Sunday, 17 March, 2002, 05:59 GMT
EU to boycott Mugabe inauguration
Many African states have endorsed Mugabe's victory
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated shortly for a new six-year term, amid controversy over his disputed election victory. The European Union has announced that its members will boycott Sunday morning's ceremony, and threatened more sanctions on Zimbabwe. The EU, along with the US, local pro-democracy groups and Mr Mugabe's rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, have said the election of Mr Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party was flawed and unacceptable. But many African states have endorsed 78-year-old Mr Mugabe's victory, and the presidents of Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are planning to be in Harare for the ceremony. The leaders of South Africa and Nigeria, however, are not expected to be there.
Mbeki's reaction
On Saturday, South African President Thabo Mbeki said the fate of Zimbabwe would have to be decided by Zimbabweans themselves, although the outside world did have a right and a duty to speak out about what was happening there. President Mbeki's much awaited comment came at the end of an ANC party meeting on Friday evening, and was still hedged with caution.
Mbeki: "World entitled to speak out"
South Africa would not take an independent position, he said, but would be consulting various other bodies, including the South African Development Community (SADC), the Organisation of African Unity and the Commonwealth. SADC, like the OAU, has now confirmed that it believes the election to have been substantially free and fair, although the Commonwealth said the poll did not adequately allow the electors to express their will. South Africa's position on Zimbabwe is particularly important, partly because it has political weight and economic leverage - it is the most powerful economy in southern Africa and it supplies President Mbeki is also one of the members of the three-man group of Commonwealth leaders who are meeting next week to make recommendations for any future Commonwealth action. The others are the Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
Attacks on opposition
The opposition in Zimbabwe has accused Mr Mugabe's supporters of stepping up reprisal violence against its activists.
In the past two days, five houses were trashed in the village of Zhombe, 220 kilometres (140 miles) southwest of Harare, Learnmore Jongwe, an opposition lawmaker, told the Reuters news agency. "There is retribution through assaults and threats," he said. Militants have also ordered 15 white farmers to leave their homes since Wednesday, because they had provided logistical support for opposition campaigners, the Commercial Farmers Union said.
The opposition has accused
Mugabe supporters
of reprisal attacks
EU sanctions
The EU imposed some sanctions on Zimbabwe after the head of its election observer mission was expelled from Zimbabwe in February. These included a visa ban and a freeze on the overseas assets of Mr Mugabe and 19 of his associates. "The European Union will maintain its humanitarian assistance to the people of Zimbabwe and will consider possible additional targeted measures against its government," said a statement released at the end of the EU summit in Barcelona on Saturday. The leaders also agreed to try to change African opinion about Mr Mugabe. "The European Council has decided to dispatch a high level troika in the near future to confer with countries of the SADC region about the European concerns regarding Zimbabwe," the summit conclusions said.