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TOYAKO, Japan — Group of Eight leaders yesterday pushed the heads of African nations to take strong steps toward forcing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe out of power, exposing divisions between major developed countries and Africans, who raised fears that tougher action might tip the volatile country into civil war.
In two sessions at a summit in Japan, G8 leaders — including Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper— grilled representatives of seven African nations on what they view as failed diplomatic efforts to bring stability to Zimbabwe, warning that the West opposes Africa's tolerance of Mr. Mugabe's regime and that the continent's economy and development could suffer as a result of that tolerance.
Several G8 leaders warned that Zimbabwe will face new international sanctions if Mr. Mugabe retains power, and asserted that Africans must deal with the situation, a senior Canadian official said.
"I think that the points were really carried by the G8 leaders to the Africans. And the points were as follows: the Mugabe regime is an illegitimate regime and it should not be tolerated, that public opinion in G8 countries questions why the world would tolerate such a regime, and questions why Africa tolerates such a regime," the official told reporters.
Members of international relief group Oxfam dressed as the G8 leaders display balloons representing the amount of carbon their countries emit per capita in Sapporo on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido Tuesday. (Reuters)
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Mr. Mugabe was the only candidate in a June 27 presidential election. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai dropped out because of state-sponsored violence and intimidation.
Yesterday, in a lunch session and afternoon meeting in the northern Japanese resort of Toyako with African leaders, Mr. Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel questioned South African President Thabo Mbeki's hope to negotiate a settlement between Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai.
"The Prime Minister … said this was something that could not wait for years, could not wait for months, but had to be dealt with immediately," the Canadian official said.
The summit of leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States is expected to issue a statement on Zimbabwe as early as today. And with a U.S.-sponsored move for new sanctions on Mr. Mugabe's regime before the UN Security Council, Mr. Bush emerged from the meeting to express his concern. "I'm extremely disappointed in the elections, which I labelled a sham election," he said.
African leaders expressed frustration with the situation in Zimbabwe, but also called for caution. Last week, a split African Union conference opted not to censure Mr. Mugabe.
The union's leader, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, told reporters that the Africans believe the solution is a government that includes Mr. Mugabe and the opposition, but said many Africans share the G8's concerns.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who opposes sanctions, said some of the African leaders fear that forcing Mr. Mugabe out "could create a situation of civil war." That concern was reportedly raised in the meeting by Mr. Mbeki, who is mediating the crisis for the African Union.
Meanwhile, the G8's performance in meeting aid commitments — the official African agenda item at the summit — came under fire from non-governmental organizations.
The aid groups Oxfam and One placed Canada on a list of laggards on aid to Africa, and accused Mr. Harper's government of trying to water down G8 commitments. They said Canada wants to weaken the language of the statement on health measures for Africa — including training health workers and providing universal access to AIDS treatments — so that, rather than committing to the measures, it would only acknowledge that health experts recommend them.
International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda refused to confirm or deny whether Canada is doing this. "Many, many developing countries have heard countries make big pledges and big commitments, and yet they're still waiting for the delivery of those dollars, and medications and vaccinations, et cetera," she said.
The aid groups said the G8, which vowed in 2005 to double aid to Africa, adding $25-billion a year, has increased aid by only $3-billion so far.
Mr. Harper's aides insist that Canada is on track to double aid to Africa in this fiscal year over the 2003-04 level, bringing it to $2.1-billion. But aid dipped slightly last year, from $1.9-billion in 2005-06 to $1.74-billion in 2006-07, according to preliminary figures.
The G8 leaders move today to talks on climate change, the economy (including rising oil and food prices) and global political issues like the war in Afghanistan.
With reports from Bloomberg, AP and AFP
