The British government must have blown a fuse when French President Jacques Chirac announced on Thursday that he has invited Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe to take part in a summit in Paris with other African leaders to promote justice, human rights and democracy.
The invitation flies in the face of the EU travel ban on Mugabe and 71 other members of the Zimbabwean regime, imposed last February along with a freeze on their assets, because of the ruling party’s violence and intimidation in last year’s controversial presidential elections. The ban expires on Feb. 18, the day before the summit, but it is certain to be renewed.
For France to so brazenly flout an EU decision can hardly do the cause of European unity any good. But that is a minor consideration compared to the moral issues raised. It looks as if France is intent on courting a man whom not only the UK, which has led the campaign to isolate Zimbabwe, but the rest of the EU too and indeed much of the world regard as a tyrant. Africa may disagree, if less from conviction as from a desire not to be part of a seemingly British-orchestrated campaign, but it is impossible not to be appalled at Mugabe’s doings. He has trampled democracy and human rights underfoot, destroyed his country’s economy — its performance is the worst in Africa — and now uses famine to starve those did not vote for him into submission.
There are two ways of looking at what the French are up to. One that they hope to profit from the row between Zimbabwe and Britain in order to gain political and economic influence, not just in Harare but in southern Africa as a whole. The other is that they genuinely want to prevent a crisis from becoming a catastrophe. Up to seven million Zimbabweans face starvation. Or possibly it is both; Anglo-French political and economic rivalry in Africa is as much alive today as it was when they were busy carving up the continent between them.
Ever since his party won the National Assembly elections last summer and freed him from the shackles of cohabitation with a socialist government, President Chirac has been keen to play the role of world leader on a par with George Bush — but independent of him. France’s stance on Iraq is evidence of that.
Yesterday’s Ivory Coast peace deal in Paris, brokered by the French, shows that France has much to contribute to resolving disputes elsewhere in the world, although it is early days yet as to whether that deal will work. Nonetheless, if French diplomacy can now go on to heal divisions in Zimbabwe then it will deserve the reward of increased economic ties. But it will be a miracle if it can. South Africa, with far more influence over Zimbabwe than anyone else, has tried to mediate between Mugabe and the opposition and has so far failed completely. Its plan that Mugabe go into exile in return for the opposition joining the ruling Zanu-PF party in government has been rejected out of hand by Mugabe. He is no more going to quit than that other international pariah, Saddam Hussein.
Unfortunately, whatever France’s intentions, he will use his invitation to Paris to claim that he has international support. That will not help those who oppose him — which is regrettable. The fact remains that no one who opposes Mugabe is safe from being beaten up, tortured, imprisoned or worse. Zimbabwe is not going to see justice, human rights and democracy, or for that matter peace and prosperity, while he remains in power.
