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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Mugabe may face torture charge at Paris summit |
| 2003-02-19 |
| The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will file a complaint this morning with the general prosecutor of Paris requesting that Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, be arrested on torture charges when he arrives for a two-day summit of African leaders. Why not file a complaint in Brussels? They have jurisdiction over the entire world! The legal action, using the UN Convention Against Torture, which France has signed, is likely to be symbolic because there is no precedent of a foreign leader being prosecuted in France while in office. Trust the French to make sure of that. The move is almost certain to ensure Zimbabwe dominates the news during the Franco-African summit, which begins today. Mr Tatchell said: "The fact that the French government is prepared to wine and dine Mugabe despite European sanctions against him flies in the face of noble French ideals of justice and liberty. If Slobodan Milosevic can be put on trial for human rights abuses, why can't Robert Mugabe?'' I like this guy. Why indeed? Mr Tatchell's protest will be supported by members of Zimbabwe's opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change including Tom Spicer, whose affidavit of torture by secret police will be used to back the arrest application. Add in the news accounts of the Green Bombers and you could almost get a conspiracy indictment. Mr Tatchell's move is likely to ensure that Zimbabwe displaces Ivory Coast as the main focus of attention at the summit. The delegation from Ivory Coast was downgraded yesterday when President Laurent Gbagbo, who is under threat from rebels controlling half of his country, said he would send his Prime Minister, Seydou Diarra. Wonder why Gbagbo isn't willing to leave home right now? After all, the French wouldn't do anything to his government while he's gone, would they? France badly needs some good news to emerge from the summit. President Jacques Chirac takes a strong interest in Africa and wants French influence to extend beyond French-speaking countries. I thought that was his project for the EU. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 Can anyone say "The Third French Empire and Napolean IV" |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-02-19 16:33:40 |
| #5 Kind of like the "peaceful" Joshska Fischer being photographed beating a policeman. The Axis of Weasals is starting to fold from with in, just like the Iraqi army will. |
| Posted by: Jon 2003-02-19 12:55:10 |
| #4 President Jacques Chirac takes a strong interest in Africa and wants French influence to extend beyond French-speaking countries. No wonder Africa's such a mess. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-02-19 09:34:50 |
| #3 Hey, Murat, guess those police must've been pacifists, like your good self, eh? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-02-19 07:41:02 |
| #2 Tatchell's agenda is impressively non-partisan. I think he started off outing gay MPs in the British parliament, and has moved on to higher things. He's tried to arrest Mugabe before, In London and Brussels (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1204541.stm), The Belgian police watched him be beaten unconscious without intervening. http://www.petertatchell.net/ |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-02-19 03:47:18 |
| #1 Excellent development -- another deserved black eye for Chirac is forthcoming. And a "human rights campaigner" who's not spending all his time ankle-biting the US and Israel! What a concept. |
| Posted by: someone 2003-02-19 01:21:24 |