Zimbabwean foreign minister clashes with diplomats

By Violet Gonda
23 June 2006

In a clear sign of the strain in relations between the Zimbabwean government and the diplomatic community Western ambassadors are reported to have left a meeting on Wednesday "hugely disappointed" after clashes with top government officials.

The Zimbabwean Independent reported Friday that Mugabe’s attempts to build bridges with “imperialist nations” all but collapsed when Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi attacked foreign diplomats, particularly the Australian, for being racist.
It’s widely reported that United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was hoping to meet Robert Mugabe at the African Union summit in the Gambia next week to discuss the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe, But the Independent newspaper said the behaviour of the Zimbabwean Minister at the Wednesday meeting could add more strain to international efforts.

The special briefing was attended by Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, his ministry’s permanent secretary Joey Bimha, State Security and Land Reform minister Didymus Mutasa, Agriculture minister Joseph Made and Western ambassadors and UN representatives.
Mumbengegwi is said to have subjected Australian ambassador Jon Sheppard and other diplomats to a stinging 20-minute "rant and rave."

Problems apparently started over the issue of Zimbabwe’s controversial land reform programme. "Sheppard asked Mutasa, who was conducting the briefing at the time, if he could guarantee that all those affected by the land reform programme would have equal rights under the law."
Mutasa is said to have given a brief answer but Mumbengegwi reportedly launch a tirade against the Australians and angrily asked how Sheppard could dare ask such a question when he hailed from “one of the most racist countries in the world.”