Human rights groups critic Ethiopian PM attendance to summit

World News

Progressive Government Summit
Human rights groups critic Ethiopian PM attendance to summit
02/11/2006
The inclusion of Zenawi prompted criticism from human rights groups over his sometimes violent crackdown on opponents after elections.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi attended together with some Center-left government leaders the Progressive Government Summit, a meeting at a luxury game reserve north of the South African capital on Saturday for discussions ranging from global trade to the Muslim outrage over the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
The inclusion of Zenawi prompted criticism from human rights groups over his sometimes violent crackdown on opponents after elections.
The Progressive Government Summit, the first to be held in the developing world, brought together self-described "progressive" leaders from Britain, South Africa, Brazil, Sweden, South Korea, New Zealand and Ethiopia, seeking to chart a third way between traditional left-wing parties and the new right.
Government representatives and members of center-left opposition parties held a high-level round-table Saturday. No details were immediately available, as reporters were kept kilometers (miles) away from the conference center.
21st century policy challenges
The main themes of the Sunday's summit were set to be development and Africa, policy challenges of the 21st century and a political strategy for center-left parties to win elections. South African President Thabo Mbeki said also on the agenda would be the often violent worldwide protests against the publication in Denmark of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad; and the standoff between the world and Iran over its nuclear program.
``When we act on these matters, at least we know we've got friends, partners and allies in the world thinking in the same way who will help us move forward,'' Mbeki said at an informal dinner late Friday.
The summit has its origins in a 1998 meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and then U.S. President Bill Clinton. Clinton joined Saturday's discussions by video linkup. A spokeswoman for Blair's office said he was determined to make sure Africa remained at the top of the world's agenda and to open the way to renewed trade negotiations after the WTO summit in Hong Kong. "Trade was the unfinished business of 2005,'' the spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy. "Hong Kong made progress in some areas. We remained convinced leaders want to agree an ambitious outcome for the Doha round with developed and developing countries," she said in reference to trade talks.
``We need to focus on the potentially huge benefits and not on the narrow short-term costs if we are to agree a deal which is good for everyone. The leaders meeting in South Africa today can work together to drive forward ambitious trade talks in the next few months,'' she said. his sometimes violent crackdown on opponents after elections.

http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/international-news-progressive-government-summit-human-rights-gro?itemId=D12002&cl=%2Feitb24%2Finternacional&idioma=en