U.S. slams Zimbabwe for "harassment" of diplomats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States condemned Zimbabwe's government on Tuesday for its "harassment" of the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats questioned by police after visiting post-election violence victims at a hospital.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said U.S. ambassador James McGee and diplomats from Britain, the European Union, Japan, the Netherlands and Tanzania, were questioned for about 45 minutes at a roadblock outside of the capital Harare on Tuesday.

"I guess it is harassment," said McCormack of the questioning of the diplomats.

"If on two occasions you're held up for nearly two hours and questioned about what you're doing, by security officials, then, yeah, that's harassment. Sure," he added.

The diplomats were on their way back from visiting a rural hospital to see victims of post-election violence. They were also held up at the hospital and questioned by security officials over their reasons for being there, said McCormack.

"It's indicative of the kind of atmosphere that exists in Zimbabwe right now," said McCormack of the Zimbabwean government's tactics in dealing with the diplomats.

"If you have foreign diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe who are facing this kind of treatment, you can only imagine for Zimbabwean citizens what life is like if they make an effort to speak up, to voice their opinions," he added.

While they were questioned, McCormack said none of the diplomats were physically harmed and nothing had been confiscated by the security officials.

British ambassador to Zimbabwe Andrew Pocock, when asked by Reuters about reports that Western ambassadors had been detained during their tour of the hospital, said: "We are having a little chat with the police. We have not been detained."

The United States has had harsh words for Zimbabwe's government, accusing it of harassing and attacking the opposition following the disputed March 29 poll which will likely result in a runoff between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Washington has asked Zimbabwe's government to provide security guarantees for Tsvangirai, who left Zimbabwe shortly after the March 29 poll and has been visiting the region to garner support for his cause.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of using violence and intimidation against its supporters ahead of the runoff, which could unseat Mugabe after nearly 30 years in power.

The United States has also accused the Zimbabwean government of a campaign of "state-sponsored violence" against the opposition. The Zimbabwean government rejects these allegations.

(Reporting by Sue Pleming; Editing by David Wiessler)