Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe said yesterday it was quitting the Commonwealth after the organisation said it was extending its suspension of the country.
The Zimbabwe government said in a statement that President Robert Mugabe had told the leaders of Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa when they phoned him one after another yesterday that Harare did not accept the Commonwealth's position and was leaving the group.
"Accordingly, Zimbabwe has withdrawn its membership from the Commonwealth with immediate effect," it said.
Talks on Zimbabwe dominated a four-day Commonwealth summit in the Nigerian capital and caused the worst split among its 54 members since South Africa's apartheid in the 1990s.
Zimbabwe was suspended early last year on the grounds that Mr Mugabe rigged his re-election and persecuted his opponents.
Some African Commonwealth members have lobbied hard for its re-admission to the group. A divided Commonwealth said it had decided to extend Zimbabwe's suspension, but opened the way for a possible return if Harare engaged in reconciliation with the opposition.
After a contentious debate, host Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the suspension was maintained to protect the Commonwealth's core principles, but he put a positive face on the decision.
"The process that will lead to the lifting of Zimbabwe's suspension has started," he said.
Britain, which had pressed hard to keep Mr Mugabe out, welcomed the decision to extend the suspension.
The British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said it would send "a clear message to people in Zimbabwe that the Commonwealth is on the side of democracy and human rights".
In Harare, the ruling ZANU-PF party said it had already decided it wanted to leave the Commonwealth. A final decision is to be taken by a cabinet vote. - (Reuters)