Claiming it has been subjected to "racist humiliation," Zimbabwe officially informed the Commonwealth that it was quitting the organization of Britain and its former colonies, news reports said Saturday.
The pro-government Herald newspaper reported that Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge had written Friday to Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon informing him of the move, which took effect on Dec. 7.
Referring to the 54-nation bloc as a "club," Mudenge wrote "the principles of equality, fair play and respect for the national sovereignty of member states ... have sadly been compromised."
He said the government had decided to leave the bloc because of "threats to its cherished and hard won independence and sovereignty".
The southern African nation would rather quit the Common-wealth than to "continue to subject itself to such racist humiliation, arbitrariness and arrogance," he wrote.
Zimbabwe first announced its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth hours after the organization decided at a summit meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Dec. 7, to extend its 18-month suspension of the nation for alleged widespread abuses of civil liberties by the government of President Robert Mugabe.
The dispute over Zimbabwe split Western and developing members of the Commonwealth. Leaders of Western nations blamed Mugabe's government for Zimbabwe's growing international isolation.
But some African and Caribbean leaders wanted Zimbabwe reinstated, saying a chance to engage Mugabe's government to bring about democratic and human rights reforms had been lost by extending the suspension.
The Commonwealth has banned Zimbabwe from its decision-making councils since last year, after Mugabe was accused of using massive force and fraud to win re-election and continue his more than two-decade rule.
Mugabe's government has also come under criticism from Western governments and human rights advocates for a campaign of expelling white farmers and brutalizing the largely black opposition.
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