 |
Zimbabwe
Carter, Annan, Machel refused entry, meet Tsvangirai
Article published on the 2008-11-22 Latest update 2008-11-23 14:54 TU
Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan and Graca Machel
(Photo: AFP)
Former US President Jimmy Carter, former UN chief Kofi Annan and prominent African activist Graca Machel have been refused entry to Zimbabwe, because Harare judged them to be "partisan" in the country's power struggle. The three met opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Johannesburg after accusing President Robert Mugabe of not caring about his people's suffering.
An aide to Tsvangirai said that the three met the Movement for Democratic Change leader after being refused entry to Zimbabwe on a mission "to understand the humanitarian crisis".
The pro-government Zimbabwe Herald said that the visit had been deemed "a partisan mission by a group of people with partisan interests".
The three are members of the Elders, a group of 12 well-known figures with experience in conflict resolution which was formed by Machel and her current husband, Nelson Mandela, on his 89th birthday.
They said that their visit aimed to judge the effect of economic crisis, including record inflation and an 80 per cent poverty rate, on the population.
"To any rational human being trying to keep former statesmen out of the country is pure Stalinism," comments South African political scientist Alfred Stadler. "Does Mugabe think that by playing this kind of game he’s putting himself on some kind of equal footing with them?"
Machel is the widow of Mozambique's first president and liberation struggle leader, Samora Machel, Stadler told RFI.
"It's not as if she’s some sort of flat-footed buffoon who marches in defending people, she’s the epitome of diplomatic skill and grace," he says.
Comment: South African political scientist Alfred Stadler
