Zim 'damages image of Africa'
08/12/2007 19:13  - (SA)  

'A summit of equals' Nobel winner slams Mugabe All eyes on Portugal Confront Mugabe, Tutu tells EU 5.6m register for Zim polls Mugabe 'an African hero'

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Lisbon - German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on European and African leaders on Saturday to push for a renewal of democracy in Zimbabwe.

"The current state of Zimbabwe damages the image of the new Africa. Because this is so, we must take the chance here, in this framework, to put all our efforts together into strengthening democracy," Merkel told the leaders of 26 European and 53 African states.

Among her audience was Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is regarded in Europe as having driven his country to political, agricultural and financial collapse. He has been banned from entering the EU since 2002, but the ban was waived for the summit.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown refused to come to the summit when Mugabe was invited.

But despite that boycott, "we, the whole EU, are unified in our assessment of the situation in the country," Merkel stressed.

"Zimbabwe's situation concerns us all, in Europe as well as in Africa," she added.

Mugabe had been widely expected to respond to Merkel's speech, but in the event he did not react to it, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern told journalists after the speech.

Merkel's speech came as the official European contribution to a debate on human rights and good governance. - Sapa-dpa

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