Harare — PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's threats to pull out of the Commonwealth have been roundly condemned by critics who say the country should comply with the grouping of former British colonies' principles of democracy.

Analysts described President Mugabe's threats as "brinkmanship", saying it was hypocritical of him to begin trashing the ideals and principles of good governance that he helped craft before falling out with the grouping.

"The President cannot ask the Commonwealth to let him keep his 'sovereignty' when in other words he is asking for freedom to oppress his people, to steal the ballot and to batter the economy," said political analyst Alois Masepe. "We are behaving like spoilt brats by saying if we cannot have the toy, then no one else should have it. It is because of our misbehaviour that we got suspended from the Commonwealth."

Last week, President Mugabe suggested that Zimbabwe could pull out of the Commonwealth instead of surrendering its sovereignty to the whims of the white members of the 54-nation Club who are opposed to the country's land reform programme.

"If our sovereignty is what we have to lose to be re-admitted into the Commonwealth, well, we will have to say goodbye to the Commonwealth and perhaps time has come for us to say so," President Mugabe said during his graveside speech at the burial of the late former deputy minister of Political Affairs Norman Zikhali.

President Mugabe's outburst came as it dawned upon the country that indeed Zimbabwe had been excluded from the four-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) starting in Abuja, Nigeria tomorrow.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Club of mostly former British colonies in March last year shortly after President Mugabe was controversially re-elected in a poll that the Commonwealth and European observer missions said was not free and fair.

The suspension was extended this year.

President Mugabe has angrily reacted to the suspension, accusing members of the "white Commonwealth"- Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand - of abusing their influence in an attempt to reverse his controversial land reform.

"It is not the Commonwealth that is in trouble, but Zimbabwe, so even if Zimbabwe would decide to quit because someone does not want to comply with the rules of the Commonwealth, that will not solve any problem," Masepe said.

University of Zimbabwe law lecturer and National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku said the decision to pull out of the Commonwealth might benefit President Mugabe, not ordinary citizens.

"He should not use the term 'we' because it is only himself who might benefit from that move in that it may take away a lot of the international scrutiny he is receiving, but ordinary individuals will not benefit from the withdrawal," Madhuku said. "There are a lot of benefits that ordinary Zimbabweans get simply because the country is a member of the Commonwealth . . . things like scholarships, grants and exchange programmes."

Madhuku himself is a beneficiary of the Commonwealth scholarship programme.

"This is not a wise thing to do," said Heneri Dzinotyiwei, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Integrated Programme and a University of Zimbabwe lecturer. "We don't have to be necessarily hostile to any group, including the Commonwealth."

He said although Zimbabweans themselves have a bigger role to play in resolving the crisis facing the country, the international community still has a major role to play, most importantly in bringing the two main political factions - ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change - to a negotiated settlement.

Masepe added that when countries like Pakistan fell short of the Club's standards, they were suspended, and Zimbabwe agreed to the suspension and the same standards should also apply to the southern African country.

"If they start saying the Commonwealth is a useless group now, then someone would have to explain why the country has over the past 23 years been wasting money on people flying around the world to attend meetings of a useless body," Masepe said. "It cannot suddenly be a useless body because we are not in compliance with laid-down rules."

The exclusion of Zimbabwe from the December 5-8 CHOGM has threatened to split the Commonwealth, which is already riven by deep-seated mistrusts.

The analysts said it was difficult to predict what effect last week's eleventh hour announcement by Sri Lanka that it was sponsoring its ex-foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in the campaign to upstage Don McKinnon as Commonwealth secretary-general would have on the organisation.

Harare authorities loathe McKinnon, whom they view as the person at the forefront in the campaign for Zimbabwe's continued suspension.

"He (Kadirgamar) might be a bit late but depending on what issues he is basing his campaign , he might get some Third World countries to vote for him and people like Mugabe might benefit," Madhuku said.

Dzinotyiwei said although it is not known how much ground work the Sri Lankan diplomat has covered in canvassing for votes, he still stood a chance because the incumbent, McKinnon, who is hoping for another four-year term, is now widely viewed as partisan.

"We don't know how competent the Sri Lankan is but I think anyone who is not partial would be attractive," Dzinotyiwei said. "The secretary-general should always aim at not being viewed as partisan, but the incumbent has not been able to do so, especially on the issue of Zimbabwe and this is why some member states may decide to vote against him."

Last week, the international news agency Reuters quoted some diplomatic sources saying South Africa, Zimbabwe's neigh-bour, which has been pushing for Harare's re-admission into the Club, was behind Kadirgamar's candidature.

"The Sri Lankans have sent letters to governments promoting his (Kadirgamar) candidature. We believe South Africa is behind it," Reuters quoted a source as saying. "This is Zimbabwe, once again coming to the fore, and causing quite a bit of havoc."

British Secretary for International Development Hilary Benn said this week that the former colonial master will urge other member states to keep the pressure on President Mugabe by maintaining the punitive suspension.

"It is important the Commonwealth maintains the position it has adopted because it is sending a very clear message about upholding values to which we all subscribe," Benn said.