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Harare – The European Union’s refusal to grant visas to ministers from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s party to accompany Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to Brussels this week has deepened rifts in Harare’s coalition government, it emerged Tuesday.
Tsvangirai is on a tour
of the United States and several European countries to try to repair relations damaged during the past decade of Mugabe’s autocratic rule and secure aid towards rebuilding Zimbabwe’s battered economy.
After meeting last week with US President Barack Obama, the former opposition leader, who took his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) into coalition with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF in February, is continuing his trip in Europe this week.
On Wednesday, he and six members of his cabinet, two from each of the three parties in the coalition government, are scheduled to meet senior EU officials in Brussels for what is being called a re-engagement meeting.
Three ministers, from each of Zanu-PF, the MDC and a breakaway MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara, are accompanying him throughout the trip, with three more supposed to join the Brussels meeting.
From Zanu-PF, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was due to attend, but the EU is refusing him entry because Chinamasa is one of the scores of Zanu-PF members and allies, including Mugabe, barred from travelling to the EU and US under targeted sanctions going back years.
Sources in Zimbabwe’s cabinet said Mugabe on Tuesday instructed that the trip should be aborted if Chinamasa was refused entry.
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, a leading member of deputy prime minister Mutambara’s MDC faction, told the German Press Agency dpa he would not be attending unless the EU relented on his Zanu-PF cohort.
‘We are supposed to go tomorrow but it depends on whether the other members can get the visas.’
Refusing entry to Chinamasa would mean ‘no launch of reengagement (with the EU),’ Ncube warned.
But Finance Minister Tendai Biti from Tsvangirai’s party, the third minister awaited in Brussels, had disregarded Mugabe’s instruction and already left Tuesday to attend the meeting.
Because there is no Belgian embassy in Harare, the ministers had to apply to the French embassy for visas to visit Brussels. France and Belgium are part of the visa-free Schengen area, meaning a French visa covers travel to Brussels.
In a separate incident, Britain has refused to issue a visa for Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, also of Zanu-PF, who planned on attending a mining conference in the country this week.
The cabinet sources say Mugabe dispatched Mutambara to try to intervene with the British and French ambassadors in Harare on the issue.
Obama’s decision to exclude the one Zanu-PF minister in Tsvangirai’s delegation, Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi, from the Oval Office meeting last week already drew angry allegations from Mugabe-loyal state media of ‘overt bias.’
Additional Reporting: The Zimbabwe mail
Do these ZANU(PF) gudgets belive that travel sanctions were removed? Why do they want to pretend that all these are now normal and yet they know that ZANU(PF) senior members are on travel bans? Why did they not choose other ministers who are not on the list? Mugabe can go hang. Zimbabwe continues
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zanu is a party of fools no change democratically in zim no visa for these fools, they should stay in zim with ordinary people and suffer like anybody as they are the causes of that suffering. mugabe thought that he can fool the world he should think again.
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Interesting.Is he also on a brief from the president and cabinet to call for the removal of economic sanctions as reported by the herald.
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Chinamasa must not attend that meeting.All Zanu pf cadres should never travel to Europe in anyway.They destroyed our nation and they want to pretend as if they aregood people.To hell with Mugabe’s instruction.No removal of sanctions up until Zanu admit that they are evil,murderers.We want our elections and we want to boot out Zanu Pf out of power democratically.They have denied us our choice in 2002 and 2008.To hell,hamuchazofi makatonga futi maZanu imbwa dzavanhu.Zvakakwana thirty years idzodzo for good,down Zanu.Nyangwe mukarova kana kuuraya we will VOTE MDC.
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Chinamasa is the last person we want in the EU. We have not lifted the target sanctions yet and he must stay home. He can use his passport that he was denying others to go to China, Iran, DPRK, Afganistan and Sudan. This fool Chinamasa is said to be a lwayer and he refuses to accept High Court judgements. In the EU we want people who accept judgements and if they have problems, they can appeal – thats civilisation. Uncivilised people like Chinamasa can remain in Zimbabwe where there is the rule of the jungle. What new story can Chinamasa tell the EU. The man is a farm invader, and does not practise human rights – see what is happening in Zimbabwean jails. Infact that is where he belongs. Sorry Patrick, stay home, we dont want your polution.
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zvamaimbotuka nyika dzacho, what has changed today.
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MDC_T can go alone in their capacity as MDC-T amd not on our behalf. When they come back we will just watch them and see what they can do. In-fact we can just lock them up because we see they are of no use to us.
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Lets be mature when we are commenting on national issues. We need constructive contributions on the forum. The west is not 4 mahumbwe they dont instutionalise something and revoke it for no apparent reason. They have set their standards and benchmarks and would want to achieve them, that is what gives them quality development. We crafted our GPA without the west. All the west is asking 4 is for us to be genuine and implement what we agreed on. They did not contribute in GPA they want us to achieve goals we set. Are we saying that we cant achieve whats in the GPA. If the leaders are for the people they should be abide by the GPA and let sanity and civilisation prevail. People in Zim want their rights only, respect them by effecting the rule of law, stop harrassing them and all petty issues like sanctions and restrictions will be removed. In the mean time MDC should be canvassing 4 support from the west and Zanu should do likewise from the east. Tipei rusununguko kuti vari kunze vanoona vatibatsire ende munozobvumidzwa kunotenga kuEurope kwamunoda.Free Zim and the rest will follow.
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come hell come sunshine, chinamasa will be in europe..Mugabe will make sure of that. I am hearing Europe has given the visas and that is yet another victory to zanu pf.Tinosvika chete ku europe kwacho ikoko…we dont muck about in zanu pf. EIther we are in europe or the farmers get some more!!!!!!!!!
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stalin is a zanu fool, whether chinamasa goes to EU zanu yawora and they are trying hard to steal money to revive it by joining MDC at EU.
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yes Stalin is zanu pf so what?????
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