A staunch critic of the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe, Australian
Prime Minister John Howard said his government would take whatever legitimate
action it takes to scrap the national cricket team's tour of the trouble-torn
African nation.
Howard said the government was exploring legal ways to cancel the tour without
incurring the two million dollar fine, which, Howard feared, would end up with
the Mugabe regime.
The Prime Minister admitted there was no clear legal provision on whether the
government could instruct the team to abandon the tour, an idea he was not very
fond of.
"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," he told a local radio channel here.
"Obviously if there is a way legitimately that the tour can be cancelled
and there not be an exposure by Cricket Australia to any fine, then we'll
go down that path," he said.
He also urged the cricket community to stop touring Zimbabwe.
"I think the International Cricket Council has responsibilities,
yes. But they're like any other body - they're answerable to their constituent
members.
"Now, I think there is some evidence emerging that even
in those countries that would be very reluctant to see the ICC do anything,
that something ought to happen," he said.
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