International

U.K. humiliated at Commonwealth

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON MARCH 4. Not since the former Indian Prime Minister, I. K.Gujral, in a rare fit of anger, called it a "third rate'' power has so much public humiliation been heaped on Britain by a Third World leader as by the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe _ and his Ministers _ in recent days marking a new low in London's relations with its former colony.

Even as Britain was today deeply disappointed that it failed to force Harare's suspension from the Commonwealth, it was even more embarrassed by the tongue-lashing that the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, got from leaders of a fellow Commonwealth country. The media today highlighted the Zimbabwean Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo's outburst in front of TV cameras in Australia on Sunday when he told Mr Blair to "shut up'' and accused him of suffering from a "colonial hangover''.

``He needs to be told that Zimbabwe will never be a colony again, never. He can make as much noise as he wants, and the more noise he makes the more he exposes himself to the international community,'' an angry Mr. Moyo said contemptuously dismissing Mr. Blair's criticism of the Mugabe regime as a "disgraceful'' interference in a sovereign country's affairs.

This followed Mr. Mugabe's stinging attack at the weekend when he told Mr. Blair to "go to hell'' and stop messing up with his regime. However, it is Mr. Moyo's statement which has been noted for its "rudeness'' with observers pointing out that while Mr. Mugabe's remarks could be explained away as election rhetoric _ addressed to a domestic audience in the midst of a difficult campaign _ Mr. Moyo had overstepped diplomatic norms by attacking the Prime Minister of another country at an international conference. They recalled that in recent months, he had been responsible for cracking down on the foreign media in Harare leading to the expulsion of all British journalists.

Britain's failure to push through Zimbabwe's suspension was widely seen as a sign of a "racial divide'' at the heart of the Commonwealth with African, Asian and Caribbean nations asserting themselves against what they regard as attempts by "white'' member-states to impose their will. "The... problem is the uneasy, quasi-paternalistic relationship between white developed countries and other member states,'' The Independent said.

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