The Portuguese government has been criticised by a Scottish MEP after the current holders of the EU Presidency said that it planned to invite Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to a European Union summit on Africa in December.
Mugabe and more than 90 senior members of his ruling Zanu-PF are banned from the EU following what the EU said was a rigged election in 2002.
However, the African Union is reported to be insisting that the Zimbabwean leader should receive the same courtesy as all other African leaders, if the EU-Africa summit is to go ahead in Lisbon, while Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates told journalists it was "an error" that for seven years "a diplomatic problem" had prevented vital dialogue.
However, Catherine Stihler MEP said that she wanted to distance herself from the decision.
She said: “This decision is unwise and reflects badly on the European Union. The recent decision by Edinburgh University to repeal Mugabe’s honorary degree shows that the people of Scotland will not tolerate the brutal regimes of dictators such as Mugabe.
“The summit is meant to cement the partnership between our two continents and is set to promote policies on good governance, human rights, democracy and strategies to tackle African poverty.
“Mugabe knows little and cares even less about these priorities, as the suffering of the Zimbabwean people amply demonstrates. I implore the Portuguese to rethink this foolish decision.”
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