Credit: U.S. Department of State  /  Brian A. Nichols ,  Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Zimbabwe

By Gary Raynaldo         DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Zimbabwe summoned the U.S. ambassador in Harare to a meeting over comments by a White House official that caused an uproar in the government that accused Zimbabwe of being among “foreign adversaries” such as Russia and China seeking to incite unrest in America in the wake of the  death of George Floyd. The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols, was called in to meet with Zimbabwe’s foreign minister over comments last Sunday May 31  by U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien.   In an interview with ABC’s   “This Week”,    O’Brien said Zimbabwe is among “foreign adversaries” that could face retaliation for allegedly trying to foment unrest in the U.S. over the death of Floyd, a black man who pleaded for air as a police officer pressed a knee into his neck. 

“I want to tell our foreign adversaries, whether it’s a Zimbabwe or a China, that the difference between us and you is that that officer who killed George Floyd, he’ll be investigated, he’ll be prosecuted and he’ll receive a fair trial. There’s a difference between us and you, and when this happens, we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ll clean it up. It’s not going to be covered up.”

-U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien

Pressed by @GStephanopoulos on evidence that foreign adversaries are exploiting U.S. unrest, O’Brien points to social media activity from China “coming straight from the government.”

He also names Zimbabwe, Iran and says “there may be Russian activists.” https://t.co/382DHzwTb6 pic.twitter.com/bFepVBFoLN

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 1, 2020

Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Says O’Brien’s Allegations  “False and Factually Unfounded”

I have today informed the US Ambassador of Mr O'Brien's false & factually unfounded allegations which are deeply damaging to a relationship already complicated by years of prescriptive diplomacy & punitive economic sanctions. Zimbabwe is not & has never been an adversary of USA. pic.twitter.com/neEay80kZe

— SB Moyo (@MinisterSBMoyo) June 1, 2020

Zimbabwe’s foreign affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo  characterized the  the U.S. national security adviser’s statement describing Zimbabwe as an adversary  as “false” and “without any factual foundation whatsoever and that they are deeply damaging to a relationship already complicated by years of prescriptive megaphone diplomacy and punitive economic sanctions,” according to a tweet from the foreign minister.  Moyo said Harare was reflecting “on the lack of balance and even the double standards so evident in US policy towards Zimbabwe.”

U.S. Ambassador Nichols met with Zimbabwe Foreign Minister S.B. Moyo over the  diplomatic row.  In a letter written by Nichols tweeted on Twitter, the ambassador said he “urged Zimbabwe’s government to ends state-sponsored violence against peaceful  protesters, civil society, and members of the opposition in  Zimbabwe and to hold  accountable those responsible for human rights abuses.  Nichols, an African American, also got personal in his letter:

“Mr. Floyd’s murder was a tragedy that  has filled Americans with horror and anger.  As an African American, for as long as I can remember, I have known that my rights and my body were not fully my own.  I have also always known that America conceived in liberty has aspired to be better-a shining city on a hill-and that is why I have dedicated my life to her service. Both American’s and Zimbabwe’s constitutions enshrine the  right to free speech and peaceful protest. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.”

-U.S. Ambassador in Harare  Brian  A. Nichols 

Nichols presented his credentials on July 19, 2018, as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe. Ambassador Nichols previously served as the Ambassador to Peru from 2014 to 2017. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia.  Ambassador Nichols has also served in Mexico and El Salvador during major democratic transitions.  He began his Foreign Service career as a Consular Officer in Lima in 1989.