Zimbabwe Summons US Envoy Over White House Adviser's Comment
"So there will be a response and it will be proportional"
HARARE, ZIMABABWE - Zimbabwe has summoned the U.S. ambassador in Harare
to a meeting over comments by a White House official suggesting Zimbabwe
is among "foreign adversaries" that could face retaliation for trying
to foment unrest in the U.S. over the death of George Floyd, a black man
who pleaded for air as a police officer pressed a knee into his neck.
The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols, has been called to meet
with Zimbabwe's foreign minister over comments Sunday by U.S. national
security adviser Robert O'Brien, Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald
newspaper reported Monday.
In an interview on ABC's "This Week," O'Brien suggested, without citing
any evidence, that Zimbabwe is one of several "foreign adversaries" —
including China and Russia — he suggested were taking advantage of the
protests in the U.S. to "sow discord and to try and damage our
democracy."
"So there will be a response and it will be proportional, but this is
not something that -- that our adversaries are going to get away with
for free," O'Brien said.
Floyd was killed a week ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a white police
officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck even as he cried he couldn't
breathe. One officer has been charged with murder.
His death has sparked a week of protests that turned violent in cities across the U.S.
His death has sparked a week of protests that turned violent in cities across the U.S.
The Trump administration has portrayed the violence as the work of
outside groups and extremists. Officials are investigating whether
foreign adversaries are behind a burgeoning disinformation campaign on
social media.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has not made any official
comment on the current crisis in the U.S., but his spokesman George
Charambsa and other government supporters have criticized the U.S. on
their personal social media accounts.
Zimbabwe's relations with the U.S. have been strained since 2003, when
Washington imposed sanctions on several Zimbabwean government leaders
over alleged human rights abuses and electoral fraud. The sanctions came
after the often violent seizures of white-owned farms by former
president Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa, Mugabe's successor, is one of the more than 80 Zimbabweans
who are sanctioned by the U.S. government, which prevents them from
having U.S. bank accounts and traveling to the U.S. Mnangagwa has said
he wants to normalize relations with the U.S., but reports of continued
human rights abuses have led the U.S to maintain the sanctions.
Although the U.S. sanctions, and similar sanctions by the EU, are
against individuals, the measures have prevented large multilateral
agencies, such as the World Bank and the IMF, from extending large loans
to support Zimbabwe's faltering economy.
VOA
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