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'I hope Mugabe doesn't go'
22/11/2007 10:38 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Portugal hopes Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe won't attend an upcoming summit between the European Union and Africa, even though he has been invited, say Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado.
This was according to a report carried on the International Herald Tribune-Europe website on Thursday.
Amado said: "If you ask me whether I'd like Mugabe to be in Lisbon I'd say it would be better if he didn't come because he'll create so much noise around the summit that it'll distract from what we'll be discussing."
Portugal, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, had invited all Africa's leaders to the December 8-9 summit but had not yet received confirmation from any of them, said Amado.
Britain was among several EU countries that objected to Mugabe's presence in the Portuguese capital, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said he would skip the meeting if Mugabe was present.
Mugabe's critics accused him of economic mismanagement, failure to curb corruption and contempt for democracy. His regime was subject to EU sanctions.
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