Britain’s Kinnock Steaming Over Pointed Welcome in Zimbabwe
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MUTARE, Zimbabwe — British opposition leader Neil Kinnock, his wife Glenys and several aides were detained at gunpoint by a Zimbabwean soldier when they arrived here Sunday.
No officials were on hand to meet Kinnock and his party when they arrived at Mutare airport on a flight from Mozambique. A Zimbabwean soldier, armed with an AK-47 and apparently unsure of what to do with his visitors, become involved in an argument with Kinnock. After swearing at the Labor Party leader, the soldier herded the visitors into the airport terminal.
The Kinnock party kept up their spirits in the tiny building with a rousing version of the hymn “Jerusalem.”
The Kinnocks were allowed to continue their journey after a one-hour delay when the official welcoming party finally arrived and apologized for the incident.
Kinnock later described himself as “steaming” over the soldier’s rudeness.
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