US to deport Zimbabwe officials' children

CHRISTOPHER DELL

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By Staff Reporter

CONTROVERSIAL United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell left the country on Saturday headed for his new post in Afghanistan, but not before kicking off a new storm.

Dell -- who passed on the opportunity of a customary final meeting to bid President Robert Mugabe farewell – declared that the US government was preparing new measures that would see the deportation of dozens of individuals connected with Zimbabwe’s ruling elite.

The plan, which Dell said was at an “advanced stage”, could see dozens of Zimbabwe government officials’ children studying at US universities being forced to discontinue their studies before the end of the year.

The move is aimed at building pressure on the Zimbabwe government to reform, Dell said.

The US and its European Union allies have maintained targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his inner circle since 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Dell said: “It will happen this year. Watch out in the next few weeks.”

The envoy, who was speaking in an interview with a Sunday newspaper, added: “It’s a decision the President (George Bush) has to make. It requires the Presidential power of a proclamation.”

If the move succeeds, it would be the sting in the tail that the envoy delivers against Mugabe’s regime after a tumultuous three years during which he was threatened with deportation by the Zimbabwe government over his consistent criticism of Mugabe’s policies.

Dell has claimed that Mugabe’s government will collapse within the next six months, weighed down by an irreversible economic collapse. But Zimbabwean officials accuse the US and British governments of imposing sanctions and sponsoring the opposition in a move aimed at overthrowing Mugabe’s government.

Speaking just before leaving Zimbabwe, Dell insisted "things will change soon."

State television showed its news crew pursuing Dell through the Harare airport complex on Saturday.

Dell told the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s (ZBC) diplomatic correspondent Judith Makwanya that he urged Zimbabweans to "keep the faith. Things will change soon."

The ZBC said Dell's mission to bring down Mugabe was left unaccomplished and he left the country a humiliated man.

Zimbabweans are bracing themselves for another week of economic strife as Western governments warned their nationals against travelling to the southern African nation and urged those already there to avoid visiting the countryside and tourist attractions.

Price cuts of at least 50 percent ordered by the government on June 26 in an attempt to curb rampant inflation have led to acute food shortages and near riots as cheaper goods went on sale.

Orders to slash the price of gasoline to less than half the import cost saw buses taken out of service and chaos on commuter routes is expected to worsen at the start of the working week Monday.

The United States warned of state-sponsored violence and said the price crackdown raised security concerns.

In a July 12 advisory, the US State Department asked Americans in Zimbabwe to minimize travel and, where practical, avoid public places and gatherings.

"In light of current circumstances, U.S. citizens are advised to consider the risk before travelling to Zimbabwe at this time," the advisory said.

An Australian government advisory issued Wednesday said rapidly worsening economic conditions could lead to civil unrest "at any time," affecting visitors to the famed northwestern Victoria Falls resort and nature preserves.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs warned some 700 of its nationals living and working in Zimbabwe that the security situation could "deteriorate quickly and without warning."

It said in the absence of the rule of law there was a high level of criminal activity and economic conditions could lead to civil unrest. - Staff Reporter/AP

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