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Prim
e Minister John Howard on Thursday brushed aside a threat by
Zimbabwe to break off diplomatic relations with Australia because
of his leading role in extending the African nation's suspension
from the Commonwealth.
Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth after a summit of the
54-nation body in Nigeria this week decided not to lift the
suspension imposed in March 2002 after long-time President Robert
Mugabe was reelected in polls widely condemned as fraudulent.
The state media in Harare responded to the dispute by calling on
Mugabe to cut all ties with Britain and Australia, which played a
leading role in foiling efforts by African Commonwealth members to
lift Zimbabwe's suspension.
"The time has come for Zimbabwe to fully engage Britain head-on by
cutting all diplomatic ties with the former colonial master and its
sidekick Australia," wrote the Herald newspaper, considered a
government mouthpiece.
Howard was untroubled by the threat.
"If it's in response to Australia's principled stance at the
Commonwealth conference, then certainly not," Howard said.
"I don't know whether it will come to that, but frankly we did the
right thing and so did the Commonwealth," he said.
Howard rejected accusations from Mugabe that "white" members of the
Commonwealth imposed their will on the grouping, made up mostly of
former British colonies.
"This is not a black versus white issue," he said. "This is a
rorted (corrupt) election versus democracy issue, and that's why we
took the stance that we did," he said - Sapa-AFP
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