Commonwealth meeting on Zimbabwe

Commonwealth foreign ministers have decided not to recommend Zimbabwe's suspension from the 54-member organization.

Britain called for the suspension because of President Robert Mugabe's crackdown on political opposition and the media. But the Commonwealth's secretary-general, Don McKinnon, says cutting Zimbabwe off would leave the international community with less influence over President Mugabe.

In a statement, the eight ministers expressed deep concern about continued violence, political intimidation and actions against media freedom in Zimbabwe. They demanded an immediate end to the violence and intimidation and called for all parties in Zimbabwe's upcoming presidential elections in March to be allowed to campaign freely.

They also said international observers should be sent to Zimbabwe to monitor the elections.

The ministerial meeting on Zimbabwe is to report to a summit of Commonwealth leaders in Australia, just days before the March elections.

Meanwhile, police in Harare have arrested three journalists among 80 demonstrating outside the Zimbabwean parliament against a proposed law that would tighten controls on the media. A police spokesman says the three are being charged with holding an illegal gathering likely to breach the peace.

The proposed media bill would require journalists to be accredited by the government and would prevent foreigners from working full time as correspondents in Zimbabwe. The government introduced a slightly softened version of the bill late Wednesday that would still impose prison terms on those who broke the law.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.

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