Zimbabwe’s ruling party came out in strong support of President Robert Mugabe’s threats to quit the Commonwealth, with Vice President Joseph Msika saying ”to hell” with the club from which the southern African country has been suspended for close to two years.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth leaders were on Friday night struggling to remain united in their tough stance against Mugabe’s regime as African leaders sought a compromise which would give him hope of rehabiliation within two years.
Though the first day of the Commonwealth heads of government conference in Nigeria’s federal capital was dominated by the issue, Mugabe’s near-neighbours in southern Africa — led by South Africa — managed to postpone a final decision about what should be done until talks resume today.
Mugabe, opening his party’s annual conference, told the 3 000 or so delegates that Zimbabwe ”cannot brook interference with its sovereignty” by the 54-member grouping currently holding a summit in Nigeria.
Several other senior party officials said Zimbabwe did not need the Commonwealth as rank-and-file members of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union — Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) demonstrated against the Commonwealth outside the conference venue in the southern town of Masvingo, a party stronghold.
”If the choice was made, one, for us to lose our sovereignty and become a member of the Commonwealth or, remain with our sovereignty and lose the membership of the Commonwealth. I would say, let the Commonwealth go,” Mugabe declared.
The huge crowd of party loyalists erupted with cheers of support as he repeated the same threat he made earlier this week — that Zimbabwe is prepared to ”say goodbye” to the Commonwealth if not treated as an equal.
The 79-year-old president, who later addressed the several hundred protesters outside, said Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge had told him that African countries attending the Commonwealth summit in Abuja were lobbying for the re-admission of Zimbabwe to the club, but the veteran leader said: ”We don’t want to be preoccupied by this”.
Msika said: ”They can go ahead with their Commonwealth, we are not interested in the Commonwealth. We shall say ‘to hell with you (Commonwealth)”’.
The ruling party conference, an annual gathering to review the party’s progress during the year, comes amid an unprecedented economic and international relations crisis in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean leader rejects the charges — that presidential elections last year were rigged, and that his loyalists beat up opposition supporters — for which his country was suspended from the Commonwealth last year.
Instead, he accuses the ”white Commonwealth” -‒ especially Australia, Britain and New Zealand — of trying to punish his country for undertaking a controversial land reform programme that has seen thousands of white-owned farms seized for redistribution to landless blacks.
Mugabe said Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, the former colonial power, had a wrong impression of his influence on Zimbabwe.
”Blair misjudged us, completely misjudged us … he thought he was a little god he thought only upon his whistling ‘Mugabe go’, Mugabe will go … that did not happen,” Mugabe told the enthusiastic party supporters.
Zimbabwe’s exclusion and the problem of what to do next threatens to overshadow the summit. Ministers and officials stressed yesterday that the vast majority of states represented in Abuja want to maintain or even stiffen sanctions against the 79-year-old Mugabe’s regime.
But some African nations feel deep unease. Mozambique’s president, Joaquim Chissamo, spoke for the minority when he argued: ”We do not believe the continued isolation of Zimbabwe is delivering the desired results. In our opinion they should return to the fold.”
However, Mugabe’s allies lost a significant battle last night when attempts to remove the New Zealander Don McKinnon as Commonwealth secretary general collapsed.
Mugabe had wanted McKinnon replaced by Lakshman Kadirgar, a respected Sri Lankan diplomat, who is thought to be more sympathetic to Zimbabwe’s leader. But last night, McKinnon won a second four-year term.
Instead of reaffirming sanctions or withdrawing them, the summit agreed to look at a timetable that would allow Harare back before the next two-yearly Commonwealth summit if it makes progress with promised constitutional reform. On current trends that seems unlikely.
But six ”wise men” — heads of government from India, Australia, South Africa, Mozambique, Canada and chaired by Jamaica — were asked to come up with a compromise formula for the informal talks today. Last night Jean Chretien, of Canada, told reporters they were trying to find a ”surveillance mechanism” for seeing if progress takes place.
The focus on the Zimbabwe issue has frustrated Commonwealth officials, who are desperate to address other issues.
With the global HIV/Aids crisis threatening to engulf some sub-Saharan nations and the talks on world trade liberalisation blocked by protectionism in the EU and the US, McKinnon warned yesterday that selfish decisions by rich states could lead to ”more mistrust, envy, and, in time, violence”. He called for a ”spirit of generosity” that would restart the World Trade Organisation talks stalled in Cancun, Mexico.
Mugabe accused his critics in the Commonwealth of meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs. ”Zimbabwe is a free and independent country that cannot brook interference with its sovereignty,” he told 3 000 hand-picked delegates attending the annual congress of his Zanu-PF party.
”If the choice was made for us… to remain with our sovereignty and lose membership of the Commonwealth, then I would say, then let the Commonwealth go,” he said. ”What is it to us? Our people are overjoyed, the land is ours. We are now the rulers and owners of Zimbabwe.”
Posters at the Masvingo State University, the venue of the Zanu-PF conference, vented the party’s anger.
”To hell with the racist white Commonwealth”, ”Down with Blair’s Uncommonwealth” read two.
Mugabe told delegates that Blair should be reminded that Zimbabwe was not up for grabs by its former coloniser.
”Let me end up by saying to Mr Blair and his British government … ‘Listen to what we are saying. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans’.
”Let the Commonwealth also hear that Zimbabwe is for
Zimbabweans.”
Mugabe accuses Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon of forging an ”Anglo-Saxon unholy alliance against Zimbabwe”.
The much-anticipated subject of Mugabe’s exit from power is not on the official agenda of his party’s conference, the theme of which is ”total land use for economic turn-around”.
International humanitarian agencies have blamed the country’s land reforms in part for food shortages which will affect at least half of the population by next month.
Zimbabwe is in the throes of an economic crisis that has seen inflation treble from about 200% in January to more than 500% by October. – Sapa-AFP, Guardian Unlimited Â