January 11

 Zimbabwe to Face EU Censure as New Laws Passed

By Gareth Jones BRUSSELS  - Zimbabwe faces censure from the European Union (news - web sites) Friday, a day after its ruling party approved new laws criminalizing criticism of President Robert Mugabe ahead of a crucial presidential election in March.

The European Union will tell Zimbabwe it faces economic sanctions if it fails to curb alleged human rights abuses, but diplomats doubt the warning will have much impact.

Mugabe is sending a high-level team to the talks, including Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, architect of a bill critics say will stifle opposition ahead of the March 9-10 poll.

By contrast, the EU will be represented not by ministers but by the Spanish ambassador -- Madrid holds the bloc's rotating presidency -- and a mid-ranking European Commission (news - web sites) official. Members of the European Parliament have accused the EU of moving too slowly and cautiously against Mugabe, but diplomats say they are following legal procedures and warn that hasty moves could harm the poorest people in Zimbabwe. ``Expectations should not be too high...(Friday) is the opening of a process of consultations, which according to the Cotonou Agreement could last a maximum of 60 days,'' said Michael Curtis, spokesman for the EU's executive Commission. Mugabe, 77, has sparked Zimbabwe's biggest crisis since independence from Britain in 1980 with seizures of white-owned farms and attempts to tighten control of the media and opposition in the face of a collapsing economy. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change who is expected to pose the biggest challenge to Mugabe's 22 years in power, appealed to the EU to be firm with the delegation.

``The EU must clearly spell out to the Zimbabwean ministerial delegation that a government that emerges from a rigged election will receive no international recognition,'' he said.

BRITAIN CONDEMNS LEGISLATION

Britain said Thursday the legislation passed in Harare showed the government's ``contempt for basic democratic principles.''

``It is increasingly clear that the people of Zimbabwe may be denied a free choice in the 9th March presidential election,'' the Foreign Office minister for Africa, Baroness Amos, said in a statement.

South Africa's Nobel peace laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said he was saddened by events in Zimbabwe.

``I am deeply saddened. I am disappointed, I really feel ashamed in many ways because he (Mugabe) used to be such a splendid leader,'' Tutu told BBC Radio from Cape Town.

Hopes for a free poll in Zimbabwe were also dealt a blow on Wednesday when the country's security chiefs signaled they would not accept an opposition victory.

EU action would further isolate Mugabe, who in an historical irony faces sanctions two decades after he won wide praise for leading the liberation war against the white-minority regime of the reviled renegade British colony of Rhodesia.

The white farming community there -- once branded by western liberals as unreconstructed racists -- are now the focus of international sympathy as veterans of the country's bush war lead the often violent invasions of their land.

Zimbabwe also faces possible suspension from the Commonwealth as well as U.S. travel and investment sanctions against Mugabe and his governing elite.

Western condemnation has been matched by regional inaction, with Zimbabwe's neighbors facing sharp criticism for failing to take stronger measures against Harare.

SOUTH AFRICA OFFICIALLY SILENT

South Africa, which has rejected calls for sanctions against Zimbabwe, remained silent Thursday -- except for Tutu.

Zimbabwe's woes have often been cited as a factor behind the sliding value of South Africa's rand, leaving analysts baffled at Pretoria's soft approach to its government's reaction.