Group's Zimbabwe mission still on

JOHANNESBURG - Former US president Jimmy Carter and others are pressing ahead with a humanitarian mission to Zimbabwe, though the state newspaper in the troubled southern African country signaled yesterday they are unwelcome.

The Elders, a group formed by former South African president Nelson Mandela, last week had announced plans to visit Zimbabwe.

After a story in Zimbabwe's state-run Herald yesterday about the visit headlined "come at a later date," the group reiterated its plans, without directly addressing the newspaper story.

Also taking part in the two-day visit starting tomorrow are former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Graca Machel, an international advocate for women's and children's rights who is married to Mandela.

The Herald quoted an unnamed source as calling Annan "openly critical of [Zimbabwean] President [Robert] Mugabe and his administration."

An Elders spokeswoman added only that The Elders had requested a meeting with Mugabe but had yet to receive a formal response.

Annan stressed in a statement that the visit was separate from a regional attempt to get Mugabe and his rivals to implement a power-sharing agreement that has been stalled since it was signed in September.

The opposition accuses Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980 and seen as increasingly autocratic, of trying to hold on to the key Cabinet posts. The political deadlock has left Zimbabweans stalked by disease and hunger virtually without a government as their economy collapses.

While the Elders' visit was strictly humanitarian, "we urge Zimbabwe's political leaders to move swiftly to fully implement the 15 September agreement, particularly the provisions on humanitarian and food assistance," Annan said.

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said during a visit to Berlin yesterday that he and Mugabe need to form a government within two months in order to stave off a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Tsvangirai said he fears that hunger and frustration, along with the continued dismantling of services such as schools and hospitals, could fuel unrest or violence if a legitimate government does not step in.

Tsvangirai came first in a field of four in a first round of presidential voting in March. But according to official results, he did not gain enough votes to avoid a runoff against second-place finisher Mugabe.

Tsvangirai withdrew from the June 27 runoff because of attacks on his supporters.

The US ambassador to Zimbabwe, meanwhile, said yesterday that Mugabe's grip on power "may actually be stronger than it was this time last year."

US Ambassador James McGee, speaking to reporters in Washington by videoconference from Harare, said that Mugabe has bolstered his power through a political patronage system that he has maintained despite dire financial and health conditions.