Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-13-Speech-4-136"
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"en.20011213.10.4-136"2
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"Mr President, Article 96 consultations will not be easy but we should give them a chance. Zimbabwe confirmed its participation, but the original date of 19 December for the start of these consultations was yesterday postponed. We do not have an indication of another date. The idea is to hold them next month.
The Commission has also participated in the UNDP land mission. Successful or not, it is worth exerting a positive pressure on Zimbabwe by doing anything possible to move forward the dossier of land reform. The Commission has maintained, as I mentioned before, its offer to support the electoral process.
We continue preparing our cooperation under the new five-year funding cycle, not least to demonstrate to the Government of Zimbabwe what it has to lose. We will not take any decisions on whether or not to proceed with signing and implementing the Country Strategy for Zimbabwe until after the consultations have been concluded. To sign or not to sign is a very important question in many cases and here it is quite clear that we want the consultations concluded before we move on. But not to prepare would also imply lack of respect of the whole process of planning in the Cotonou framework.
The regional dimension is important. It appears that Zimbabwe's neighbours are becoming increasingly concerned with the deterioration of the situation and the potentially very dramatic consequences for the country and the whole region. This is why we have taken the initiative to maintain close contact with SADC and Nigeria in view of Article 96 consultations. It is, in fact, the first time ever that the opening of these consultations has included a reference to the use of our partners in the region. The General Affairs Council accepted this approach, ensuring close coordination and complementarity with SADC and the Abuja process.
The Commission and presidency have proceeded with a series of informal exchanges with SADC and Nigeria against this background. We note that these African partners are already exerting effective peer pressure on Mugabe so that a solution to the crisis may be found. The emerging African ownership approach has to be welcomed, particularly in view of the negative effect that the continuing crisis in Zimbabwe is having on its neighbours. I must confess that the outlook is not optimistic. Things look very bad as we move into these consultations.
It has been indicated that SADC, ACP and the OAU will be invited to and included in these consultations. This is good because it broadens out the scope by anchoring in Africa the kind of discussion we have to go through with Zimbabwe.
The consultations will focus on the issues which matter to us – human rights, democracy, the rule of law, good governance and the escalation of violence. The consultations will provide an opportunity to seek the government's views and their firm commitment in the following areas: politically motivated violence, elections, freedom of the media, the judiciary and illegal occupation of properties. I would like to reassure Parliament that these consultations cover practically the totality of the issues raised in their draft resolutions.
I would like to stress that there will also be a clear EU position on the points Zimbabwe is bound to raise, such as land reform, interference in its internal affairs, alleged support for the opposition and the imposition of what they call "white values". Finally, not pre-judging the outcome of the consultations and handling them in the spirit of the Cotonou agreement is not only necessary to address the situation with Zimbabwe, it is also necessary to maintain mutual trust and confidence between the EU and ACP countries. But respecting the rules and the spirit of these consultations is not the same as carrying them out in a vague and weak manner. This is not how the piano is going to be played!
As regards electoral monitoring, the Commission is getting prepared for this. The Government of Zimbabwe has announced that it will not accept monitors; it will only invite friends to observe the presidential elections. The auguries for an EU presence are not too good, but we will be able to mount an EU mission should this be feasible. We are maintaining flexibility to react to developments and possibilities.
A key requirement will be that no international observation mission – whether multilateral or bilateral – is manipulated by Mugabe into sending short-term observers only for polling day. We have to keep in mind that last year polling day itself was relatively calm. It is clear that the campaigning period in the run-up to the poll is crucial for determining the fairness of the electoral process itself. The Commission considers that a minimum length of observation time – that is, one month – is necessary and we are discouraging others from sending short-term observers only.
The Commission has suggested that the EU focus its approach on the SADC Parliamentary Forum's norms and standards, which comply with the UN standards and have been endorsed by Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF Party. There are indications that other international partners, such as the Commonwealth and the United States, will agree to use those standards, which would then allow the international community to judge the openness and fairness of the elections.
In parallel, the SADC Electoral Forum and the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries are being encouraged to open a dialogue with the Zimbabwe authorities and the political parties, on the preparations for the presidential election. We see close collaboration with SADC in this election-related activity as a way of creating some sort of base-line case so that we will be able to do something if we cannot participate directly. But this is the preferred option, and Zimbabwe should welcome the EU observers.
The Commission has remained engaged in the country in order, on the one hand, not to pre-judge the outcome of the consultations and at the same time to up the stakes for Zimbabwe of an eventual failure – thus increasing the pressure on them to cooperate. This is the rationale of what we are doing at this moment. We have therefore taken the following actions: the Commission has currently a mission on the ground to assess humanitarian needs and food security issues. This we will do in any case, whatever the political outcome. Preliminary results show that, remarkably, the deterioration of the situation is much slower than could have been expected."@en1
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