Harare quiet as war veterans back off

Zimbabwe’s capital was reported quiet on Monday as self-styled war veterans and ZANU-PF supporters appeared to be in retreat. “It’s much calmer here compared to last week,” Steve Omollo, Disaster Preparedness Delegate with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Harare told IRIN. President Robert Mugabe’s regime has been backing off from its threat to withdraw protection from diplomats after unprecedented international outrage. Chenjerai Hunzvi, fiery leader of the war veterans was quoted last Thursday by the ‘Financial Gazette’ as saying that embassies and foreign NGOs that supported the opposition would be next on his hit-list. A statement from the Zimbabwe foreign ministry issued within hours of the Financial Gazette report said that diplomats and aid agency staff who backed the regime’s opponents “may not hope to receive assistance” from the government. Britain said on Thursday that it viewed the threats in a very serious light. But the statement has yet to be published in the state press, indicating that the government may have got cold feet in the wake of international concern. Events over the weekend supported the notion that ZANU-PF may have realised it had gone too far. Hunzvi backtracked from his bellicose remarks, reportedly appearing on state television on Sunday to deny his statement. A day earlier, Joseph Chinotimba, who has led a six-week campaign of often violent invasions of private companies, was quoted in the state-controlled ‘Herald’ as saying he had instructed his war veterans “to stop interfering” with private companies. Omollo said that the IFRC, along with other foreign NGOs, was meeting foreign ministry officials on Monday afternoon in order to obtain assurances that the attacks would stop. The IFRC office in the capital was targeted by aggressive war veterans last week, ostensibly to settle a labour dispute. “We don’t know why the vets came here, someone was dismissed a long time ago for misconduct, but all the proper channels were followed,” Omollo added. Analysts told IRIN that the retractions and the blotting out of the foreign ministry threat were probably ordered by Mugabe, who appears to be in direct control of the militias. During the last six weeks of raids on hundreds of private companies, many of them foreign owned, as well as on foreign aid agencies, militants have declared they take orders only from Mugabe. Ben Magaiza, CEO of the Harare Chamber of Commerce, told IRIN that from what he knew, there had been a significant reduction in the number attacks on companies since Friday. “Someone high up has told the vets to back off for now, but it doesn’t mean we’re out of this yet,” he said. On Friday, SAPA reported that a mob was about to collect Zimbabwe Z$5-million (about US $65,000) in extortion from the local subsidiary of Dutch multinational Philips, when officers of Mugabe’s secret police intervened and told the company not to pay. Zimbabwe was plunged into full-scale international disrepute last week over the foreign ministry threat and the attacks on private companies, with Harare’s diplomatic representatives in Britain, South Africa and Germany summoned for angrily worded protests from the host governments. Britain on Monday warned its citizens living in or travelling to Zimbabwe to “exercise caution” following attacks on foreign embassies and businesses there.