to take place as Justice Minister, Senator Patrick Chinamasa and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi had not been granted entry visas to Brussels.

The two are are both on the European list of individuals subject to travel and financial sanctions.

President Mugabe had told the Cabinet on Monday that the re-engagement exercise would be aborted if the two Zanu PF representatives were refused entry visas.

He is said to have told Cabinet that all the ministers were attending the re-engagement trip as part of the inclusive Government of Zimbabwe, and were not on party business.

The specific objective of the Brussels meeting is to restore and strengthen cooperation between Zimbabwe and the EU under the Cotonou agreement.

Signed between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of States in the Benin city in 2000, the Cotonou pact aims to reduce and in time eradicate poverty while fostering sustainable development and integrating ACP countries into the world economy

Industry minister, Welshman Ncube, from Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara's MDC formation (MDC-M) had also vowed to boycott the trip unless Zanu PF Cabinet ministers were included.

DPM Mutambara was said to have also instructed MDC-M deputy secretary-general and Minister of Regional Integration and International Cooperation, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga to boycott the Brussels trip if the two ministers were not granted travel visas.

Minister of Finance Tendai Biti had nevertheless proceeded to leave for Belgium Tuesday despite the other members of the entourage being refused visas.

The EU, however, on Wednesday buckled to President Mugabe's pressure and decided to issue the two visas.

Stephane Toulet, the deputy French ambassador to Zimbabwe confirmed to The Zimbabwe Guardian that the two visas will be issued; but that the waiver was only temporary.

"This was a temporary visa waiver. It was a decision made after a consultation of all EU partners and Brussels," said Toulet whose country is processing the visas in the absence of a Belgian diplomatic mission in Harare.

"The decision is meant to promote human rights and good governance in Zimbabwe and to re-engage Zimbabwe with the EU," she added.

A Zanu PF official who spoke to this writer on Tuesday said the EU ban had potentially deepened rifts in Harare's inclusive Government.

In 2002, the EU imposed sactions on Zimbabwe. President Mugabe and members of his government were also slapped with travel bans. Harare says the sanctions were illegal as they were not approved by the United Nations.

TSVANGIRAI TRIP CAUSES RIFTS

The refusal by Western officials to issue the travel visas to Zanu PF officials is said to have caused consternation in the party.

Last week Tourism Minister, Engineer Walter Mzembi -- the only Zanu PF minister in the PM Tsvangirai's delegation -- accused US President Barack Obama of being biased against Zanu PF although the party had formed an inclusive Government with the two MDC formations.

Mzembi accused the Obama for being overtly biased against the Zanu PF party and lacking of diplomatic courtesy after he was barred from a White House meeting with the United States president.

He said the existence of an inclusive Government involving Zanu PF and the two MDC formations should have invalidated any misconceptions the US leader had about the political situation in Zimbabwe.

PM Tsvangirai is on a three-week state visit to the United States and EU where he is expected to encourage Western countries to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe and to open diplomatic lines of communication with Zimbabwe.

Labels: EU, MUGABE, TRAVEL BANS

posted by MrK @ 2:14 PM