Reports: Zimbabwe to quit C'wealth
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Mugabe: "Some members are more equal than others."
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HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabwe said on Sunday it had quit the Commonwealth after the organization extended the southern African country's suspension.
The Zimbabwe government said in a statement that President Robert Mugabe had told the leaders of Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa when they phoned him one after another on Sunday that arare did not accept the Commonwealth's position and was leaving the group.
"Accordingly, Zimbabwe has withdrawn its membership from the Commonwealth with immediate effect," it said.
A divided Commonwealth extended sanctions against Zimbabwe on Sunday, but opened the way for a possible return to the 54-member group if Harare engages in reconciliation with the opposition.
The 54-strong group of mainly former British colonies suspended Zimbabwe early last year on the grounds that Mugabe had rigged his re-election and persecuted his opponents.
But a powerful group of African Commonwealth countries had lobbied hard for Zimbabwe's readmission at the summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Nigeria put a positive face on the Commonwealth decision.
"The process that will lead to lifting of Zimbabwe's suspension has started," said President Olusegun Obasanjo at a press conference.
"It is a situation where you cannot say whether it will take one year or six months. We will be watching the situation closely. If things go the way they are, we will be talking in terms of months rather than years," Obasanjo said.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said a panel of seven countries, roughly divided between Mugabe friends and foes, would monitor Zimbabwe's development in political dialogue and human rights.
"There is no time element at all," said a spokesman for Britain, which had insisted on keeping Harare out.
In Harare, Mugabe's ZANU-PF party said it had already decided it wanted to leave the Commonwealth. A final decision would be taken by a cabinet vote.
"We have already made a decision that we were leaving the Commonwealth," ZANU-PF external affairs secretary Didymus Mutasa told Reuters.
Membership of the Commonwealth gives many countries a valuable international stage, and some trade and aid benefits. Exclusion carries the stigma of pariah status in the international community.
The racially charged row has split the Commonwealth as nothing has since apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s, dominating the summit to the frustration of many delegates eager to discuss topics such as fair trade, AIDS and terrorism.
Mugabe accused Britain and other "Anglo-Saxon" countries of punishing him for land reforms that have given white-owned farms to landless blacks. His argument finds resonance with many other African leaders whose political lives started in the fight against British imperialism.
Many Africans suspect British demands for democratic reforms in Zimbabwe are a cover for protecting white farmers and their land.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was wrong to "muddle" that issue with questions of Zimbabwean democracy and rights violations.
"The vast majority of countries -- black or white or Asian -- are in favour of continuing the suspension because we can see that Zimbabwe is so clearly in breach of all the principles the Commonwealth stands for," he told Sky TV.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
