Zimbabwe leave Commonwealth

Barnaby Mason: The dispute over Zimbabwe has dominated the summit. Many countries resent the amount of time it's taken up, but others stressed the vital importance of insisting on Commonwealth standards of democracy. The New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, denied that Zimbabwe's withdrawal was a disaster for the Commonwealth. The disaster would have been to lift the suspension, she said; that would have shown the Commonwealth to be a joke. On the other side of the argument, President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique said the Commonwealth decision had pushed Zimbabwe to leave and could have been avoided. He also complained that the organisation had acted undemocratically itself last March, when the suspension was left in place beyond the original twelve months. But Mr Chissano said he respected the views of others in the Commonwealth and didn't think the episode should bring about enmity between member states. VOCABULARY Commonwealth - Společenství národů Commonwealth to resent the amount of time it's taken up - odmítat, nesouhlasit s tím, kolik času je debata stála to be a joke - být pro smích on the other side of the argument - na opačném pólu the organisation had acted undemocratically - organizace se chovala nedemokraticky to bring about enmity - zasét sémě nepřátelství