But they were told Friday night by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating the political crisis, that efforts to secure travel visas for the group had failed, Carter told reporters at a news conference in Johannesburg.
"We are very disappointed that the government of Zimbabwe would not permit us to come in, would not cooperate," Carter said.
It was the first time the 2002 Nobel Peace laureate has been denied permission to carry out a mission in any country, he said.
Annan, also at the news conference, said no official reason had been given for the refusal. He said they read about it in Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper, which reported Thursday that the group had been asked to "come at a later date" to accommodate the crop planting season. The article also said, however, that the group was seen as antagonistic toward Zimbabwe's government.
Government officials in Harare could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.
The Elders humanitarian group, formed by Mandela, said the trip was entirely separate from regional attempts to get Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his rivals to implement a power-sharing agreement stalled since September. The opposition accuses Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980 and seen as increasingly autocratic, of trying to hold onto the most powerful Cabinet posts.
The political impasse has left Zimbabwe without leadership as its economy collapses. The consequences are deadly
- lack of cash to buy spare parts for and maintain water and sewer systems, for example, has led to a cholera outbreak in Harare, where the disease had until recent years not been a killer.
