"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Mugabe 'can attend summit'

Lisbon - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe can attend the EU-Africa summit in December despite vehement British opposition, Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado said on Thursday.
"If the meeting in Lisbon takes place in the presence of Mugabe, he must hear what is said not only by European countries but also by some African nations," Lusa news agency quoted Amado as saying in Pretoria.Amado, whose country is the current EU president, said it was important to "respect the sovereignty of all the states in the region, the importance of the process of regional political integration ... and Africans assuming a greater role in politics."British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he may boycott the December 8-9 summit if Mugabe is permitted to break an European Union travel ban to attend.There has been no EU-Africa summit for seven years, partly due to divisions over whether Mugabe, in power in Zimbabwe since its 1980 independence from Britain, should be allowed to attend.The European Union accuses Mugabe's government of committing human rights violations and throttling democracy and has imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe which is gripped by a major economic crisis.
"At the heart of the EU, we cannot confuse our actions, our vision and our means of action ... including pertinent sanctions against (Mugabe's) regime - with our approach to the EU-Africa summit," said Amado."I am convinced that the summit will open a new page in Europe's relations with Africa ... with the possibility of approving a common strategy, to define an action plan and a mechanism of cooperation," said the Portuguese minister.

As in the days of Noah....