Australia may impose targeted sanctions
AAP
The Canberra Times
Australia is likely to impose targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe after its bid to have the country suspended from the Commonwealth failed.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group decided against suspension or imposing sanctions on the African nation which is being torn apart by President Robert Mugabe's election campaign of intimidation, harassment and denial of Press freedom.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and his British counterpart Jack Straw were the only delegates of the eight-member CMAG who pushed for suspension at the group's London meeting.
The other six members - Malaysia, Barbados, Bangladesh, Canada, Nigeria and Botswana - preferred to keep Zimbabwe as part of the Commonwealth so the organisation could play a role in trying to ensure a free and fair election on March 9-10.
Australia may impose targeted sanctions
Mr Downer said Australia could follow the European Union's lead and impose targeted sanctions, ruling out any economic action against the already financially crippled country.
"We are now in the process of considering a range of measures we could take against Zimbabwe," he said.
"We're looking at the measures that have been proposed by the EU, the possibility of us winding back on our aid program, suspending any defence links with Zimbabwe - there's a range of other options."
He said aid cutbacks would only affect non-humanitarian aid such as training programs for public servants.
Earlier this week, the EU agreed to place visa bans on Mr Mugabe and other senior government members and their families and to freeze assets they held in Europe if the election was not free and fair.
Mr Downer said Australia would take a similar approach but feared a fair election might already be out of the country's grasp.
"Any final decision we make on sanctions will be based on a point that we think we have reached where there's simply nothing more that we could do, there's simply no point in continuing to try to encourage a free and fair election because it simply can't happen," he said.
"We haven't quite reached that point yet, but we've got perilously close.
"The situation is on the cusp. There is still time for people to campaign, provided the intimidation and harassment stops.
"Whether that will happen is another thing.
"The chances of having a full free and fair election aren't high."
CMAG expressed "its deep concern over the continued violence, political intimidation and actions against the freedom and independence of the media" in Zimbabwe.
The Commonwealth's democratic watchdog called for Mr Mugabe to stop police and army involvement in politics, allow free electoral campaigning, end restrictions on the press and to admit independent election observers into the country immediately.
The observers would report on March 1 to CMAG, which would then make recommendations to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that begins in Queensland the next day.
Mr Downer said Australia hoped to be part of the Commonwealth observing team which could reach up to 50 members while the EU and the Southern African Development Community would take the total figure to several hundred.
In Canberra, Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said the Commonwealth's decision not to suspend Zimbabwe or impose sanctions was partly because of Mr Downer's failure to drum up support for the moves in Africa beforehand.
Mr Rudd backed Mr Downer's belief that Australia should consider targeted sanctions.