Brussels, 17/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published on 16 April, the EU welcomed the Extraordinary Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting on Zimbabwe held in Lusaka in Zambia. The EU “shares SADC's concern about the situation and welcomes its efforts to find a regional solution,” says the press release from the Slovenian Presidency, which supports the call for the swift release of the presidential election results of 29 March. Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has claimed victory in the first round, but Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission has still not published official results. The EU is concerned by this “prolonged and unexplained delay … which is undermining the credibility of the process” and expresses its “deep concern about the current deteriorating situation in the field of human rights and the increasing reports of violent incidents”. Doctors belonging to a Zimbabwean human rights association say in a press release that they have treated 157 cases of injury resulting from organised violence and torture since 29 March. Despite the lack of support for the general strike which was called on Tuesday to demand the publication of the presidential election results, the number of arrests is increasing.
Calls from the international community, however, are having little effect. South African President Thabo Mbeki, who was charged by the 14 SADC countries with mediating between the government and the opposition in Zimbabwe, even said before Saturday's summit in Lusaka that there was no crisis in the country. Mbeki, who chaired a meeting of the member states of the UN Security Council and the African Union in New York on Wednesday 16 April, has often been criticised for his policy of conciliatory diplomacy towards President Robert Mugabe. Although the situation in Zimbabwe did not feature on the agenda for the meeting, it was ultimately discussed. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the countries neighbouring Zimbabwe to take action. “Zimbabwean authorities and the countries of the region say that the crisis must be resolved at regional level, but the international community is still watching and waiting for decisive action,” he stated. These comments “reflect the concerns of the international community,” said a European Commission spokesman on Thursday 17 April. “The Commission is also waiting for things to move. For now, it's wait and see,” he added. (A.B.)