Analysis: Acid test for Commonwealth

The leaders reached a compromise on Zimbabwe

By Barnaby Mason BBC diplomatic correspondent

Commonwealth leaders have ended their meeting in Australia by deferring action on the crisis in Zimbabwe until after the presidential election.

The summit was seen by many observers as a key test of the Commonwealth, a loose association of more than 50 extraordinarily diverse countries.

This whole inglorious bunfight is over the question of how tiny a feather should be used to thrash Zimbabwe

Australian commentator

The Commonwealth puts great emphasis on its core values: democracy, the rule of law, good governance and the protection of human rights.

In fact, it made a point of reaffirming its commitment to them at the end of the summit - as well as adding freedom of expression, which had somehow got left out of earlier documents.

Compromise decision

The organisation is now vulnerable to accusations of doing nothing while one of its member governments - it is alleged - is trying to hang on to power by using intimidation and violence to rig an election.

For the moment, the jury remains out. The summit set up a troika, a group made up of the leaders of Australia, South Africa and Nigeria - the present, past and future chairmen of the Commonwealth.

Mugabe's election tactics in Zimbabwe dominated the summit

They will consider the report of a team of election observers and are authorised to suspend Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth if need be.

The Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that if the election was not fair, "what has to be done, must be done."

Suspension is the most severe sanction imposed in recent years. It has so far only been applied to countries where a democratic government has been overthrown. But even suspension is seen as a feeble instrument by some.

One Australian newspaper commentator said President Robert Mugabe would hardly be deterred, and mocked the painful negotiations at Coolum.

"This whole inglorious bunfight," he said, "is over the question of how tiny a feather should be used to thrash Zimbabwe."

Disagreement on Zimbabwe

But the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, said the mechanism of the troika was a significant achievement given the intensity of the discussion and the strong views held on either side.

The disagreement over Zimbabwe looked at times like a black-white divide in the Commonwealth, a dangerous development in an organisation founded on multi-racial diversity.

A group of southern African countries - such as Tanzania and Namibia - argued that it was premature for the summit even to discuss the issue. Another group led by Britain and Australia said they should have suspended Zimbabwe long ago.

Zimbabwe has accused Mr Blair of racism

The Zimbabwe government delegation - President Mugabe stayed away - tried to exploit the clash by describing Britain and its allies as racists.

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, felt obliged to insist that his country had no neo-colonialist interest in Zimbabwe other than to see justice done.

But for Africa, he said, the situation in Zimbabwe was vital in retaining the confidence of the developed world and attracting investment.

The summit did take steps to strengthen the Commonwealth's ability to deal with future situations like that in Zimbabwe.

It spelt out that its ministerial action group could intervene in circumstances that fell short of a military coup, where democratic principles were being seriously and persistently violated.

Terrorism action plan

The Zimbabwe argument dominated the summit. However, many other issues were discussed and voluminous documents issued.

The Commonwealth leaders promised concerted efforts to eradicate terrorism, while stressing that the causes of terrorist acts must be understood and dealt with - not a message that gets much attention in the United States these days.

They announced an action plan on terrorism - in particular, help for member states in drawing up legislation to meet the requirements of United Nations resolutions.

But there was no distinctive Commonwealth contribution to the international terrorism debate - no new definition of terrorism, for example, no attempt to resolve the argument about terrorists and freedom fighters.

Don McKinnon insists the Commonwealth is credible and relevant

On globalisation, the summit demanded that its benefits be shared more widely and focused on eliminating poverty.

It launched a new Commonwealth Fund for Africa, designed to raise capital for the private sector and target African companies with the potential to compete in regional and international markets.

The leaders also spent a lot of time talking about the problems of small states. The Commonwealth has lots of them, and they are particularly vulnerable to global warming and other international developments. The summit urged concerted action to address their needs.

The Commonwealth undoubtedly does a lot of useful work, especially in the field of specialised technical aid. But people persistently ask what it is for, and it agonises periodically about its relevance in the modern world.

Hence the Coolum Declaration on the Commonwealth in the 21st century, subtitled Continuity and Renewal.

At the closing news conference, Secretary General Don McKinnon referred to the organisational reforms being carried out to ensure that the Commonwealth was credible and relevant.

The organisation is not content simply to be a talking shop, although that is a valuable function.

But having drawn up declarations and proclaimed principles, the Commonwealth must live up to them. How it reacts after the Zimbabwe election will be the acid test.