Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende says he is ‘honoured’ to be included in Robert Mugabe’s ‘gang of four’ critics of Zimbabe’s human rights record.

The Zimbabwe president used the phrase about the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Denmark after criticism of his country for its violation of human rights at this weekend’s EU/Africa summit in Lisbon.
Balkenende said Mugabe’s outburst was not just about the four countries, because the critical remarks came from EU foreign minister Javier Solano and commission chairman Jose Manuel Barrosa, who speak for the whole EU. But he said: ‘I consider it a badge of honour.’