Brussels, 02/12/2003 (Agence Europe) -On 28 November, the Italian Presidency made the following declaration on behalf of the European Union: 'The EU wishes to express its continued concern about the climate of tension in Zimbabwe, which is being aggravated by pressure on the judiciary and the intimidation of and violence against the Zimbabwean people who are unable to enjoy their fundamental rights.
In this context the EU strongly deplores: - the recurrent interference with the right to vote and the right of candidates to register and campaign freely in elections; - the arrests of National Constitutional Assembly protestors during a peaceful demonstration on 22nd October and the fact that their lawyer was physically barred from meeting with them. The same lawyer had been brutally attacked previously by the police when seeking their assistance; - the violent interruption of a peaceful demonstration on 18th November and the subsequent arrest and temporary detention of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union leaders as well as members of several civil society organisations and journalists; - the attempts to exert undue influence on the judiciary in favour of the government as in the case of the ongoing legal proceedings concerning the banning of the Daily News.
The EU calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed rights of the Zimbabwean people to freedom of expression, information, association, assembly and movement. It also calls on the government to desist from any further action which could affect the re-establishment of a national consensus on all aspects of governance, human rights and economic development and to invite the UN High Commissioner for human rights and the International Labour Organisation to conduct a fact finding mission in Zimbabwe. The EU reiterates its commitment to continue providing substantial humanitarian assistance to the Zimbabwean people. The EU's and its Members States' total response since the beginning of the crisis has amounted to 300 million euros. In this context the EU urges the Government of Zimbabwe to create the conditions for the recovery of agricultural production. The EU urges the Government of Zimbabwe to engage in active and meaningful dialogue with other national stakeholders, in particular the main opposition party, on ways to solve the political and economic crisis.'