Former US president Jimmy Carter said on Monday that the crisis in Zimbabwe appeared “much worse than anything we ever imagined” after the government there blocked his weekend humanitarian visit.
Carter, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and child advocate Graca Machel called for southern African leaders to halt the “deep suffering” in Zimbabwe, where the UN says more than 5 million people face imminent starvation.
The president of neighboring South Africa, meanwhile, warned Zimbabwe “may implode and collapse,” as he announced a new round of talks to try to resolve the political impasse.
His comments, some of the strongest yet by South Africa, come as a cholera epidemic has killed hundreds of Zimbabweans and spilled across the border into South Africa. Officials say Zimbabwe’s political and economic collapse caused the outbreak.
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and the leader of the country’s ruling party, Jacob Zuma, expressed grave concern at Zimbabwe’s deepening humanitarian crisis after meeting with Carter, Annan and Machel.
The three are part of a group called The Elders that was formed by former South African president Nelson Mandela to help foster peace.
Machel said other southern African nations should follow the example of South Africa, which last week announced it was withholding 30 million rand (US$3.3 million) in agricultural aid to Zimbabwe until the government and opposition form a unity government.
Zimbabwe has been in political deadlock since opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March presidential election but not enough to avoid a runoff. President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since independence in 1980, claimed victory in the June runoff after Tsvangirai dropped out over violence aimed at his supporters.
The two agreed in September to share power but the talks have stalled over the allocation of Cabinet posts, with the opposition accusing Mugabe of trying to hold onto key positions.
Mediation led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki was to resume yesterday in South Africa and center on a constitutional amendment to allow a power-sharing government, Motlanthe said.
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