COOLUM, Australia - Jean Chrétien plans to use a visit to the White House next week to tell George W. Bush that sharing the benefits of globalization with Africa will end poverty and promote democracy.
The Prime Minister left the Commonwealth summit that ended yesterday determined to push Africa's economic plight to the top of the global agenda, particularly when he hosts the G8 summit in Alberta this summer.
The Commonwealth summit agenda was dominated by election violence in Zimbabwe, and pitted black Africa against the "old" white Commonwealth led by Britain, which was calling for immediate sanctions. The African leaders -- backed by Canada -- opposed punitive measures until after this weekend's presidential election.
Mr. Chrétien all but ignored the racially divided Commonwealth outcome, preferring to look ahead to the meeting of the world's richest nations in Alberta that will deal with democracy and economic development in Africa.
"They know their future is in good governance. They know this continent is the place in the world where the development is the lowest and they want to participate and they want to grow," Mr. Chrétien told a news conference.
The Prime Minister, who met with African leaders during the summit to plan for the G8 meeting, is championing a joint scheme to foster economic development in exchange for democratic reform. The plan, known as the New Partnership for Africa's Development, depends on nations respecting democracy and the rule of law. "I received very loud and clear that to be successful, the partnership must deal with, for example, market access including agriculture and many other items," he said.
Mr. Chrétien said he has the support of many G8 leaders, including Britain's Tony Blair, for opening markets to African goods to help them develop economically and hopefully politically. However, he indicated he needs the backing of the U.S. President.
"Mr. Blair is very much on side. The French are on side. Next week, I will meet the President of the United States to discuss that, to involve the Americans," Mr. Chrétien said. "My view is that we have to offer something concrete to reward good governance."
While Mr. Blair has doubled aid to Africa and strongly supports the new plan, he warned Africa's problems may be only exacerbated by the Commonwealth's reluctance to immediately suspend Zimbabwe from the 54-nation group for alleged vote rigging.
"There are no half-measures about democracy," Mr. Blair told reporters. "It is important for Africa that if countries are not behaving democratically ... that we are seen to act," he said.
Mr. Blair said African nations, which comprise a third of the Commonwealth, must understand that foreign investment will not flow to countries where the rule of law and democratic institutions are undermined. "If there is any sense in which African countries appear to be ambivalent towards good governance -- that is the one thing that will undermine the confidence of the Western world in helping them.
"The credibility of my country, investment in my country, doesn't depend on Zimbabwe ... But for Africa, it is a major issue, on which their credibility and the possibility of investment flows depend."
Unlike Mr. Chrétien, who supported the African nations in rejecting immediate sanctions, Mr. Blair was accused by the Mugabe government of being a racist and neo-colonialist.
Britain, backed by New Zealand and Australia, had sought Zimbabwe's immediate suspension, saying Robert Mugabe, the President of the southern African nation, is using intimidation and violence to win the election.
But the move was blocked by African states, which forced the Commonwealth to delay any measures until after the March 9-10 presidential ballot.
The leaders agreed to form a three-nation task force to take actions ranging from "collective disapproval to suspension" if Zimbabwe's election was not free and fair.
"The next two weeks are going to be very critical," said Mr. Chrétien, who also opposed Zimbabwe's immediate suspension. "I reiterate Canada's position, that if the election observers report of the election was unfair, we would support the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth."
A largely symbolic act, suspension would bar Zimbabwe from Commonwealth events, but officials said it would encourage individual states to impose sanctions, following the lead of the United States and the European Union.
At a rally, Mr. Mugabe called the decision a victory for his country.
"African countries are telling Britain to stop behaving like a colonial master,'' he said.
John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister who hosted the summit, said the compromise was the best that could be reached. But Mr. Howard tried to shift attention to Canada's African agenda, saying the continent's history of poverty and dictatorial regimes can only be overcome if it benefits from globalization. "A more open trading environment provided by the countries of the world will do more than direct economic assistance," he said
"I hope we don't have another [summit] like this one," said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. "I think the Commonwealth has to get its act together for the future. It has failed to wrestle effectively with Zimbabwe."
The Commonwealth leaders also condemned terrorism, and agreed to continue Pakistan's suspension until after elections scheduled for later this year. Pakistan was suspended following the 1999 coup that ended democratic rule.
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