Mugabe's presence 'distasteful'

Mugabe is welcomed at the start of the summit in Rome

ROME, Italy -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's visit to a United Nations summit in Rome has been described as "distasteful" by a European Union (EU) official.

The 15-nation EU imposed a visa ban on Mugabe and 19 of his close associates in February after Zimbabwe expelled the head of an EU team of election observers.

Mugabe, 78, arrived in Rome on Saturday on a flight via London, sidestepping the EU exclusion order because he is attending a summit organised by the United Nations.

He is expected to be in Rome for the full four days of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation summit from Monday. (Full story)

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EU Commission spokesman Gunnar Wiegand told reporters in Brussels on Monday: "Obviously it is distasteful to see the president of Zimbabwe giving the impression as if he was really caring about his citizens and about the fight against poverty and in particular the provision of food for his people, because there are so many policies that go against this.

"However, it is clear that the Italian government is acting here in full compliance with existing EU rules."

Zimbabwe is suffering a severe food shortage with more than six million people facing the threat of starvation, according to the U.N.'s World Food Programme.

Mugabe blames drought for the crisis. "The most important aspect (of the summit) should be on how we can get the developing world, that is the world where hunger is, to marshal resources so production of food stuffs can go up," he told Reuters.

But the head of the United States Agency for Development (USAID) described Mugabe as a tyrant directly responsible for massive food shortages that threaten millions of Zimbabweans with starvation.

"I am uncomfortable when any head of state that is tyrannical and predatory comes to a conference like this, and he (Mugabe) fits that category," Andrew Natsios told Reuters. "He is causing the crisis in Zimbabwe."

Glenys Kinnock, a member of the European Parliament, urged EU governments to step up sanctions against Mugabe.

She told the Press Association: "He is clearly cocking a snook at the EU and there is nothing we can do about that because U.N. meetings and other international treaty obligations override EU sanctions.

"But we can display our refusal to accept his regime and what it is doing in Zimbabwe by extending visa restrictions beyond the current 20 members of his government, to include other ministers and their family members."