Commonwealth split over meeting agenda

A special Commonwealth group on the growing crisis in Zimbabwe will meet in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday. But AFP reported on Tuesday that there was disagreement over the agenda which Harare wants focused on land while London and others want to emphasise political violence and the rule of law. The crisis in Zimbabwe was under discussion on Tuesday on the sidelines of a Commonwealth ministerial group in London, Nigerian officials said, and will be raised at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Australia later in the year.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a growing regional power since its return to civilian rule, is hosting the special group talks to focus on the Zimbabwe issue. Besides Britain, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, ministers and officials are expected from Australia, Canada, Kenya and Jamaica, while the Commonwealth team will be led by Secretary General Don McKinnon.

Zimbabwean government officials said the meeting in the Nigerian capital should “make Britain realise” the social, political, moral and economic justification of President Robert Mugabe’s land reforms. “We believe that once Britain listens and realises the justification of our programme, we should be able to patch our differences because our land policy is the source of our problems,” Foreign Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge said recently of the meeting in Nigeria.