SUSAN NJANJI, Harare | Sunday 1.00pm.
BRITAIN and its EU partners have discussed plans to evacuate Europeans from Zimbabwe in the event of a deterioration in the farm occupation crisis.
“We have discussed contingency plans [on evacuation] with other European countries,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said, saying they covered “a number of various scenarios and situations.” She declined to go into details of the secret evacuation measures, adding: “The less is known about this plan, the better it becomes efective.”
However, she stressed there was no question of the plan being put into action in the immediate future. Earlier, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported on its front page that British and EU officials had mapped out emergency escape routes for Europeans fleeing Zimbabwe through neighbouring Mozambique and South Africa.
The paper claimed that the BBC World Service would immediately start broadcasting evacuation messages in the event of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe intensifying his campaign of violence against white farmers and black opposition members. Meanwhile, the cancellation of the May Day celebrations at the weekend, is the second major national event to be called off in political violence-stricken Zimbabwe in 12 days. On April 18 the government cancelled the country’s independence anniversary festivities, and 12 days later, the labour movement has scrapped off its traditional May 1 celebrations.
It is the first time in 20 years since independence from Britain that the country has had to forego official celebrations for the two national events.
The government had decided not to organise the independence day celebrations, but to help thousands of villagers affected by floods caused by cyclonic rains in February in the south and eastern parts of the country bordering. The celebrations are normally attended by ruling ZANU-PF party faithful at a huge 60,000-seater stadium in the capital. — AFP