Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Carter, Annan denied entry to Zimbabwe

(The Sydney Morning Herald)

Former US president Jimmy Carter accused Zimbabwe’s government Saturday of being “immune” to the hardships of its people as he and ex-UN chief Kofi Annan were denied entry on a humanitarian mission.

Harare objected to the visit by the former world leaders and human rights activist Graca Machel — the wife of ex-South African president Nelson Mandela — saying it was aimed at boosting the opposition in power-sharing talks.

“We’ve been told by a senior official here that they felt our presence may interfere with the political negotiations,” Annan told a joint press conference in Johannesburg.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have yet to form a unity government, despite several failed attempts by regional leaders to force the implementation of a September 15 accord.

The Herald newspaper, a Zimbabwe government mouthpiece, had denounced their trip earlier this week, saying: “The visit has been deemed a partisan mission by a group of people with partisan interests.”

Annan said such accusations were false and insisted their mission was purely to assess the humanitarian needs of the country.

“We have made it clear we are not here to get involved in the political process,” he said.

Annan, Carter and Machel are members of the Elders: a group of 12 world-respected statesmen with experience in conflict resolution that was formed last year by Machel and Mandela on his 89th birthday.

“We are very disappointed that the government of Zimbabwe will not permit us to come in and will not cooperate,” Carter said, adding that it was the first time he had ever been refused a visa.

“We applied for visas several weeks ago and I was informed by the ambassador of Zimbabwe in Washington that they will not be issued at that time.”

He said they had considered travelling to Harare regardless and applying for a visa on arrival but had been told on Friday night by a “very high official” that such an arrangement was not possible.

“It is obvious the government is determined to prevent our entry in Zimbabwe,” said Carter, adding that Mugabe’s regime was “immune to reaching out for help for their own people.”

Zimbabwe’s economy has been in free-fall for years, leaving 80 percent of the population in poverty and nearly half the country in need of emergency food aid by January, according to the United Nations.

The country suffers the world’s highest inflation rate, last estimated at 231 million percent in July, causing a breakdown in water and sanitation that has sparked an outbreak of cholera that has killed 294 people in recent weeks, according to the US ambassador.

Western nations have said they are ready to release hundreds of millions of US dollars in aid, but not while Mugabe retains his sole grip on power.

“Our role is to raise the international attention to the crisis,” said Machel. “We want the people of Zimbabwe to know that we care.”

“People are dying from hunger every day in Zimbabwe and hospitals are unable to treat the sick. With schools struggling to stay open, children are missing out on an education.”

Machel said it was the second time Harare had refused to give her a visa, after barring a visit in July with a group of African women.

Annan vowed to continue their efforts which he said had the widespread support of Zimbabwe’s neighbours.

“Prior to coming here I have spoken to many regional leaders who are all extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe and who were supportive of our initative.

“We are going to work from here… we are not going to be stopped,” he said.

In a sign that regional powers were getting tougher on the issue, South Africa said Thursday it would hold back nearly 30 million US dollars of aid to Zimbabwe until a new government is formed.

South Africa is due to host a fresh round of talks next week under former president Thabo Mbeki, who brokered Zimbabwe’s power-sharing deal more than two months ago.

Tsvangirai won the most votes in March’s presidential election but fell short of an outright majority after his Movement for Democratic Change became the largest party in parliament for the first time.

He pulled out of a run-off against Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe non-stop since independence from Britain in 1980, accusing the 84-year-old of orchestrating attacks against his opposition supporters.

Amnesty International says the violence has left 180 dead and 9,000 injured.