Ministers from eight Commonwealth countries are due to meet in a safari lodge in northern Botswana Friday to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe won re-election in March in a disputed poll.
”The group’s mandate is to address serious or persistent violations of… principles on democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law,” the Commonwealth Secretariat said in a statement.
The Commonwealth announced a one-year suspension of Zimbabwe’s membership of the 53-nation group in March, saying the violence-scarred election failed to reflect the will of voters.
The Kasane meeting will group ministers from Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Malta, Nigeria, Samoa and The Bahamas is also expected to discuss situations causing concern in other Commonwealth countries.
Commonwealth Secretariat representative Joel Kibazo said representatives of the group, appointed at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Coolum, Australia, in March, would start talks around 9:00 am (0700 GMT) at the lodge in Kasane, about 900 kilometres north of Gaborone.
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon has urged the ruling Zimbabwe National African Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to find a way to co-exist.
He has also said the Commonwealth backed a call by presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa for reconciliation in Zimbabwe between the two foes.
Nigerian and South African mediators failed to kickstart talks between the two political opponents Monday after Zanu-PF decided to pull out of scheduled mediated discussions with the MDC. ? Sapa-AFP