Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan and Graca Machel in Johannesburg yesterday.Photograph: Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images
Mugabe Bars Door To Top-Level Humanitarian
Mission -- The Guardian
Mission -- The Guardian
Carter, Annan and Machel denied visas as cholera epidemic drives Zimbabweans into South Africa
In a new show of disdain for the outside world, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe blocked a fact-finding mission to his country yesterday by three senior international figures, including former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former American President Jimmy Carter.
The move came as South Africa called for urgent help from the World Health Organisation to handle a massive new influx of Zimbabweans crossing the border to flee a cholera epidemic that has infected 6,000 people and killed 300.
At a hastily convened press conference in Johannesburg, Annan said the delegation - also including Nelson Mandela's wife, Graça Machel - had been informed that they would not be granted visas on arrival in the capital, Harare. 'We need no red carpet treatment from the government of Zimbabwe,' said Annan. 'We seek no permission other than to help the desperate. We had to cancel our visit, which was humanitarian in nature, because the government made it very clear that they will not co-operate.'
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My Comment: One can always count on Robert Mugabe acting like Robert Mugabe. I am not surprised that he is too ashamed to meet these international figures. In the meantime the suffering and horrid conditions for millions of Zimbabweans is destabilizing the entire Southern African continent.