Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-13-Speech-4-159"
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"en.20030213.9.4-159"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the first time I have spoken about the enduring and unhappy saga of Zimbabwe and its dictator Robert Mugabe. Our position has not changed: we strongly condemn Mr Mugabe’s regime, the extremely violent, ongoing and shameful breaches of human rights, the way in which he is destroying his own country and condemning his people to poverty. This is intolerable and our condemnation is unswerving. I would simply say, however, that we must now act intelligently. A policy of sanctions has been in place for a year now. It is too early to tell whether the outcome of this policy will be positive or negative, but whatever the outcome is, we all know what has been going on. We also know that these policies of sanctions always require a process to be in place. The question in my mind is this: given the difficulties that have arisen and that we ourselves have felt, with the suspension of the Joint ACP-European Union Assembly, which have also been felt in the Commonwealth, and which are also currently dividing Europe, would it not be better to act somewhat more intelligently?
I wish to propose an alternative plan, even though I have seen that a majority in this House has already been achieved! Why do we not adopt a three-month moratorium, at the end of which, if Robert Mugabe’s regime has not adopted serious measures to respect human rights, we would then decree a truly unanimous system of sanctions? In the meantime, we could explore opportunities for EU-Africa dialogue, once again pulling the carpet out from under the feet of Mr Mugabe, rather than giving his propaganda sustenance ...
Furthermore, we should launch a massive movement of positive solidarity towards Morgan Tsvangirai, who is being unjustly and seriously persecuted in his country. We in this House have the ability to do this and to mobilise European public opinion. Mr Tsvangirai has, as you know, already been nominated twice for the Sakharov Prize, which Parliament awards each year. Launching a massive movement of support for Morgan Tsvangirai to receive the Sakharov Prize at the end of this year would be much more effective than any policy of sanctions."@en1
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