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Mr Laurent Delahousse

Last year, on July 17, we carried a story in this paper in which we reported that the Government had summoned French Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Laurent Delahousse after he proposed a toast to one Itai Dzamara, a journalist-cum-political activist who had been reported missing three months earlier.

What happened to Dzamara has remained a mystery even when authorities have left no stone unturned, including offering a reward of $10 000 to anyone with information on his whereabouts.

However, on the occasion of the French National Day, Mr Delahousse all, but accused the Government of abducting Dzamara and paraded Dzamara’s wife and child, along with his brother.

He then declared, “This man has become a symbol, I will not let him down.”

Bizarre as this sounded for a diplomat to be saying on foreign soil, this led to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoning him and formally protesting with a particular reminder that an envoy “accredited to France and resident in Paris would first of all recognise the principle of sovereignty of the French government and secondly, he would be extremely circumspect in dabbling in matters strictly French, more so a matter to do with a missing French national.”

We understand that Government asked Mr Delahousse if by raising the issue of a missing Zimbabwean on French National Day, he wanted Zimbabweans to reflect on the day with a sense of honour.

Now, it is only a week shy of the incident — and another French National Day is actually beckoning — but it would seem that the French envoy has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. That is besides that one time he was quoted in the media as saying he had changed tact and wanted to become less confrontational.

We do not believe he stood by that word.

In fact, he appears as meddling as ever.

In the course of the year, Mr Delahouse has been seen hobnobbing with anti-Government activists such as the so-called Africa Unity Square Movement and was reported to be sponsoring the violent activities of opposition elements who were calling for the so-called shutdown of Zimbabwe which coincided with a civil servants’ strike last week.

The French envoy has even lately been seen curiously following the activities and subsequent travails of former Zanu-PF activist, Acie Lumumba. There are even pictures of him at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts where Lumumba appeared recently facing charges relating to insulting President Mugabe.

We tend to wonder what the intentions of the busybody French ambassador really are through these actions which we deem, if he can forgive our French, (Il a fallu que tu te mêles de ce qui ne te regardait pas!) to be poking his nose too far into the internal affairs of Zimbabwe.

Without mentioning the fact that, maybe with the exception of his American counterparts, there are no other embassies that are as interested as he is, it would seem that the French ambassador is up to something not just mischievous and uncouth diplomatically, but downright sinister.

There have been attempts by opposition elements to start a violent confrontation with Government. Is Mr Delahousse trying to play midwife to this kind of situation and precipitate another Libya in Zimbabwe?

Why this unhealthy interest in Zimbabwe which has not been characteristic of previous French delegations? Whatever the ambassador has up his sleeve, especially when on some rare platforms he sounds reasonable and progressive, is very curious.

We will be watching closely, as we believe the Government should now also be doing with an eye on calling him to diplomatic order.

There should be really no question that Mr Delahousse cannot be allowed to do whatever he pleases in this country, in honour or contempt of whoever he wants.

His behaviour is governed by strict diplomatic conventions and etiquette unless it is his clear and unambiguous intention to cause a diplomatic row between Harare and Paris.