I welcome the decision of the Commonwealth leaders' troika that Zimbabwe should remain suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth until the issue can be addressed by heads of government at the Abuja CHOGM in December.
This joint conclusion - announced on Sunday evening in London by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon - is fully consistent with the detailed and sobering progress report he presented to the troika late last week.
The Secretary-General's report is clear and objective. It identifies serious shortcomings in the Government of Zimbabwe's response to the Commonwealth's efforts to have democratic principles and the rule of law restored in that country.
Australia has been a firm supporter of democratic freedoms and liberty in Zimbabwe from the time of its struggle towards independence and majority rule. But the Mugabe government continues to encourage systematic harassment and torture of the opposition, electoral malpractice, and corrupted legal processes, while resisting the transparent, equitable and sustainable land reform programme its citizens so badly need. A fundamental change in attitude and approach by the government of Zimbabwe will be needed if the people of Zimbabwe are once again to enjoy these freedoms and before their country is ready to regain its place in the Commonwealth.
I am grateful to my fellow members of the Commonwealth troika, the Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria, and to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, in working through this difficult decision together. I will shortly write as Chairman-in-Office of the Commonwealth to all Commonwealth leaders, advising them formally of the decision and conveying a copy of the Secretary-General's report, which amply illustrates the factual basis for the troika's conclusions.
Note: The Commonwealth Chairpersons' Committee on Zimbabwe, consisting of the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon John Howard, the President of Nigeria, HE Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the President of South Africa, HE Mr Thabo Mbeki, was mandated by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Coolum, Australia, in 2002, to determine appropriate Commonwealth action on Zimbabwe, in close consultation with the Commonwealth Secretary-General. The Committee is also known as the Commonwealth troika.