South Africa announced yesterday it is to mount a special mission to Baghdad in a last-ditch attempt to persuade Saddam Hussein to prevent war by revealing his alleged weapons of mass destruction.
The mission, which will leave ”within days”, will sweeten the deal with a promise that weapons disclosure will enable President Saddam to remain in power.
Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, discussed the mission with Tony Blair at Downing Street at the weekend. No 10 confirmed yesterday that the leaders had discussed Iraq but would not give details.
The South African government, which chairs the Non-Aligned Movement and the new African Union, is concerned about the negative impact war might have on developing countries, especially a fear that their sovereign boundaries will no longer be respected.
The mission will be led by a special envoy, Aziz Pahad, the South African deputy foreign minister. He visited Iraq in November to urge it to accept UN weapons inspectors unconditionally. He said yesterday that he hoped to meet President Saddam in person to persuade him to cooperate actively with UN inspectors.
”[The Americans] say they want the Iraqis to declare what weapons they have, while the Iraqis say the inspectors must discover them for themselves,” he said. ”We will try once again to urge them to try to cooperate as fully as is necessary.” – Guardian Unlimited Â