Replies

Hope stirs for Zimbabwe breakthrough (Really?)*** I haven't asked for a meeting with President Mugabe. I asked him [Mudenge] to give me an update of where they were and they believe that a lot of the land issues will be settled before the end of the year," he said. McKinnon also held talks with about a dozen African leaders who were feeling the spillover effect of the Zimbabwean crisis. "They all said the same thing - that it is time to normalise things and that they believe that there is a desire for that in Zimbabwe as well," McKinnon said. Obasanjo described his talks with Mugabe as constructive. "I met with Mugabe for almost an hour. We had the meeting in an atmosphere we hadn't had since London [where the decision to suspend Zimbabwe was taken]. It was something very good," Obasanjo said. "We are making progress. It may not be as fast as we like, but we are making progress."

Obasanjo has also briefed United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan on his meeting with Mugabe. "He was so heartened that he wanted to meet Mugabe," said Obasanjo. Mbeki did not discuss the crisis with Mugabe this week. There has been a cooling of relations between the two leaders since a confidential letter Mbeki sent to Mugabe urging him back to the negotiating table was leaked to Zimbabwe's state-owned press. McKinnon said it was not clear what steps Obasanjo and Mbeki would take next. "They want to keep that very much to themselves but they want to keep up the dialogue with President Mugabe, obviously, and try and normalise things." ***

Sunday Times of South Africa - Dec 30, 2001 - Annus horribilis as Aids and terrorism wreak tragedy