It's Mrs Mugabe or Zim won't go to summit

Harare - Zimbabwe's government said Wednesday it would boycott a summit between the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) in Brussels next week, if President Robert Mugabe's wife was not granted a visa to travel with him.

Mugabe and his wife Grace are under an EU travel ban imposed in 2002, after a government crackdown on the opposition and the eviction of white farmers from agricultural land.

The EU had waived the visa ban on Mugabe, who is the vice-chair of the AU, saying it was not bound by the ban when hosting large international conferences.

But his wife was denied a visa, foreign ministry permanent secretary Joey Bimha told dpa.

"We are expecting the Southern African Development Community and the AU to ensure that she gets a travel visa.

Otherwise, the summit has to be postponed," he said.

In addition to vice-chairing the AU, Mugabe vice-chairs the SADC, making him "very crucial for issues of Africa," Bimha said.

EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell'Ariccia said he would comment on the matter Thursday.

The EU lifted most sanctions on Zimbabwe in February, but those against Mugabe remained in place.