Several African States Boycott the EU Summit in Belgium | Global Research

Several African States Boycott the EU Summit in Belgium | Global Research

A planned summit between the European Union (EU) and the African
nation-states has been met with controversy and rejection. The Republics
of Zimbabwe and South Africa, two very important states in Southern
Africa which won their independence through formidable mass and armed
struggles, have stated that their leaders will not attend the gathering
in Belgium.

Controversy surfaced over the way in which the 4th EU-Africa Summit
has been organized. Zimbabwe expressed objections when President Robert
Mugabe was extended an invitation but his wife, First Lady Amai Grace
Mugabe, a public figure who works on children’s rights and education,
was denied a visa.

Zimbabwe said that it would not attend and was deeply offended over
how the EU was approaching the meeting. A Zimbabwe Herald editor
interviewed the EU envoy to Zimbabwe where he revealed that the approach
to the meeting was not to invite the African Union (AU) but individual
continental states.

This interview involving the upcoming Summit included a question from
Herald news editor Herbert Zharare which asked EU envoy Aldo
Dell’Ariccia to “Explain how you chose participants? On the list there
are some countries like Egypt where President Mohamed Morsi was deposed
with the assistance of the military and the AU has made its position
clear on that.”( March 28)

Dell’Ariccia responded saying “You have to consider that the
EU-Africa Summit is the meeting between the European Union and African
continent. I want to be very clear on that, it is not the AU-European
Union meeting. Participation is not guided by the membership of the
African Union.”