US embassy awaits action on staff "beatings"

The United States embassy in Zimbabwe said on Monday it had no plans to reduce its presence in the country despite growing tension with the government. The latest incident came last week when US ambassador to Zimbabwe Joseph Sullivan was "summoned" to explain why embassy employees had travelled outside the capital without permission. On 15 November two US embassy employees, a UN field worker and a Zimbabwean citizen, were reportedly detained and interrogated on a farm north of Harare by a group of men who identified themselves as "war veterans". One of the US employees, a Zimbabwean, and the accompanying Zimbabwean citizen were beaten, and the assailants stole official and personal items, a US embassy statement said. The group had gone to assess the conditions of displaced farm workers. The US government immediately protested the incident and called for swift action to identify and arrest the perpetrators. But the government in turn said the group had violated a government order given to all diplomats to seek permission before travelling more than 40 km outside Harare. "Up until the meeting between Ambassador Sullivan and officials from the department of foreign affairs on 21 November, we were unaware that such an order existed. However, we have not and need not apologise for conducting normal activities in fulfilment of our diplomatic and humanitarian mission," US embassy spokesman Bruce Wharton told IRIN. Wharton said the government had not responded to the request for an investigation into the 15 November incident. The United States is also seeking answers from the government on the shooting of a US citizen in the eastern town of Mutare last week. Asked if the embassy was reassessing its diplomatic mission in the country, Wharton said there were "no plans to reduce the US presence in Zimbabwe". "We make a clear distinction between the government and the people of Zimbabwe. We will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to all Zimbabweans who need it," Wharton said. Relations between the two countries has soured in recent weeks following comments by US State Department official Mark Bellamy last month that America might have to take "very intrusive interventionist measures" to ensure food aid was delivered. Opposition groups and aid agencies have accused Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe of only allowing government-controlled emergency food aid to reach his own supporters.