- Title: AUSTRALIA: Australian government moves to cancel cricket tour to Zimbabwe
- Date: 12th May 2007
- Summary: (BN10) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (RECENT - MAY 3, 2007) (REUTERS) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER, JOHN HOWARD, WITH AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM CAPTAIN, RICKY PONTING, POSING WITH WORLD CUP TROPHY (3 SHOTS) HOWARD SITTING WITH PONTING
- Embargoed: 27th May 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Australia
- Country: Australia
- Topics: International Relations,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA3WJ7C1VU4A8BE3HGM9XHEP2FY
- Story Text: Australian Prime Minister John Howard compares Zimbabwe's regime to the Gestapo, as his government accelerates its bid to stop Cricket Australia from travelling to the country in September.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday (May 11) called for international cricket authorities to take a stand against Zimbabwe as he compared the brutal crackdown on political opponents by President Robert Mugabe to tactics used by Nazis.
Mugabe said: "The stories of torture and brutality, the names of 600 members of the opposition party being taken from a computer by the secret police and every one of those homes visited, the people tortured and bashed up and then told to go to South Africa and not to come back, and checks now being made subsequent to that outrage on those homes, that's the sort of thing the Gestapo did and you just can't tolerate that."
The Australian government is considering legal action to prevent the country's world champion cricket team from touring Zimbabwe in September.
Howard said he did not like the idea of banning the cricketers from going to Zimbabwe, but action had to be taken against Zimbabwe.
The Australian prime minister told Southern Cross Broadcasting: "I am jammed between my distaste for the government getting involved in something like this and my even greater distaste for giving a propaganda victory to Robert Mugabe."
Zimbabwe's ambassador to Australia, Stephen Chiketa, said politics had no place in sport: "For god sake, discuss your politics away from sports," Chiketa said. Commenting on Howard's remarks he said: "How can you make such a statement?"
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said a minimum 2 million U.S. dollar fine the team was liable to pay for scrapping its tour contract may not apply if the government intervened to bar the visit.
The government has offered to cover any resulting fine, but is concerned the money may end up in the hands of Mugabe or senior members of his government and security forces.
Downer met officials from Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) in Melbourne on Thursday (May 10) but they failed to reach an immediate agreement.
James Sutherland, CA chief executive told reporters after his meeting with Downer: "We understand that there are issues and public sentiment around it, but at the same time, from our perspective, we are a cricketing organisation with responsibilities."
Zimbabwean cricket has been in crisis for the past few years. The country is still recognised by the International Cricket Council, though the sport's ruling body has currently withdrawn its test status.
Countries that refuse to tour the African state can be sanctioned but Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill lodged a personal protest in 2004.
Shortly after his announcement, Australia's tour was cancelled and no fines were imposed. Later that year, England's planned tour of the country was also postponed after the ICC took away Zimbabwe's test status. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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