Cover Story
...And Let's Get Tough On Zimbabwe, Leaders Urge
They're concerned about the deteriorating situation
Since its first days in 1971, the Pacific Islands Forum has hardly ever moved beyond the borders of its region to engage in matters not directly concerning it.
But an exception was a Forum condemnation of apartheid in South Africa.
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This year, the Forum's Commonwealth members decided as a separate group to denounce events in another African country, Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe rules by routine intimidation, terror, theft, corruption and murder, as he propels millions of his countrymen towards death by starvation.
New Zealand's leader, Helen Clark, arrived in Suva anxious to talk about Zimbabwe with Australia's leader, John Howard, who is chairman of a three-man Commonwealth Zimbabwe action committee.
Clark, Howard and Fiji prime minister Laisenia Qarase appeared before journalists to express "deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe". They called for tougher action against Mugabe unless he bowed to international pressure to end farm evictions and restore constitutional law and order.
Howard said that since the Pacific countries were one-fifth of the Commonwealth's membership "this is no small expression of Commonwealth opinion".
Qarase, whose country, after a coup, was like Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2000, said it was time Zimbabwe belatedly got the treatment ‹ trade and sports sanctions and suspension of aid ‹ that Fiji was immediately hit with.
"The internal situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating by the day and President Mugabe has been utterly unresponsive to the approaches by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and quite indifferent to world opinion. In those circumstances, it is hardly surprising that 11 Commonwealth countries gathered here have expressed the views they have. "To use the vernacular, the rule book was thrown at Fiji. There is no reason why other countries should be treated more sparingly in a situation like this than Fiji was treated," Howard said.
Qarase said: "I believe the Commonwealth should be applying the same rules for everybody in that kind of situation. From our point of view, I would certainly like the same actions to be taken against any member of the Commonwealth that falls into the sort of situation that Fiji was in."
Clark described the situation in Zimbabwe as being "more intolerable than it was in March and if there cannot be some engagement by Mugabe in the process, then the Commonwealth needs to address the issue again".
Clark said she personally felt it was time for a harder line action against Zimbabwe.
The Pacific's Commonwealth countries urged "further action by the Commonwealth should there be no rapid change of approach by the Zimbabwe Government".
The Pacific Commonwealth Forum states are Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, and Kiribati.
Non-Commonwealth Forum countries are Palau, Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia.
