Fed: Govt says obliged not to ban Mugabe from CHOGM

AAP General News (Australia)
08-21-2001
Fed: Govt says obliged not to ban Mugabe from CHOGM

CANBERRA, Aug 21 AAP - The federal government today said it could not ban Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) while
his nation was in the Commonwealth.

Federal coalition MPs Peter Slipper and Paul Neville have called for Mr Mugabe to be
banned from attending CHOGM in Brisbane in October because of violence in Zimbabwe against
white farmers.

Zimbabwe's High Commissioner to Australia, Florence Chitauro, has branded Mr Slipper's
comments racist, a label the MP has rejected.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today that while he understood the anger about
the situation in Zimbabwe, Australia was obliged to house every CHOGM leader.

"The only circumstances where a host of a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
would ban someone visiting would be if the country was expelled from the commonwealth,"

Mr Downer told ABC radio.

"Otherwise you're really obliged to have every leader come to Australia."

Mr Downer said he could understand why people were calling for President Mugabe to
be banned from coming to Australia.

"I can understand the anger there is about what is happening in Zimbabwe, but at the
same time just refusing to talk to him isn't necessarily going to be the best way of helping
all those people."

Hundreds of white farmers have fled their properties, while Mr Mugabe has refused to
deploy police or soldiers to stop looting and violence in rural areas.

Prime Minister John Howard has said he does not agree with Mr Slipper's call to ban
Mr Mugabe, saying the Commonwealth leaders could make a difference to the way a nation
was ruled.

Mr Slipper denied he was a racist after Mrs Chitauro said the MP did not understand
the problems in Zimbabwe and that his attitudes were racist.

The MP today refused to apologise and said the comments by Zimbabwe's High Commissioner
were bizarre. He said he felt sorry for her.

"That (racism call) is one of the most bizarre comments that any diplomatic representative
has made," Mr Slipper told the Seven Network.

He again urged the government to withdraw its invitation to Mr Mugabe to attend CHOGM.

Mrs Chitauro today said while she did not know Mr Slipper, she maintained his comments
were racist.

"My comment when I said his comments were racist, I was talking in total ... in that
he was talking about white farmers being harassed in Zimbabwe, and yet before then they
were talking of white farmers and the black workers," she told ABC Radio.

"But the context of his letter was nothing but the white farmers. So I say that is
racist," she said.

AAP lm/ldj/de

KEYWORD: CHOGM SLIPPER SECOND DAYLEAD

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