By Tererai Karimakwenda
06 July 2005

A two-member delegation of the United States Congress has visited Zimbabwe to assess whether the US could review its policy towards Harare. But they've said it is highly unlikely Washington will soften its stance towards the country. The Zimonline news site reports that the US team were "astounded" by the suffering Robert Mugabe was inflicting on poor urban families. They said it would be difficult for relations to return to normal given what they called this "cruel and self-destructive" campaign.

Delegates Pearl Alice Marsh and Gregory Simpkins are both professional staff members of the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee (HIRC). They advise the key foreign relations committee and members of Congress on Africa, and their statements can influence US policy.

On Monday they met intelligence minister Didymus Mutasa and were scheduled to meet Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono. They also went to Bulawayo, where many families have been displaced by the 'cleanup' operation. Simpkins said Congress had started to change its stance towards Harare after the general election last March, which was deemed violence-free although disputed. But the cleanup operation has tainted their view of the Mugabe regime's desire to restore order.

The US delegation left Zimbabwe Wednesday for South Africa. After they report back to Congress, pressure for change is likely to increase.