Zimbabwe avoids sanctions

COOLUM, Australia (CNN) -- The Commonwealth group of nations has decided against imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe until after the presidential election.

But a group of three leaders has been given the power to suspend Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth if it is decided the nation's upcoming presidential election is not "free and fair".

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), being held in the Australian resort town of Coolum, decided Monday to defer any decision on Zimbabwe until after a Commonwealth observer group reports on the poll.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo will jointly decide what course of action to take on Zimbabwe in consultation with Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon.

AUDIO Report on the split between the African nations and the rest of the Commonwealth 937KB / 1 min. 27 secs. WAV sound   MORE STORIES • AIDS fight targets Asia, Africa  • Commonwealth unites against terror    EXTRA INFORMATION In-depth: Zimbabwe Election 2002    FOCUS Questioning the relevance of CHOGM  Where are all the protesters?    EXTRA INFORMATION What is CHOGM     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition    QUICKVOTE Was the Commonwealth right to delay a decision on sanctions against Zimbabwe until after the election? Yes No View Results

That action ranges from "collective disapproval to suspension".

Howard told a packed media conference Monday that the CHOGM decision provided a mechanism for action and was a "very good outcome".

The Commonwealth has been attacked for being a "toothless tiger" for not acting sooner on Zimbabwe following two years of reports of human rights abuses and the erosion of democracy in that nation.

The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe after a series of reports of intimidation and violence surrounding the nation's election campaign.

Howard said the Zimbabwe question had not been an easy one to resolve with strong feelings being held about the issue.

"There certainly was lengthy discussions but at no time did those discussions become acrimonious," he said.

Howard said that the final decision had been well accepted by all the leaders.

"People do see this as an effective way to decide this," he said.

Remaining engaged

It is not known how long it will take after the March 9 Zimbabwe election for the observers' group to report to the Commonwealth, nor how long it will take for the three leaders to decide, what, if any, action will be taken.

Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon answered critics who suggested the grouping should have acted earlier on Zimbabwe, saying if the nation had been suspended two years ago ''we would not have 60 election observers on the ground now".

"We have remained engaged with Zimbabwe," he said, adding that while this had been a difficult process, that engagement was in the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe.

At a separate media conference, Nigeria's President Obsanjo said the committee was prepared to take tough action against Zimbabwe if it was thought necessary.

"Whatever has to be done, must be done," he said.

The CHOGM statement on Zimbabwe also expressed the leaders' "deep concern about violence and intimidation" in the nation and called on all parties to refrain from such actions.

The statement also said that it acknowledged that "land is the core of the crisis in Zimbabwe and cannot be separated from other issues of concern to the Commonwealth".

In the spotlight

No issue at CHOGM has generated more heat and light than Zimbabwe.

In what has been an otherwise subdued and uneventful meeting, the spectre of racism and the Commonwealth's colonial past has raised hackles.

The "white" nations of Britain, Australia, New Zealand had been pushing for the Commonwealth to take immediate action on Zimbabwe.

They accuse Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe of riding roughshod over human rights in that country and eroding the democratic process.

New Zealand wanted to see Zimbabwe suspended immediately, rather than wait until after the election.

"It is important that the Commonwealth does back the principles which it repeatedly says that it stands for; those principles being constitutional law, human rights and democracy," New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Australian television.

"It is clear in New Zealand's view that Zimbabwe has breached all of them."

Reluctance

British Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Mugabe of being afraid to run a free and fair election because if he did so, he would lose.

But many African countries here, while disturbed by developments in Zimbabwe, are reluctant to be seen breaking ranks with Mugabe.

Some, such as Tanzania's President Benjamin Mkapa resented the issue even being discussed.

Zimbabwe, for its part, has returned fire with vigor.

Mugabe, who has not attended this CHOGM in person, told Australia and Britain to keep their "pink noses" out of Zimbabwe's affairs.

And in a passionate news conference Sunday evening, Zimbabwe delegate Information Minister Jonathan Moyo bluntly told UK prime minister Blair to "shut up".

"It is unfortunate that Britain and, to some extent, the EU, has taken the position that in Africa, free and fair elections must be won by the opposition," Moyo said.

"That is unfortunate. It is unacceptable."