Zimbabwe tells EU off

Harare Bureau
A Zimbabwean delegation refused to be bullied by a member of the European Union Parliament whom they dressed down following his attempts to discredit the country’s recently held harmonised elections during the African, Caribbean, Pacific and EU Joint Parliamentary session in Brussels last week.

Mr Michael Gahler, a German legislator, had to leave in a huff and never returned for subsequent sittings after he was dressed down by the Zimbabwean delegation for making misleading statements about Zimbabwe, an attitude that was roundly condemned by political analysts yesterday.

The Zimbabwean delegation comprising Mberengwa East Member of National Assembly, Cde Makhosini Hlongwane (Zanu-PF) and Zimbabwe ambassador to Belgium, Mrs Margaret Muchada, rebutted Mr Gahler’s claims during the 33rd intercessional meeting of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary session in Brussels.

In his presentation, Mr Gahler had claimed that there was no rule of law in Zimbabwe and that the harmonised polls were a sham.
Cde Hlongwane then took the floor and castigated Mr Gahler for making statements without substantiating them.

He told the JPA that it was people like Mr Gahler and EU that actually wanted Harare to deviate from its laws by wanting it to hold harmonised elections beyond what was prescribed by its Constitution.

He reminded the JPA that Zimbabwe’s elections were endorsed by Sadc, African Union, Comesa, ACP among other several progressive organisations and individual countries.

“And for the Honourable member to suggest that because he did not observe the election, therefore the process was not free and fair is contemptuous of African thinking, African capacity to manage its own affairs and borders on mischief that connotes the rider and a horse relationship between Europe and ACP,” Cde Hlongwane was quoted as saying.

“Hon Gahler is suggesting to this august assembly that elections are only free and fair only if they are observed by Europe and that is not acceptable.”

Cde Hlongwane indicated that EU delegation in Zimbabwe had a five-member team that was also accredited to cover the election.
At that juncture, Mr Gahler left in a huff, never to return, even to chair some plenary committees that he was due to chair.

In his presentation, Cde Hlongwane accused the EU of violating Article 8 the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which provides for political dialogue for up to 120 days before any restrictive measures or sanctions could be imposed on a country.

He said with respect to Zimbabwe, the bloc, unilaterally took drastic action against Harare without allowing political dialogue.
In an interview at the weekend, Cde Hlongwane confirmed the altercation with German parliamentarian.

“I attended the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and we were not pleased by the attitude shown by a German parliamentarian. I put the record straight and put the context in which Zimbabwe elections were held. Had we not attended it, he would have got away with lies,” said Cde Hlongwane.

The EU imposed the illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe after Harare embarked on a land reform programme aimed at correcting colonial land imbalances that saw a minority white population owning over 70 percent of Zimbabwe’s arable land.

Political analyst, Mr Alexander Rusero, said time had come for Europe to re-align its position with Zimbabwe in the wake of a resounding Zanu-PF election victory in the 31 July  elections.

“That is very unfortunate as it is coming at a time when Zimbabwe has just settled coming out of crucial election,” said Mr Rusero.
“There is a need for the international community to realign its stance with Zimbabwe. It is against the dictates of reciprocity and diplomacy.”

He commended the Zimbabwe delegation for raising the flag of their country high.
Federation of Non Government Organisation president, Mr Goodson Nguni, said Mr Gahler was known to be Pro-Nazi.

“He has a relationship with Pro-Nazi groups, and because of that he is anti-Zimbabwe. He is saying this because they want to control Zimbabwe through the MDC-T and now that their project has failed they are desperate,” he said.

“He is a right wing politician and being right wing, he supports the MDC-T. MDC-T fits in well in right wing politics.”
The EU imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe over a decade ago and recently it lifted the sanctions in a piecemeal manner, leaving President Mugabe, First Lady Amai Mugabe, service chiefs, war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda and some companies.

To prove that the EU is just bent on exploiting  Zimbabwe’s minerals, the bloc recently lifted sanctions on the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation to allow it to trade diamonds with some members of the bloc, mainly Belgium.