Embassies mull evacuation

Foreign diplomats based in Zimbabwe were expected on Thursday to hold emergency talks with the government on their safety and security as several foreign missions consider contingency plans to evacuate their nationals should Zimbabwe’s political crisis worsen, the ‘Financial Gazette’ said. The report said that envoys had last week asked Palestinian ambassador Ali Halimeh, the dean of diplomatic corps in Zimbabwe, to urgently meet foreign ministry permanent secretary Willard Chiwewe over what they said was Harare’s violation of the Vienna Convention that protects diplomatic missions. “The meeting was supposed to have taken place last Monday but could not happen, presumably because of the death of Employment Creation Minister Border Gezi,” one ambassador was quoted as saying. The report added that the envoys were also taking urgent measures to ensure their safety should Zimbabwe’s burgeoning political crisis explode. “Following the threat by Chenjerai Hunzvi, we have improved security measures at the embassy,” the ambassador said. “We are also reviewing our emergency evacuation and improving on our state of alert and preparedness to evacuate all our people should anything happen.” Pro-government militias, which claim to be veterans of Zimbabwe’s independence war, last week threatened to attack foreign missions they perceived to be backing the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).