Warden Message 2008, Number 11

April 17, 2008

This warden message is to alert American Citizens in Zimbabwe that Friday, April 18th is Zimbabwean Independence Day. The Harare Independence Day celebration will take place at the Gwanzura Stadium in Highfield and is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and will likely run late into the afternoon.  The celebration may be large in size and traffic congestion, roadblocks and a large security presence are expected throughout the day.  American citizens are strongly urged to avoid the area near the stadium, as well as any large gathering of people or large police presence across the country.

Also, the State Department recently issued an updated version of the Zimbabwe Travel Alert. The text of that message is as follows:

Begin Travel Alert:

This Travel Alert is being issued to update U.S. citizens on safety and security concerns throughout Zimbabwe due to ongoing political instability following the March 29 national elections, and advises them to consider carefully the risks of travel to Zimbabwe at this time.  This supersedes the Travel Alert for Zimbabwe dated February 15, 2008 and expires on June 1, 2008.

U.S. citizens should carefully consider the risks of travel to Zimbabwe.  While the country awaits results of the March 29 presidential elections, security forces including some military and police, as well as war veterans are creating a climate of intimidation and fear across the country, particularly in rural areas and high-density suburbs.  There have been attacks on opposition supporters, renewed farm invasions, and arrests of election officials accused of vote tampering.  There is a continued risk of arbitrary detention or arrest.

Americans should be particularly aware of using still, video or telephone cameras in any urban setting, or in the vicinity of any political activity, as this could be construed by Zimbabwean authorities as practicing journalism without accreditation, a crime punishable by arrest, incarceration and/or deportation.

American citizens traveling to or resident in Zimbabwe should register with the U.S. Embassy by completing a registration form online at https://travelregistration.state.gov.  Registration enables the Embassy to contact American citizens in case of emergency and provide updates on the security situation.

We strongly recommend that American citizens register their presence in Zimbabwe via the Internet at https://travelregistration.state.gov  or in person at the U.S. Embassy in Harare, located at 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue (Tel. 263-4-250-593/4/5, email consularharare@state.gov).  In the event of an after-hours emergency, please call the above number and ask to be transferred to the duty officer.

We will continue to provide information to you via email, text message, the internet and Voice of America radio broadcasts (909 on the AM dial or on Shortwave at 4930, 13755 or 15775 Khz) as events unfold. You are always welcome to contact us at the phone, fax and email numbers listed above.

As the Department of State continues to develop information on any potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its consular information program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. In addition to information on the Internet, travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.