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COMMONWEALTH: Summit Focuses on Democracy, Development - and Zimbabwe
By Ferial Haffajee and Toye Olori
ABUJA, Dec 5 (IPS) - The bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting
got underway in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Friday with traditional dances
and a parade of flags from the group's 54 member states.
The head of the Commonwealth, Britain's Queen Elizabeth the second,
declared the summit open, saying that although the organisation had evolved
over the years, it had also maintained its support of equality and
inclusiveness.
"We have been able to retain our fundamental principles and values of
democracy, rule of law and gender equality for human development. I have
always been struck by the Commonwealth example of multilateralism which has
allowed members, no matter what their level of development, to have their
voices heard," she told government leaders.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) is being held under
the theme: "Development and Democracy: Partnership for Peace and Progress".
Commenting on this, Queen Elizabeth said: "Democracy gives people a
chance to be heard on how their government should be run. Underdevelopment
is the greatest threat to democracy."
In the same vein, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don Mckinnon noted that
trade was one of the main instruments that could be used to fight poverty,
which is ravaging several of the group's member states. He called for
enhanced trade relations within the Commonwealth, with richer countries
getting "more and more generous".
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is taking over the chairmanship
of the organisation, challenged members to develop fresh strategies for
resolving the problems that face their citizens - such as HIV/AIDS,
corruption and terrorism.
"The Commonwealth must join the rest of the world in the fight against
the ills of underdevelopment," Obasanjo noted. "The club must make the
desired impact on its numerous peoples and work for the attainment of the
millennium development goals."
These goals include commitments by the international community to
eradicate extreme hunger, and achieve universal primary education by 2015.
The gracious words of the opening ceremony belied the tensions that have
marked the run-up to this gathering.
The political crisis in Zimbabwe is again proving a divisive issue for
the Commonwealth, with South African President Thabo Mbeki having failed in
his bid to get Zimbabwean head of state Robert Mugabe invited to the CHOGM.
Zimbabwe was suspended from the group of former British colonies after
holding a flawed presidential poll last year. A delegation of Commonwealth
observers condemned the election, saying it had been marred by vote rigging
and intimidation.
Earlier this year, McKinnon rebuffed efforts by South Africa to lift
Zimbabwe's suspension - citing a "broad view" that it should stay in place
until the CHOGM. McKinnon also rallied opposition to having Mugabe invited
to Nigeria.
Sources in Abuja now say that South Africa appears to have thrown its
support behind a Sri Lankan candidate to run against McKinnon's
reappointment. This is being seen as the country giving him his come-uppance
for maintaining a hard-line stance on Zimbabwe.
Mbeki favours a strategic position that draws Mugabe back into the
international fold, and then allows him to exit graciously as an elder
statesman.
But, a Commonwealth official noted, "Frankly, we sometimes do find
difficulty with South Africa's position."
"Now it's backing the Sri Lankan candidate (Lakshman Kadirgaman). Why? Is
it pique at the Zimbabwe issue? If so, why? What results has its position
(of quiet diplomacy) yielded?"
A spokesman for South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana
Dlaminu-Zuma, Ronnie Mamoepa, said she was still in consultation with the
President and the cabinet about which candidate for the post of
secretary-general the country would support.
The fielding of a Sri Lankan candidate is a curve ball for McKinnon who
did not expect to face a leadership race. In line with Commonwealth rules,
he can - and intended to - stay two terms. Now he will have to spend the
time at CHOGM lobbying for his job.
The emerging view as talks got underway was that there had been no
progress in Zimbabwe to justify the lifting of its suspension. McKinnon said
efforts by his organisation to secure reforms in Zimbabwe had yielded a
"total lack of success...We have not met for 18 months and Commonwealth
officers have been denied visas".
He added: "I have talked to every Commonwealth leader and there is more
than one view on how to proceed on Zimbabwe. But the discussion is by no
means an Africa versus the rest of the world one."
Britain and Australia's role in the United States-led war in Iraq also
proved controversial, notably at the Commonwealth People's Forum - a civil
society summit held this week.
If Zimbabwe was to be chided for violating principles, then why not
Britain and Australia which were in violation of the Commonwealth's stated
support for multilateralism, asked activists this week.
Pakistan is also suspended from the organisation. The measure was
introduced in 1999, after a military coup that overthrew Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif.
However, the fact that the 2003 CHOGM is being held in Nigeria may give
delegates and observers some hope about prospects for good governance
amongst rogue members.
The outgoing Chairman of the Commonwealth - Australian Prime Minister
John Howard - noted that the Abuja meeting, coming barely four years after
Nigeria's re-entry into the group, was of great symbolism.
Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth while the late General Sani
Abacha was in power, from 1993 until 1998.
The 1995 suspension followed Abacha's decision to execute nine members of
the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), including
renowned activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
MOSOP had been fighting for greater recognition of human and
environmental rights in Nigeria's south-eastern Ogoniland, which has yielded
oil worth billions of dollars - little of which has found its way back to
local communities. (END/2003)
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