Zimbabwe decision may deepen divide

This may not lead the aggrieved African nations from quitting the Commonwealth just yet, but the emotional bond that binds the Commonwealth has predictably snapped.

Even as the summit rolled out the red carpet for Queen Elizabeth II — the symbolic head of the Commonwealth — the Nigerian daily Daily Trust lamented that the African Commonwealth members were allowing ‘‘that old wolf Britain’’ to dictate the guest list. It said they were being ‘‘tricked’’ into betraying Robert Mugabe, setting a precedent for victimizing any member-country which resented foreign interference in its internal affairs.

The growing schism in the Commonwealth was also evident in the challange posed to Secretary-General Don McKinnon’s continuance for a second term. Though New Zealander McKinnon won by 40 votes to 11, the fact that his challanger Lakshman Kadirgamar of Sri Lanka managed to force a contest showed that the seeds of opposition to White dominance are germinating. Had Kadirgamar thrown his hat into the ring well before the summit, he may have got a few more votes.

Even as host Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo took the initiative to set up a six-member panel to look into the Zimbabwe issue on the first day of the summit, British Prime Minister Tony Blair cast doubts over whether this was the right course. He said: ‘‘I think it would have been better to deal with it straight away but I think it’s fine as long as we deal with it. I hope and remain reasonably confident that the suspension of Zimbabwe will continue.’’

As for India, it may draw diplomatic comfort from the fact that Pakistan’s re-admission was not even considered at CHOGM-2003. However, on the vital issue of Zimbabwe’s re-entry, India’s diplomacy left something to be desired.

When it was included in the six-member panel appointed by Obasanjo to work out a Commonwealth response to the contentious issue, the expectation was that India would exercise a sobering and persuasive influence in defusing the issue. But so low-key was India’s participation, that the only other non-partisan member of the six-member panel, Jamaica, was chosen as its chairperson. The international media was left guessing as to what was India’s stand.

This perhaps was a deliberate strategy but was it prudent?

Whatever be the merits of keeping Zimbabwe out, the Commonwealth will have to live up to its claim of complete equality among countries big and small, rich or poor, black or white. If the impression persists and grows that it is a white-dominated talking shop, the credibility of this institution will get further eroded.