UK regret over sanctions delay

Blair has been pushing for strong action against Zimbabwe

COOLUM, Australia -- Britain has expressed disappointment that Zimbabwe has escaped censure from the Commonwealth group of nations.

Prime Minister Tony Blair had wanted sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe after reports of intimidation and violence by President Robert Mugabe's supporters in the run-up to a presidential election this weekend.

But the Commonwealth summit, in Coolum, Australia, decided to postpone any action until after the poll.

Commonwealth observers are in Zimbabwe and will report on whether the poll is free and fair before a decision is taken on sanctions against Zimbabwe.

A group of three leaders -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo -- will jointly decide what course of action to take on Zimbabwe in consultation with Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon.

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Blair told reporters on Monday: "We have postponed the day of judgment in a sense on Zimbabwe and I think that was the wrong thing to do. We should have taken action now.

"But we have at least the possibility of a mechanism in place to suspend Zimbabwe, to take really tough action, if Mugabe ends up the victor in a rigged election through violence and intimidation."

Once the observers' report is received the Commonwealth will have a full range of potential sanctions to hand "from collective disapproval to suspension."

Blair said he had no doubt the report would be adverse and that the three leaders would be called on to decide how to deal with Zimbabwe.

"If the Commonwealth observers do their job -- and I have no doubt at all that they will find that violence and intimidation have taken place -- people would expect the Commonwealth to act.

The three-man committee is a compromise between countries such as Britain and Australia, which wanted sanctions, and the mainly African nations, which were opposed to immediate action.

Blair and Mugabe have been involved in a war of words during the Zimbabwe election campaign.

Blair has accused Mugabe of being afraid of a free and fair election and Mugabe insisting the former colonial power should not interfere with Zimbabwe's domestic politics.

Mugabe, who has been in power for 22 years, is facing a tough challenge from the Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

The MDC has made repeated allegations of violence and intimidation of its supporters by followers of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.