Britain complains about treatment of journalist

Britain lodged a formal complaint on Monday about Zimbabwe's treatment of a BBC reporter who has left Harare, fearing violence against his family, AP said on Tuesday. Reports said that Foreign Office Minister Brian Wilson called in Zimbabwe High Commissioner Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and told him that Britain was "extremely concerned" about the treatment meted out to journalists, particularly Joseph Winter, the BBC correspondent.

"I reminded the high commissioner that scenes like this do Zimbabwe no favours in the eyes of the world," Wilson was quoted as saying. "A free press is essential in any democracy, and the government of Zimbabwe cannot prevent the world from seeing what is happening there," he said. "I sought assurances that there would be no further removals from Zimbabwe." Wilson said he also used the meeting to voice concerns over government harassment of the judiciary and a bomb attack last month on the country's leading independent paper the 'Daily News'.

Meanwhile, Information and Publicity Minister, Jonathan Moyo was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the Zimbabwean government owed no apology for expelling Winters and Mercedes Sayagues of South Africa's Mail & Guardian. Moyo said the government was not afraid of the threat of being blackmailed with bad publicity arising from these incidents. "We don't govern according to papers without credibility." He said: "This is part of the civilised world."