|
Mugabe quits Commonwealth
Almost as much of a surprise as "Palestinians fail to agree on truce plan." EFL. Zimbabwe quit the Commonwealth in dramatic fashion last night after the 54-nation grouping resolved to extend sanctions against Robert Mugabeâs government for violating the groupâs democratic values. Mr Mugabe told leaders of Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa that he did not accept a Commonwealth decision to prolong Zimbabweâs suspension from the group until the country mended its ways. "Accordingly, Zimbabwe has withdrawn its membership from the Commonwealth with immediate effect," said a government statement. "And no, the door wonât hit me in the ass!" The statement said the three leaders called Mr Mugabe in order to try to persuade him not to quit, but Mr Mugabe was adamant that there was no point in Harare remaining. It said Mr Mugabe had told them: "Anything that you agree on Zimbabwe which is short of this position [ending suspension], no matter how sweetly worded, means Zimbabwe is still a subject of the Commonwealth. This is unacceptable. This is it - itâs quits, and quits it will be." I have this funny feeling that they wonât be gone long, though Bob might be. Mr Mugabe, who was not invited to the weekend summit at which the subject of Zimbabwe dominated, had vowed earlier last week to quit the grouping, which he described as an "Anglo-Saxon unholy alliance". Just like Nigeria, Jamaica and South Africa. Zimbabwe was first suspended from the Commonwealth in March 2002, after Mr Mugabe was denounced for Step one: remove Bob. In a display of regional solidarity, the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, had argued that Zimbabweâs continued suspension was proving counter-productive and should be lifted immediately. He eventually bowed to the majority view, though only after Tony Blair appeared to exert pressure on the South African leader to give way by allowing officials to identify publicly who was blocking a deal. "Hey! Turn that light off!" South Africa believes that Zimbabwe is the victim of double standards that have seen Pakistan, also suspended since the Musharraf military coup, treated more lightly because of its importance to the US-led war on terrorism. Well duh. Mr Blair repeatedly claimed: "This isnât a black-white issue", pointing to support for the majority line from Kenya, Ghana, Gambia and the Carribean. He argued that Pakistan was making progress And it hasnât hit bottom.
Posted by: Steve White 2003-12-08 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=22374 |