Leaders of Europe and Africa headed home yesterday after a summit that failed to mask deep divisions despite pledges of an equal relationship, with a row on Zimbabwe highlighting the gulf between the continents.
Fifty years after Ghana, the first African nation to free itself of European rule, won its independence, the two-day summit hosted by one of the continent's former colonial powers, Portugal, was billed as an opportunity for all sides to speak their mind on a level footing.
"We met at this summit talking plainly and directly as equals," said Ghanaian President John Kufuor at Sunday's conclusion of the two-day summit in Lisbon where a broad-brush joint declaration on a "common vision" was signed.
But if Kufuor and host Prime Minister Jose Socrates portrayed the summit as a chance for both sides to enjoy a frank but cordial exchange of views, the debate over Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's presence was vitriolic.
After German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused the 83-year-old on Saturday of undermining the image of Africa, Mugabe hit back at her and three other critical European leaders for displaying an "arrogance" and "superiority complex" that was intolerable given the lack of democracy during colonialism.
Reed Brody, an analyst for New York-based Human Rights Watch who attended the summit, said while Western leaders may not necessarily always be fans of human rights, the concept was more deeply ingrained than in Africa.
"There's a difference in political cultures. Concepts of tolerance, dissidence and opposition have developed over many generations," he said.
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