Zimbabwe: Dare wasn't threatened
Posted: Wednesday, April 11, 2007By David Samuriwo, The Herald
April 11, 2007
THE American and British governments' penchant for fomenting diplomatic rows knows no bounds. To this end, Ricketts thought it wise to dwell on the alleged threat to Dare's life ignoring the revelations of covert financial support his government is channelling to its embassy to back the opposition's attempts at unconstitutional regime change.
REPORTS that the British government last week summoned Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Cde Gabriel Machinga, to protest against an article that appeared on the opinion page in The Herald were hardly surprising.
For the benefit of readers who missed my article titled "Dare's anti-Zimbabwe media campaign misguided" (The Herald, April 3, 2007), I merely stated that should Gillian Dare, a political officer at the British Embassy in Harare, continue with her undiplomatic activities, she is bound to land herself in serious trouble.
I also warned that should she continue with her nefarious activities that are taboo in diplomatic circles, such as hopping from one police station to another trying to locate and identify arrested MDC hooligans, she might be caught in the crossfire and end up in a body bag.
Personally, I will not shed any tears, and as I stated, it would be a sad day to her family if ever she were to arrive at Heathrow Airport safely stashed in the baggage compartment instead of her usual first-class reservation.
There is absolutely no reason for Dare to get excited and start playing night nurse to arrested suspects who are helping the police with investigations.
Let the law take its course for goodness sake Gillian!
The American and British governments' penchant for fomenting diplomatic rows knows no bounds. It is very possible they might want to pull this one on you and point accusing fingers on the Government of Zimbabwe. So, be warned if I may repeat the obvious.
If the above could be described as a threat to her life, then the Geneva Conventions on diplomatic behaviour are, indeed, outdated and in need of urgent redefinition, modification and adoption by the United Nations.
The complaint lodged to Zimbabwe, through its ambassador, Cde Machinga, by the Under Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Peter Ricketts, on Dare's life should not be taken seriously.
What really should be taken seriously is the deafening silence by Sir Ricketts on Dare's anti-Zimbabwe media campaign and her role in influencing politically motivated violence by the MDC.
Obviously, British taxpayers are not aware that their hard-earned money is being used to finance the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices, such as petrol bombs, and for the purchase of weapons of destruction in the form of hand grenades and small arms.
How different are these acts of terror perpetrated by MDC thugs from the London bus and train bombings as well as the bombing of a train in Madrid?
When such acts of terrorism are directed at Western targets they receive international condemnation, but when similar acts are directed at Zimbabwe the Ricketts of this world look the other way, why?
To this end, Ricketts thought it wise to dwell on the alleged threat to Dare's life, ignoring the revelations of covert financial support his government is channelling to its embassy to back the opposition's attempts at unconstitutional regime change.
It is a fact that in pursuit of her country's unbridled ambition for the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe, Dare has become the focal point.
In his lukewarm protest, Ricketts foolishly avoided responding to real issues of substance raised in my article.
He did not deny that a huge amount of money from the FCO has been disbursed to a unit called the ADS for the setting-up of an anti-Zimbabwe media campaign.
He also found it unpalatable to disclose to the British public that part of this money is also being used to pay legal fees for those arrested and the treatment of those injured in the opposition's campaign of violence.
No wonder the man also conveniently avoided mentioning the role being played by the new head of ADS Zimbabwe, one Ben Llewlyn Johns, and his two colleagues, Neil Hammond and Simon Atkinson.
This trio is acting as conveyor belts of blood money that plunged Zimbabwe into unprecedented political violence last month.
Dare cannot dare challenge this impeccable evidence in any forum, she is aware of this funding; neither can her boss Ricketts.
As stated in my article, the anti-Zimbabwe media campaign will only find resonance in the British Houses of Commons and Lords and such other bodies which have steadfastly refused to accept or understand Zimbabwe's political chessboard.
True to shame, the obscure Liberal Democratic foreign affairs spokesman Michael Moore seized the opportunity for some kind of publicity.
"The Mugabe regime is beyond the pale as this outrageous statement shows. It is now about time he stepped down. Callous threats against diplomats will do nothing to solve Zimbabwe's isolation," he charged.
Thank goodness! A mere opinion piece authored by an obscure journalist now being manipulated and fabricated to be a Government statement or position!
This is totally absurd.
To sum it up, Ricketts' concerns have nothing to do with Dare's life. Even the woman knows it herself.
"We expect Zimbabwe to offer protection to our diplomats," he waffled to Zimbabwe's ambassador.
Plainly put, this is a botched-up attempt to water down revelations of gross abuse of the British taxpayers' money in funding violent political activity in Zimbabwe in the inane hope of achieving unconstitutional regime change.
Even their creation, the MDC, is on record telling its supporters to soldier on as the financial coffers "will now never run dry". Where is the money coming from, Ricketts, if I may ask?
The sensationalisation of an otherwise informative and revealing article on the clandestine operations of a British diplomat has also galvanised the rented journalists into action.
For the benefit of readers who do not have access to the Internet, here are some of the interesting headlines that hit the cyberspace:
"You'll leave Harare in body bag, UK diplomat warned."
"UK diplomat receives death threat from Mugabe government."
This is sheer madness.
At least newzimbabwe.com was sceptical, putting the "death threats" in quotation marks.
Ricketts' gaffe in summoning Zimbabwe's ambassador is part of a web of intricacies aimed at arming Dare's anti-Zimbabwe media campaign team with deception material.
The unprecedented reaction to the article on Dare's subversive activities indicated how massively the media is being manipulated to propel the British government agenda of regime change in Zimbabwe.
The recent Extraordinary Summit of Sadc Heads of State and Government held in Tanzania should be an eye-opener to the British establishment.
Much as the Dare anti-Zimbabwe project might want to portray the summit as a victory to Morgan Tsvangirai and his band of hooligans, the bottom line is regional leaders categorically refused any notion of outside-induced regime change.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has always stood out as the choice mediator to Zanu-PF and the MDC although the latter has not always been on the affirmative.
At one time, they called the South African President a dishonest broker. There is nothing new in that.
What is new is the realisation by Sadc leaders that if they prevaricate on Zimbabwe, any one of them could be the next target for the regime change agenda.
South Africa has, in its own backyard, the unpredictable Congress of South African Trade Unions, a union of sheep in wolves' clothing clandestinely waiting for an opportune time to pounce. The two protagonists will never retire to bed together. It is just a question of time when the wolf shows its true colours. This bunch of pseudo-trade unionists, who always indicate left when they are turning right, have remained on the mute mode as they brazenly watch their counterparts in Zimbabwe who have been transformed by the British government into a political grouping in bed stark-naked with the capitalists.
Thank God, we will soon be seeing the back of Tony Blair out of No. 10 Downing Street. Not that it makes any difference to the British government policy on Zimbabwe, but, perhaps, a new order might realise the necessity of engagement with the Government of Zimbabwe as an equal.
More importantly, Ricketts, Dare and the arsenal of weapons of mass deception that have been assembled must realise that Zimbabwe is no pushover.Printer friendly version
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