Strasbourg, 17/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Six political groups at an emergency debate at the European Parliament (EPP-DE, PES, ELDR, GEULNGL, UEN) have called for the Commission and Council to adopt a hard-line against President Robert Mugabe and the party in power in Zimbabwe. Parliament believes that a disproportionate potion of land belonging to 1,700 White farmers has been given to Mugabe supporters. It pointed out that President Mugabe's policies have caused a humanitarian disaster and the impoverishment of Zimbabwe. Nearly three quarters of the 12.5 million population live in dire poverty, inflation is at 98%, the economy contracted by 7.3% in 2001, foreign debt arrears have reached EUR 776 million, and a dramatic reduction in food production has obliged the World Food Programme to set up a massive aid operation to help feed more than 500,000 people in Zimbabwe now threatened by starvation. Parliament has also stressed that criticism made at an international level is more forthcoming, as witnessed by the refusal of traditional allies like South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Lethoso and Zambia to support Zimbabwe at the last Joint ACP-EU Parliamentary session.
Parliament has condemned the intensification in acts of violence, intimidation and crimes unleashed by President Mugababe and the ZANU-PF Party, which holds power in the country. It also attacked restrictions on the freedom of expression; death threats against farmers and threats to remove their means of earning a living; action that aims to control the legal system; the refusal of the Zimbabwean government to set up an independent electoral committee to supervise the Presidential elections that are due to take place in March 2002. Parliament has asked the Mugabe regime to meet its international commitments immediately and to withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and cease its exploitation of mining resources in the country. It has also called the EU to begin the countdown on the 60 day deadline set out in Article 96 of the Cotonou for suspending co-operation with Zimbabwe and for an agreement that is as broad as possible that will place severe measures against the Mugabe regime. Member States have also adopted emergency sanctions, described as, "intelligent" against Zimbabwe that include: (1) the identification and the freezing of financial assets held by Mugabe, his family and close collaborators in Member States and Associated countries and (2) the restricting and awarding of visas to these said persons.