From The Observer (UK), 7 December

Mugabe: I'll quit Commonwealth

Gaby Hinsliff, chief political correspondent

The Commonwealth was plunged into disarray last night after President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe threatened to withdraw his country from the organisation. This dramatic escalation of the dispute over Zimbabwe's suspension from membership was timed for maximum embarrassment, with member nations gathered for a summit in Nigeria and talks over the issue still deadlocked after two days. Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party voted yesterday for a motion to withdraw unless the talks, which are expected to conclude tomorrow, go his way. 'If we say we are doing this, we will do. We never retreat,' Mugabe said. His Foreign Minister, Stan Mudenge, said the Cabinet would meet soon to discuss withdrawal and he saw 'no difficulty' in securing its agreement. The intervention, which successfully hijacked the biannual meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government, was being seen last night as a last-ditch attempt to blackmail other nations into agreeing that Zimbabwe could be readmitted.

Tony Blair's attempts to prevent the issue overshadowing the summit collapsed yesterday as the Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon admitted it would take 'significant verbal gymnastics' to agree a deal over Zimbabwe - suspended last March over its appalling human rights record. Officials said it was unlikely that the group of six leaders charged with producing a blueprint for re-engagement with Zimbabwe would produce their conclusions until tonight. Officials made clear that Blair, due to leave tomorrow afternoon, could stay on if events reached crisis point. Paul Themba Nyathi, spokesman for the Zimbabwean opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, pleaded last night for the six not to submit to pressure. 'If [Mugabe] withdraws from the Commonwealth his status as a dictator will be confirmed,' he said. The MDC wanted Zimbabwe's suspension maintained, he said arguing that although little appeared to have improved during the 18 months of his suspension, Mugabe was affected by it.

The group of six - leaders of Australia, Canada, Mozambique, South Africa, Jamaica and India - spent yesterday attempting to agree new tests for progress before Zimbabwe could be readmitted and new ways of monitoring events. Civil society groups meeting formally under the Commonwealth umbrella in Nigeria yesterday accused it of 'double standards' over human rights and turning a blind eye to abuses in favoured countries. Britain and Australia were heavily criticised for invading Iraq while criticising other countries' abuses. In a statement issued yesterday, the Civil Societies Meeting warned that the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States had been used as an excuse by some governments to clamp down on legitimate, peaceful opposition. Ced Simpson, spokesman for the group, said there was concern about clampdowns in Malaysia and Singapore but that the UK and Australia had also been criticised for military intervention in Iraq.

Last night as the retreat at the Nigerian presidential villa in Abuja broke up, delegates said the group of six had produced a draft statement on Zimbabwe but had failed to secure agreement on it. Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister, said the majority of the group favoured Zimbabwe's continued suspension and setting benchmarks which it would have to meet before being allowed back in. Asked how seriously she viewed Mugabe's threat to leave, Clark said: 'If the decision is for continued suspension he has put himself in a position where he is saying he will go if that happens, so he will look a little silly if he doesn't carry through the threat.'

From News24 (SA), 6 December

Mugabe urged to stay put

Abuja - Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon urged Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe not to compound his country's isolation by withdrawing from the world body in protest at his suspension. Commonwealth leaders meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja are arguing over the terms for Zimbabwe's eventual readmission to the world body, but Mugabe has threatened to cut the dispute short by dropping out completely. "I would hope that Mugabe would take a breath on this one and realise that the Commonwealth meeting here really does want to move on on Zimbabwe," he said, insisting that leaders wanted to re-engage with Harare. "There's a lot more to gain from being inside the Commonwealth than outside it," the former New Zealand foreign minister said. He dismissed allegations that Commonwealth membership was irrelevant to Zimbabwe, recalling that last month Mugabe had expressed hopes that he would be invited to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). "It seemed to be an extremely relevant institution when President Mugabe was saying he wanted to come to CHOGM," he said. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth's ruling councils in March last year after an election which Commonwealth observers said was conducted in a "climate of fear". Now, the body's leaders are divided over whether to readmit it or to insist first on higher standards of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. A six-nation panel comprising the leaders of Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Mozambique and South Africa has been set up to work alongside the summit and report back to the 52 national delegations with recommendations. McKinnon said he expected the panel to report before the end of Sunday, the second day of the Commonwealth "retreat" - an informal closed door session designed to encourage plain talking between the leaders at the summit.

From The Independent (UK), 7 December

Mugabe: Commonwealth is 'Animal Farm'

By Chris Chinaka and Ed Johnson in Abuja, Nigeria

Commonwealth leaders last night agreed Zimbabwe would remain suspended from the 54-nation group and appointed the Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Commonwealth secretary general, Don McKinnon, to monitor Zimbabwe's progress over the next two years, diplomatic sources said. The decision, to monitor Zimbabwe until the next Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting, represents a victory for Britain and the anti-Mugabe camp. But, according to the sources, Thabo Mbeki, the South African President who has fought hard to get Zimbabwe readmitted, said this did not mean President Robert Mugabe's regime would be off the agenda for the rest of this meeting. This ensures Zimbabwe will continue to dominate proceedings today. Last night, the only official word on the decision of a six-member committee appointed by CHOGM to discuss Zimbabwe came from the New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who said: "They have a form of words which they are still negotiating and they will continue to negotiate over this evening. "I understand that a clear view of a majority of the group is that the suspension should continue and it should be made clear what benchmarks Mr Mugabe should have to make to be let back in." Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe's President Mugabe said his government would pull out of the Commonwealth after his ruling Zanu PF party passed a resolution calling for Zimbabwe's withdrawal.

The suggestion that the Nigerian President should, as host of this conference and chairman for the next two years, monitor Zimbabwe had been turned down at a meeting of African and Caribbean leaders. President Obasanjo had hoped to get the issue agreed early on in the three-day conference. Yesterday's full meeting, including 40 heads of state, turned the Zimbabwe issue over to the committee of six, consisting of two countries in favour of readmitting Zimbabwe South Africa and Mozambique two against Australia and Canada and two others, Jamaica and India. That committee recommended Mr Obasanjo's original proposal be accepted and Mr Mbeki backed down, sources said. The decision comes as a great relief to the British, who regard the Nigerian leader as a safe pair of hands. Although in favour of readmitting Zimbabwe earlier in the year, Mr Obasanjo changed his mind two weeks ago when he went to Harare to assess things for himself. He found Mr Mugabe as unaccommodating as ever. Earlier, a South African- sponsored challenge to the exclusion of Zimbabwe was defeated when the heads of government voted 40 to 11 in favour of Mr McKinnon continuing as secretary general. The election was seen as a protest against the policy on Zimbabwe. It also destroyed the myth of African solidarity over Zimbabwe. Eleven votes for the rival candidate, a former Sri Lankan foreign minister, showed that only a handful of African countries support South Africa's stand to have Zimbabwe returned.

Mr Mugabe's threat to withdraw was made at a two-day meeting in Zimbabwe where, before 3,000 cheering delegates, he said the Commonwealth had been hijacked by racists who were interfering in Zimbabwe's internal affairs. He said there was no backing down from the resolution, because his government had been treated unfairly. "The Commonwealth is a mere club, but it has become like Animal Farm, where some members are more equal than others. How can Blair claim to regulate and direct events and still say all of us are equals?" he said. Commonwealth leaders suspended Zimbabwe last year, saying Mr Mugabe had rigged his re-election in 2002 and harassed opponents.