March 11, 2002	Monday	Zilhaj 26, 1422

COOLUM (Australia): The Commonwealth is always full of surprises. Few expected an unlikely troika of Howard, Mbeki and Obasanjo to end up sitting in judgment on the conduct of the crucial presidential election in Zimbabwe.

Yet that is exactly what happened after hours of tough talking between the leaders of 50 countries in their tent-like rooms provided in the Queensland resort of Coolum for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

A fourth man will have a critical role to play alongside Prime Minister John Howard of Australia and presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria — the Commonwealth secretary-general, New Zealander Don McKinnon.

The Commonwealth, accused of being slow to act against the excesses of the government of Robert Mugabe, now finds itself centre stage in the Zimbabwe crisis.

When the European Union pulled out in a huff, the 60-strong Commonwealth election observer team became the only international one remaining on the ground. The leader is Abdulsalami Abubakar, the man who took Nigeria from military to civilian rule after the dictatorship of Sani Abacha.

The team will decide whether the election has been fairly conducted. If their verdict is negative the troika is empowered to decide whether the Commonwealth should suspend Zimbabwe from membership. Some countries will also impose “smart” sanctions on Mugabe and his colleagues.

Not since Margaret Thatcher defied her fellow-leaders on sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s has the Commonwealth been so divided on an issue as it was in Coolum.

Howard and prime ministers Tony Blair of Britain and Helen Clark of New Zealand wanted Zimbabwe suspended straight away, seemingly unconcerned that this could be counter-productive and result in Mugabe turning the observers out of the country days before the elections.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore took a quite different view, saying that “we have to give weight to the neighbours of Zimbabwe because they have to live with the consequences of whatever the Commonwealth decides.”

Howard climbed down on suspension as he struck up a rapport with Obasanjo and found himself one of the troika. These three men could find themselves facing issues that are more profound for the Commonwealth than just a judgment on the quality of the Zimbabwe elections. This summit came perilously close to the kind of white-black divide not witnessed in the Commonwealth for decades. Discussion had been “intense, committed, involved”, said Howard. Everyone wanted to take part.

Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge, representing Mugabe, was given half-an-hour to put Zimbabwe’s case. Howard said that at no stage did the debate become “nasty or unpleasant... spiteful or acrimonious...” But the fact that Howard used these words betrayed how near the meeting came to the edge.

The troika has been created with the past, present and future holders of the new office of chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth. In Coolum, Mbeki, host of the Durban CHOGM in 1999, handed over to Howard. The 2003 CHOGM will be in Abuja and Obasanjo will take over.

The Coolum talks were more informal than for many years. They were held in Retreat-style. The leaders sat around in spacious and soft armchairs, many in slacks, open-necked and sandalled. Only two officials were present — the conference secretary and McKinnon.

Coolum has marked the return of Australia to the African political scene. The chemistry of the meeting had a historic basis. Obasanjo has had long experience of working with Australia. He and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser led the Commonwealth mission to South Africa in 1986 which was a catalyst for the downfall of apartheid.

The two men visited Mandela in prison and produced a report that provided the framework for the negotiating process adopted a few years later for majority democratic government in South Africa.

The troika on Zimbabwe will face tough decisions if the Commonwealth observer report delivers a less-than-clear verdict on the conduct of the election or if the outcome between Mugabe and his rival Morgan Tsvangirai is close. Howard explained that if the observer report is adverse full authority has been given “to determine on behalf of the Commonwealth a response... instructed entirely by the Commonwealth principles which range from collective disapproval to suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth.”

The leaders produced a declaration that in many respects goes further than the 1991 Harare and 1971 Singapore statements — including for the first time, for example, a commitment to freedom of expression.

Unbelievably, till now Commonwealth countries have not formally pledged themselves to this cornerstone of democracy. —Dawn/Gemini News Service.