I'm not going to meet Mugabe , ( Change the subject please )

PM to boycott talks over Mugabe

Mr Brown has carried out his threat to boycott the summit

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will not attend an EU-Africa summit after Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe confirmed he would be there.

The gathering in Portugal in December is seen as crucial to reviving Europe's relations with the African continent.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso insisted the talks were bigger than any personality clash.

Mr Brown said his boycott comes after a decade of thwarted attempts by the UK to offer assistance in Zimbabwe.

Human rights

Other European leaders agree with Mr Brown's views on the Mugabe regime and its abuse of human rights, but none has so far followed suit in boycotting the summit.

At his Downing Street press conference, Mr Brown said: "I will not be attending this summit.

"Given the circumstances of the last 10 years and our attempts to give assistance in Zimbabwe, which have been thwarted and resisted, it is not possible for us to attend this summit and sit down with President Mugabe."

Mr Brown highlighted how the country had gone from one of the richest in Africa to one where poverty affects 80% of the population, 4 million Zimbabweans are now refugees in South Africa and inflation is running into hundreds of per cents.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7115205.stm

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed he will not attend next month's European Union-Africa summit if Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is there.

Mr. Brown spoke Tuesday shortly after President Mugabe told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that he will attend the summit in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, on December 8 and 9.

The British prime minister told reporters that he cannot sit down with Mr. Mugabe given what he said are conditions of oppression in Zimbabwe.

Portugal invited Mr. Mugabe at the insistence of the African Union, but has voiced concern that his presence will overshadow the summit. Last week, Foreign Minister Luis Amado said Portugal would prefer the Zimbabwean president not to attend.

Portugal has been criticized by some countries for inviting Mr. Mugabe, who has been accused of human rights violations and ruining his country's economy.

http://www.huliq.com/43239/mugabe-attend-eu-africa-summit-brown-boycott