Prominent writers call for Darfur action

By Paul Simao

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A group of prominent writers, including Nobel Prize winners Gunter Grass and Nadine Gordimer, accused European and African leaders on Tuesday of political cowardice by failing to put the Zimbabwe and Darfur crises high on the agenda of a key summit this weekend.

Leaders of the European Union and the African Union will meet on Saturday and Sunday in Lisbon to discuss trade, migration and other issues.

But the meeting, the first to be held since 2000, has been dogged by controversy over inviting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is widely blamed for running his country's economy into the ground and suppressing political opposition.

Some activists also have criticised the participation of leaders from Sudan, which has drawn international criticism for its alleged support of militias accused of atrocities in the restive Darfur region.

"No time has been set aside for formal or informal discussion (of the Zimbabwe and Darfur issues). What can we say of this political cowardice?" 17 African and European writers said in an open letter to African and European leaders.

Germany's Grass and South Africa's Gordimer were joined by Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka, also a Nobel laureate, and former Czech president Vaclav Havel, a playwright.

"Millions of Africans and Europeans would expect Zimbabwe and Darfur to be at the very top of the agenda. It is not too late," they said.

The letter was released by the non-governmental organisation Crisis Action. A spokesman for the group said it would be published in a number of African and European newspapers.