Sept. 22, 2007 (LPAC)--African leaders spoke out against British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's attempt to sabotage the European-African summit. Brown is refusing to attend if Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, is allowed to attend, according to a report in today's Independent of London.

Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the United Nations, Boniface Chidyausiku, told BBC's Newsnight program that Mugabe "has a sovereign right'' to attend the summit. "He is part of Africa,'' he said. "Gordon Brown has no right to dictate who should come to Lisbon.... The quarrel is between Britain and Zimbabwe. The United Kingdom Government [is] trying to put this quarrel into a multilateral forum. Really the meeting between Europe and Africa should go ahead. There are bigger issues to discuss than the differences between the UK and Zimbabwe.''

Zimbabwe's position was backed by the Tanzanian President of the Pan-African Parliament, Gertrude Mongella, who said: "We do know there are some problems, but if somebody wants to arm-twist Zimbabwe, that's not the best way to solve the problems. I think this is again another way of manipulating Africa. Zimbabwe is a nation which got independence. I think in the developed world there are so many countries doing things which not all of us subscribe to: we have seen the Iraq war -- not everyone accepts what is being done in Iraq.''

Suggesting that the conflict should be resolved in an African way, Dr. Mongella added: "I think if we want to move in the right direction, with the African way of doing things, you discuss things under a tree until you agree. So if somebody does not come under a tree to discuss, that is not the African way of doing things.''

President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia also backup up Zimbabwe, saying, "I will not go to Portugal if Mugabe is not allowed.''