Ending speculation as to whether leaders at the European-African summit that opened Saturday in Lisbon would confront President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe over his human rights record and the economic meltown there, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the gathering that the crisis "damages the image of the new Africa." Diplomatically raking Mr. Mugabe over the coals, Ms. Merkel said in a keynote speech to 80 leaders from the European Union and African Union that, "Nothing can justify the intimidation of those holding different views and hindering freedom of the press," a reference to Harare's repression of opponents and strictures on the media. Ms. Merkel told her audience, which included Mr. Mugabe, that “the current situation in Zimbabwe damages the image of the new Africa.” Conspicuously absent was British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who boycotted the summit over Mr. Mugabe's participation. Mr. Brown lost the diplomatic battle with those EU leaders including Ms. Merkel who argued for inviting President Mugabe to that the Zimbabwe crisis could be taken up on the sidelines of the trade and aid summit. Other EU member nations who declined to send heads of state or government were the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania and Cyprus.
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates told the leaders that the Zimbabwe crisis had blocked the summit for years and that accelerating the development of Africa required a dialogue which is “frank and open, with no taboos or sacred cows."