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AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Mr John Howard threw deliberations of the six-country committee that had been set up by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Nigeria to look into Zimbabwe�s suspension from the Club�s Councils into disarray when he stormed out of the main meeting after realising that the majority of the members supported the lifting of the suspension, it has emerged. Soon after this incident, British officials allegedly started telling their media that the six-nation panel had already reached consensus that Zimbabwe�s suspension should not be lifted, raising suspicion that the British and Australians were playing "dirty games". The six-nation panel that later recommended Zimbabwe�s continued suspension comprised South Africa, Mozambique, Jamaica, India, Canada and Australia. It is understood that after realising that the situation was getting out of hand and to save face Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo intervened as the organisation�s new chairman. However, reports say the Nigerian leader suspiciously refused to give the floor to those countries that wanted to support the lifting of the suspension. Impeccable sources in Abuja, Nigeria, who were close to the deliberations by the six-nation committee, revealed to The Sunday Mail that this move by Mr Howard that was aimed at frustrating the committee angered other leaders who said the Australian leader�s behaviour was uncharacteristic of an outgoing chairman. "Everything was going on smoothly as the majority in the committee were pushing for your country�s (Zimbabwe�s) suspension to be lifted. Those pushing for the lifting of the suspension argued that Zimbabwe�s suspension ended on March 19 when its suspension period ended. "They also brought up a very interesting point that when Zimbabwe was suspended, the mandate of the troika ended because the troika was only supposed to consider the report by the Commonwealth election observer group and see what appropriate action to take. The majority in the committee raised this matter with others, even adding that as the Zimbabwean Government had said, the report was flawed and should not have been used in the first place," said one source that spoke on condition of anonymity for diplomatic reasons. The source said the members also raised concerns that Mr Howard had called for the review of the suspension after six months as he sought to impose additional sanctions against Zimbabwe and that the Australian leader went on to extend the country�s suspension through the Commonwealth secretary-general, Mr Don McKinnon, although he had been out-voted in the troika. "The members also questioned why Mr McKinnon had lied that the further suspension of Zimbabwe up to December had been reached after consultations with members of the Commonwealth. Some of the members were even angry that Mr McKinnon misrepresented positions of other countries on the matter. The Commonwealth has always taken decisions based on consensus, but as the committee members realised, this had not been applied on Zimbabwe. "Mr Howard was cornered and when the committee was on the verge of recommending the lifting of your country�s (Zimbabwe�s) suspension, Mr Howard became furious. He banged the table and stormed out. "Immediately after that, we started hearing the British media reporting that the committee had already reached a decision to continue the suspension. "The majority of the members in the committee felt very insulted by this move. They said Mr Howard was single-minded and very disrespectful," said another diplomat from Abuja. The sources said after this incident, Mr Howard came back in a pensive mood, showing that he was not prepared for any discussion or to listen to any debate. "This is when President Obasanjo chipped in as the situation was deteriorating too fast, but then the Nigerian leader did not allow other dissenting voices to speak. Maybe he thought that was the best way to deal with the matter," said the diplomat. After the meeting, African Union chairman and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said Southern African leaders had been angered by the decision to extend Zimbabwe�s suspension as it had been reached undemocratically. "We are unhappy because we cannot accept these undemocratic procedures. We are going to express this as a group," he told AFP. Sadc members of the Commonwealth went on to condemn the further suspension of Zimbabwe, saying: "We also wish to express our displeasure and deep concern with the dismissive, intolerant and rigid attitude displayed by some members of the Commonwealth during deliberations. "The Commonwealth has always operated on the basis of consensus. We fear that this attitude is destined to undermine the spirit that makes the Commonwealth a unique family of nations." South African President Thabo Mbeki has since written a scathing attack on Mr Howard and Mr Blair in his weekly ANC Today report, saying the treatment of Zimbabwe had "put in question the democratic principle of decisions by majority". The strong-worded report clearly shows President Mbeki�s anger at the way Australia and Britain behaved in the run-up to and during Chogm in Nigeria. Zimbabwe pulled out of the Commonwealth on December 7 2003 citing its continued unfair treatment in the colonial grouping. Reports say the country is at an advanced stage of forging relations with alternative international groups that are more progressive. It is also understood that Britain and Australia used their bilateral ties with the Pacific and Caribbean countries to get their vote to continue Zimbabwe�s suspension. "Some of these countries really didn�t participate. It looks like the British were dealing with the Caribbean countries while Australia was dealing with the Pacific," said one African diplomat. Before leaving Abuja, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa hinted that the British and Australians could have "dangled the carrot", saying: "The Western countries bulldozed the suspension of Zimbabwe partly because of their economic muscle." The diplomat said contrary to reports that Asian countries had supported Zimbabwe�s further suspension, it was only Bangladesh which had taken that position. The
Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
