Zimbabwe threatens expulsion of Western diplomats

Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Simearashe Mbengegwi today summoned Western diplomats and read them a terse statement that said Zimbabwe would not hesitate to expel them from the country if they gave financial or diplomatic support to government opponents.

US Ambassador Christopher Dell, an outspoken critic of Zimbabwe’s human rights record, walked out on the meeting after the foreign minister said he would not respond to any questions, diplomats said.

The foreign minister, acting on instructions from President Robert Mugabe, told the Western diplomats that the Vienna Convention governing diplomatic behaviour prohibited foreign embassies from involving themselves in the internal affairs of the host nation.

He said Zimbabwe would not hesitate to use provision allowing them to expel diplomats.

The foreign minister also said Zimbabwe had been stretched to the limit by their alleged financial and diplomatic support for the opposition.

He said Western embassies had over-stretched their competence by offering food and water to opposition activists jailed last week.

Opposition activists, including main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, alleged they were savagely beaten by police after their arrest at a prayer meeting.