Mugabe's attendance at summit makes a mockery of Europe

1.14.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 10th Dec 2007

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was in Lisbon for an EU-Africa summit, which the Prime Minister is boycotting because he would not 'sit down at the same table' as him. The EU has a travel ban on Mugabe because of his human rights record, but Portugal has lifted the ban for the summit, which marks Mugabe's first visit to Europe in several years. Western critics accuse Mugabe of ruining Zimbabwe's economy, rigging elections and violently suppressing opposition.

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Michael Moore said "The decision to invite Robert Mugabe to this summit makes a mockery of the European Union sanctions regime. This summit ought to be focusing on international preparations for a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe rather than on glad-handing with the tyrant responsible for its collapse. The priority must be to prepare the ground to support Mugabe's successors, re-build democracy through an international contact group and secure international funding to repair the ravaged economy."