By John Chola - 13/08/09
Former President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda and former Prime Minster of Australia Malcolm Fraser wants Zimbabwe welcomed back into the Commonwealth family.
The two former leaders have urged the Commonwealth to engage proactively with the new Zimbabwean government.
The two were speaking at a Commonwealth summit in Lusaka.
Fraser has described Zimbabwe as one of the Commonwealth’s greatest successes as well as its greatest failures.
Dr. Kaunda said that the road to recovery that the world is now witnessing in Zimbabwe shows that she belongs to the Commonwealth.
Kaunda and Fraser have told the Royal Commonwealth Society that the Commonwealth can achieve great things if only leaders can make better use of it and take it seriously as a forum to enact change.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) took place in Lusaka 30 years ago this week in August 1979.
The Summit paved the way for Rhodesian independence.
The Summit is viewed as a turning point in the history of southern Africa and a defining moment in the life of the Commonwealth.
It was after a two day retreat at the historic meeting that leaders emerged with a commitment to genuine majority rule in Rhodesia and a promise from British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, to hold a London conference – Lancaster House – that led to Zimbabwean independence in 1980.
The Lusaka Declaration on Racism and Racial Prejudice was a clarion call to equality, and remains a fundamental Commonwealth document today.
Fraser was Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983.
Dr. Kaunda was President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991.
Ends.
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