Zimbabwe to ‘forcibly deport’ Libyan ambassador
The Zanu PF side of Zimbabwe’s coalition government has said the Libyan Ambassador to the country Taher El Magrahi will be forcibly deported if he does not leave the country when the 72-hour ultimatum he was given expires this afternoon.
On Wednesday the envoy who defected to the rebels after they overran the capital Tripoli last week indicated that he would leave on Thursday and cited difficulties in securing flights to get him to Libya.
Asked by state media journalists when he was leaving El Magrahi said “Why are you troubling me, talk to your Government on that,” he said before switching off his phone. Later in the day he said: “I don’t want to talk to you on that.”
Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Joey Bimha on Thursday said El Magrahi would be forcibly deported if he did not leave today. “We gave him a 72 hour ultimatum and it expires tomorrow (today). If he does not leave then we will have to use force but I do not think it will come to that,” he said.
Last Wednesday El Magrahi angered Zanu PF when he led Libyan nationals in a protest against Gaddafi at the embassy. The demonstrators pulled down the official Libyan flag and burned it, before raising the flag belonging to the rebels. The embassy was later forced to take down the rebel flag.
Speaking to reporters outside the Libyan embassy in Harare El Magrahi said: “From today, August 24, we follow the Libyan majority, the Libyan people, through our National Transitional Authority. We are here representing the Libyan people and not Gaddafi. I am not Gaddafi’s ambassador. I represent the Libyan people.”
In response, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi convened a press conference on Tuesday this week at which he announced that El Magrahi had been asked to leave the country within three days. Diplomatic privileges and immunity were also withdrawn, with immediate effect.
London-based academic Stephen Chan says Zimbabwe’s refusal to accept Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC) will soon fall flat because the reality is that Muammar Gaddafi’s regime is history.
“This is just a refusal to face reality. As most AU countries start to recognise the new Libyan regime, Zimbabwe will have to follow suit,” Chan said.
