2001: People: Press reveals plan to evacuate 25,000 British from Zimbabwe

(:E-:N-:R-AZ:C-30:V)   

Original Post Date: 2001-08-29 Time: 04:16:25 Posted By: Jan

16/08/2001

British and European diplomats in Zimbabwe have held secret talks on the
possible evacuation of up to 25 000 British citizens from the country, The
Independent newspaper reported today.

Amid widespread violent looting of white-owned farms, the talks were held to
update a contingency plan to help British nationals and other foreigners
escape should their lives be endangered, the broadsheet said. A spokesperson
for Britain’s Foreign Office said there were contingency measures to evacuate
British citizens, but there were no plans to implement them “at this stage”.

The Independent quoted Richard Lindsay, a diplomat at the British High
Commission in Harare, as saying: “Yes, it is true that we have a plan in
place to help our citizens in Zimbabwe, but I cannot disclose the details.”
Such a massive operation is likely to be attempted only as a last resort if
violence continues to spread, the paper said.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Part of the Foreign Office’s
responsibility is to draw up contingency plans if it were necessary to
evacuate British citizens. “We have such plans for pretty much every country
in the world. We do have such a plan for Zimbabwe.”

The Independent reported that diplomats from Belgium, which has 230 nationals
in Zimbabwe, have held at least one meeting to review the situation and
update contingency planning. A Belgian foreign ministry spokesperson told the
paper it had an “operational” evacuation plan, but added that the large
number of EU citizens in Zimbabwe made it impossible to envisage the imminent departure of
the European population.

Some 25 000 citizens of Britain, Zimbabwe’s former colonial master, are
registered with the High Commission in Harare, although there may be as many
as 40 000 in the country, The Independent added.

Other embassies considering evacuation include those of Canada, which has 500
citizens in Zimbabwe, and Australia, which has 400, the paper said. – AFP

Source: https://archive.africancrisis.info/?p=156