ABUJA, Dec 5: Commonwealth leaders attempted to sidestep the burning issue of Zimbabwe’s suspension on Friday but the dispute between African nations and the so-called “white Commonwealth” overshadowed the first day of their summit.

Summit host President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria proposed setting up an ad-hoc committee of six Commonwealth members to discuss the issue on the sidelines of the summit as Zimbabwe’s isolated leader Robert Mugabe threatened again to quit the international body.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said there was no mood among Commonwealth members to lift the suspension, but that differences remained over what conditions President Robert Mugabe’s regime needs to fulfil before Zimbabwe is readmitted.

Asked about the possibility of Zimbabwe’s readmittance during the meeting of the 54-nation Commonwealth, Clark told reporters: “I don’t think there’s any question of that.”

Observers at the summit’s first executive session said British Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of the harshest critics of Mugabe, had left the meeting early and appeared upset.

Zimbabwe, mired in deep political and economic woes and threatened with famine, was suspended from the Commonwealth in March last year after Mugabe was re-elected in a poll marred by violence and fraud.

Several African nations — including South Africa and Mozambique — have lobbied publicly for Zimbabwe to be allowed to return to the fold, a move which would be strongly opposed by the so-called “white Commonwealth” of Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Obasanjo, keen to prevent the row from overshadowing the rest of the summit agenda, proposed that representatives from six nations — Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Mozambique and South Africa — meet separately from the main council to draw up a report on the issue.

The team would then report back to the leaders during their two-day weekend retreat, when the matter can be discussed behind closed doors, officials said.—AFP