The New Nation - Internet Edition

Joyce Njeri

THE recent announcement by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he will not be attending the Portugal Summit because Robert Mugabe has been invited to it is, to say the least, laughable.

I say laughable because Mugabe's problem is mainly with London, and issues to do with the two countries have nothing to do with other trading partners. And as preparations for the December European Union-Africa gathering of more than 80 African and European leaders get to an advanced stage, many cannot fathom the reason why they should be embroiled in Britain-Zimbabwe fights.

It's still fresh in our memories that plans for the last EU-Africa trade summit meeting in 2003 collapsed because of the Mugabe dispute. There's so much at stake in Europe's relations with Africa that the issue of Zimbabwe should not be allowed to derail the summit for the second time.

Of course, Brown's worries are obvious. The Prime Minister fears that if Mugabe goes to Europe he will hijack the summit, turn it into a public relations triumph, and exact revenge on the British, who have headed the campaign to isolate his regime.

The British have turned Mugabe into such an ogre that they themselves have become hostage to their own propaganda. Truth be told, Mugabe's critics do not have a moral right to criticise his policies because Zimbabwe's economic and political woes, partly blamed due to Mugabe's land reforms, have a lot to do with its former colonial power, Britain.

Let's not forget that the British government failed to honour an agreement that was entered way back in 1979, where it pledged to rectify post-independence imbalances in land ownership between blacks and whites. The meeting in London hosted by former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher agreed to help Zimbabwe carry out a land redistribution exercise, but later when the Labour Party came to power, they withdrew from the programme.

Of course many other nations in Africa that were colonised by Britain up to date have huge swathes of land still being occupied by the colonisers, and here, I have to point out that Africans appreciate the work they are doing to promote agriculture and the general economies of the respective countries. But Mugabe sought to use his own way and reclaim the parcels of land. Whether his move was wise is debatable, since he's just a victim of broken promises from Britain.

Granted, the 83-year-old Zimbabwean leader has his own flaws and shortcomings, just like other leaders in their respective countries but Brown's stubborn insistence on the old British vendetta against him is now outdated. Other African and European countries attending the summit have also been irritated by Brown's sentiments, saying that he is failing to see the bigger picture.

For instance, African Union, the voice organ of the 53 countries that make up the African continent, is demanding that Zimbabwe be treated the same as everyone else. Ghanaian President John Kuffuor, who is the Chairman of Africa Union, recently complained about leaders introducing matters that are 'extraneous' to the Lisbon summit.

On the other hand, Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa, who currently chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has gone a step further and made it clear that he and other leaders will not be in Lisbon if the Zimbabwean leader is not invited. According to news reports, Germany and the summit host country Portugal have also intimated they don't agree with the British government's reasoning on this matter.

African leaders as well as their European counterparts should ensure that the summit does not fail. Zimbabwe is an African state and we are defending principles here. After all, the upcoming summit would be of greater benefit to Europe than Africa. This is so because it's common knowledge that the main issue on the table to be discussed is the increasing trading shift of some African countries to China. The European Union bloc has traditionally been Africa's most important and valuable trading partner but in recent years, China's booming economy has seen her making commercial inroads in Africa.

Therefore, Gordon Brown should not drag Britain and Zimbabwe issues to this all important summit that will benefit both European and African countries.

(The writer is a Sub-Editor with Khaleej Times).