Harare, April 20 (NNN-NEW ZIANA) The European Union (EU) supports the position on Zimbabwe adopted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) at the extraordinary summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, last month, and wishes its success, the head of the EU Delegation in Zimbabwe, Xavier Marchal, says.

Thursday's edition of The Herald newspaper quoted Marchal as stressing the importance of independence and sovereignty for any nation and urged Zimbabweans to value their hard-won freedom. He said this on the sidelines of Zimbabwe’s 27th Independence celebrations at Rufaro Stadium here Wednesday.

"Our wish is that Zimbabwe solves its difficulties as soon as possible, and for that Zimbabweans need to work with Zimbabweans and that is the spirit of the SADC initiative, and the SADC initiative is at the frontline now. What we can only do is to wish its success, and to support it, and we do support it."

Marchal could, however, not be drawn into saying what exactly the EU would do with regard to the sanctions it imposed after the 2002 presidential elections, saying unity and co-operation among Zimbabweans was vital for the success of the SADC initiative.

His sentiments were echoed by Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe Sten Rylander and the Deputy Head of Mission at the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Leoni Cuelenaere, who also congratulated Zimbabweans on 27 years of independence.

Said Rylander: "I want Zimbabwe to come together as a nation; national interest, national reconciliation is what I want more than anything else, and with the region and the decision by Dar es Salaam, I think there is time for that. That’s my wish. Come together, don’t fight."

Cuelenaere said The Netherlands supported THE SADC’s decision to help Zimbabwe as it tallied with the wishes of her own country. "We support, of course, that SADC wishes the best for Zimbabwe like we do, and that they are standing ready to help because that’s basically what is needed," she added.

In their communiqué released at the end of a one-day extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam at the end of March, the SADC leaders reaffirmed their faith in the legitimacy of President Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe’s electoral system, condemned the illegal Western sanctions, urged Britain to honour obligations to fund land reforms and pledged a rescue package to mitigate the effects of sanctions.

The summit also tasked South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate between the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for democratic Change (MDC).

The EU’s support for the SADC’s position on Zimbabwe flies in the face of United States and British moves to fight the regional bloc by ratcheting up pressure on Zimbabwe through intensified sanctions.

MDC factions have since disagreed on the initiative with the Professor Arthur Mutambara clique endorsing it and the Morgan Tsvangirai-led camp crying foul and, as usual, unleashing a torrent of abuse at SADC leaders in line with London and Washington’s thinking.

And in an open show of their disdain for Zimbabwe’s right to self-determination, the British and US ambassadors, along with their lackeys in both MDC factions, were conspicuous by their absence at the celebrations that were graced by 33 ambassadors and representatives from four continents.

Apart from the head of the EU Delegation and the envoy of the Holy See, the ambassadors who attended yesterday’s celebrations were from Algeria, Botswana, Brazil, China, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, and Thailand.

Nine ambassadors, among them Palestinian, DRC, Tanzanian, Ethiopian, Kenyan, Algerian and Indian diplomats, who spoke to The Herald reaffirmed their countries’ solidarity with Zimbabwe, and expressed hope that the country would overcome its challenges in the short-term.