By Basildon Peta
Harare - The British High Commission formally closed its library and information centre in Harare on Tuesday, after threats by self-styled war veterans.
In a notice to hundreds of students studying various courses through the British Council, an international welfare branch of the British government, the British High Commission said the closure had been necessitated by security concerns.
War veterans have been threatening to "deal with" embassies and aid organisations they suspect of bank-rolling the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Necessitated by security concerns "The British Council's library and information service in Harare will be closed to the public from Tuesday May 8 until further notice to allow a full review of the security of the premises," the notice said.
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A spokesperson for the British High Commission said the embassy was concerned about the security of the building and the people who use it "in the light of the general situation" prevailing in Zimbabwe, but specifically recent threats made by the war veterans.
She said the high commission had closed the centre because the two-storey building in which it is housed had also been damaged when "some people" demonstrated at the centre and also at the American Embassy in January this year.
"We, however, wish to emphasise that we have no plans to leave Zimbabwe. We are only doing this in response to the general situation in the country," she said.
The closure would be reviewed if the situation improved.
Reviewed if the situation improved War veterans said last month they would raid embassies and aid agencies which they suspect of funding the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Foreign Affairs Ministry secretary Willard Chiwewe later said the government could not guarantee the safety of embassies and non-governmental bodies which engaged in the internal politics of Zimbabwe.
Last week, several foreign diplomats accredited to Harare said they were taking the war veterans' threat seriously and were looking at a possible evacuation of their nationals.
A German aid organisation, the Fredrich Ebert Stiftung, was also raided and forced to pay about R56 000 to two workers it fired two years ago. - The Star Foreign Service
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