Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-14-Speech-4-191"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2002-03-14"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Human rights2
dcterms:Language	"nl"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20020314.10.4-191"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2002-03-14-Speech-4-1922
lpv:speaker	lp:Bas Belder2
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Delegation to the EU-Romania Joint Parliamentary Committee (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; EDD (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij - Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond - Reformatorisch Politieke Federatie (1999-07-20--2002-03-17)3 member; Delegation for relations with the Member States of ASEAN, south-east Asia and the Republic of Korea (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 vice-chair; Delegation for relations with the United States (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, as was to be expected, on 1 April, Zimbabwe’s current president, Robert Mugabe, will be sworn in as Head of State for another six years. In my country, the Netherlands, 1 April is often associated with jokes. If only that applied to the people of Zimbabwe. In actual fact, the extension of Mugabe’s term of office is a bitter reality. It is based on the official result of last weekend’s extended presidential elections, which was published yesterday. The run-up to, as well as the course of, these elections is captured neatly in Zimbabwe as ‘flee and fear elections’. In short, these Zimbabwean presidential elections were neither free nor fair. The mere fact that many ballot stations are used as torture centres at night, where Mugabe’s uninhibited militia torture and humiliate political opponents, speaks volumes. This abhorrent fact marks out the sinister context of Mugabe’s ruthless campaign to stay in power. It is completely understandable why Mugabe’s main rival, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has rejected the election result as nothing but voter deception. In this extremely difficult situation, what Tsvangirai’s party needs most of all is level-headedness and wisdom. He is reportedly looking for legal means to fight and revoke the official election result. Tsvangirai and his men are certainly not seeking confrontation, according to their own sources. Given the desolate political and socio-economic situation to which Mugabe’s thirst for power has led Zimbabwe, this attitude on the part of the Zimbabwean opposition deserves the support of the Council and the Commission. For an escalation into civil war will suck the country deeper into the quagmire. Meanwhile, I would urge the Council and the Commission to join forces with the US administration in order to give Mugabe’s regime an even stronger international warning. At the same time, we must consider how we can continue to bolster the constructive forces in Zimbabwe. Those Western reactions to Mugabe’s disputable re-election which I have noted to date elicit this expectation. This is so unlike some African opinions which claim the elections to be ‘free and fair on the whole’. If this is truly the regional, political benchmark, then southern Africa is directly on course for instability. Consequently, a European appeal to the South African authorities, in particular, is just as much called for."@en1
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"the Movement for Democratic Change"1

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