The cost of Mugabe

Poor diplomacy allows the Zimbabwe row to weaken the Commonwealth and divide Africa

Like a slow-motion train crash, from 5 to 8 December Commonwealth leaders allowed a bad-tempered discussion on Zimbabwe to dominate their summit, ending in the continuation of sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government and its predicted withdrawal from the 54-member club. Other important business, such as ending agricultural subsidies, trade reform, more cooperation on anti-HIV/AIDS strategy and regional security, was sidelined as the Zimbabwe row divided the summiteers. Commonwealth staffers dismissed such worries: the theme of the summit was 'democracy and development' and the row focused attention on both. Two questions emerge from the debacle in Abuja: could more astute diplomacy have secured a better result? Will the fall-out cause lasting damage to the Commonwealth and its African members? The answer is a double'yes'.

Article Tags:
Robert Mugabe, Australian, John Howard, British, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Nigerian, Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria-South Africa tension, Mozambique, New Zealand, Helen Clark, Don McKinnon, India, Sri Lankan, Lakshman Kardirgamar, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Romania, Switzerland, Salim Ahmed Salim, Kardirgamar high and dr, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Malaysia, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Roman Grynberg, Mexico, Florence Mugasha, Matthew Neuhaus, Historical precedents, Oliver Tambo, Ian Smith, Sani Abacha, Stan Mudenge, Morgan Tsvangirai, Africa Confidential

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