Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-05-Speech-4-238"
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"en.20030605.9.4-238"2
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"Mr President, I imagine that the Council representatives have taken note of the comments made by the Members. As far as the Commission is concerned, it is aware of the fact that conditions in Zimbabwe are very unstable, to use diplomatic language. We are monitoring this week’s events very closely. We know that the climate is deteriorating, that political violence is on the increase, that there are more and more human rights violations and breaches of the rule of law, and that the human suffering is getting worse. We strongly condemn the repressive measures taken recently with regard to the opposition, in particular the arrest on Monday of the leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, and other members of the MDC, the Movement for Democratic Change. These measures are part of the government’s efforts to crack down on the strikes the MDC has called for this week. Given the gravity of the situation, the Commission fully supported the publication on 3 June by the Council presidency of a declaration by the Union on Zimbabwe.
We are equally concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and are therefore playing an active role in the measures to respond to the most urgent cases. Over the past year, we have contributed almost EUR 93 million in the form of emergency food and humanitarian aid in order to relieve the suffering of the Zimbabwean people and to ensure that they were not penalised. We are going to continue with these projects to provide direct assistance to the country, particularly in the social sector and as regards respect for human rights and the rule of law.
As it normally does, the Commission is continuing to explore all avenues of dialogue in the hope of improving the situation. We support all of the pressure from the international community, the African heads of state and the SADC that may be exerted on the Zimbabwean Government to encourage it to respect human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles. We must once again, and relentlessly, emphasise that these concepts are essential elements of the Cotonou Agreement that links the European Union and Zimbabwe. In this context, the Commission welcomed the recent initiative by three African presidents to encourage the resumption of dialogue between the parties. It fully shares the concern expressed at the Evian G8 meeting regarding the terrible situation in this country."@en1
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