Posted on 09/04/2002 5:03:51 PM PDT by Clive
THE Commonwealth troika on Zimbabwe is expected to meet possibly in two weeks’ time to discuss fresh and tougher action against a defiant President Robert Mugabe, Commonwealth diplomats said this week.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard chairs the troika, which in March booted Zimbabwe out of the 54-nation Commonwealth councils over its seizure of private farms and bloated human rights record.
South Africa and Nigeria’s presidents Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo are the other members.
News of the impending meeting of the troika came as key Commonwealth players were this week said to have taken advantage of the presence of African leaders at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg to lobby major African states to support tougher action on Zimbabwe, which they have blocked before.
British and Canadian premiers Tony Blair and Jean Chretien and Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon, who attended the WSSD meeting, were said to have piled pressure on Mbeki, Obasanjo and some southern African leaders in separate talks on the sidelines of the summit to support a Commonwealth crackdown on Zimbabwe.
It could not be immediately established whether Blair, Chretien or McKinnon specifically requested Mbeki, Obasanjo and other Commonwealth African leaders to support the expulsion of Zimbabwe from the group and the imposition of sanctions against it, measures already backed by some Commonwealth nations.
An official at the Commonwealth’s secretariat in London confirmed McKinnon had discussed Zimbabwe during separate meetings with Obasanjo and Mbeki but would not divulge any details.
"The secretary-general met with presidents Obasanjo and Mbeki and the issue of Zimbabwe came up for discussion," the official said by telephone from London.
Howard did not attend the WSSD meeting in Johannesburg.
But diplomatic sources said the Australian leader, who this week indicated Australia might join the European Union, the US, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada in imposing sanctions on Mugabe and his officials, was working round the clock to ensure the troika acted resolutely on Zimbabwe.
"Howard is trying to link up with Mbeki and Obasanjo after the WSSD," said one source.
"The leaders will either meet formally or will teleconference and this is likely to happen between the end of the WSSD summit and the beginning of the United Nations’ General Assembly meeting which begins on September 17."
Australian high commissioner in Harare Jonathan Brown refused to discuss in detail Howard’s efforts to bring the troika to act on Zimbabwe.
He would only say: "Prime Minister Howard is very concerned about events in Zimbabwe and hopes to speak to presidents Mbeki and Obasanjo shortly."
Mbeki or his spokesman Bheki Khumalo could not be reached for comment.
Two weeks ago, Mbeki appeared to be shifting from his softly-softly approach towards Harare, telling journalists in Johannesburg that he now agreed with Howard on the need for vigorous action to tackle the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe, where the economy is falling apart as half the country’s population faces starvation.
Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to his supporters and poor rains last year have combined to cause severe food shortages in the country.
Analysts say tougher Commonwealth sanctions against Harare, which many members of the group are increasingly clamouring for, would be the last straw to break Mugabe and his administration’s resistance to international pressure.
All of Harare’s neighbours are members of the Commonwealth and it is their support which has kept a financially crippled Zimbabwe just afloat.
CIA -- The World Factbook -- Zimbabwe
First it was Rhodesia then SA now America paying the price of silence.
-A Capsule History of Southern Africa--
| Parallels between Apartheid SA & USA today | ||||||
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ZWNEWS.com - linking the world to Zimbabwe MPR Books - Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African ... Title: "Cry, the Beloved Country" - Topics: World/South Africa |
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Hey, I'm told they may not let him have seconds on peach pie at the commonwealth barbecue...
And if they weren't already so mad at us for not signing Kyoto, they'd really give him a shelacking...
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