Radio Dialogue Giving you a voice
The US embassy in Zimbabwe has dismissed claims that it denied ZBC chief correspondent Reuben Barwe a visa to travel to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
In a statement released by the embassy Saturday, Barwe was issued with a visa on September by the US embassy in the capital Harare. The statement also says Barwe has never been on the US targeted sanctions list.
“Mr Barwe is not and never has been on the US targeted sanctions list, no Zimbabwean journalists are on the US targeted sanctions list. Contrary to recent press reports, Mr Barwe was not denied a visa for the UNGA in 2012 or 2010 , but did receive US visas both years,” reads the statement.
“Visa processing can at times take longer than normal depending on the volume of applicants, September is a high volume visa processing time because of the UNGA.”
This follows media reports that Barwe has ‘once again’ been denied a visa by the US embassy in Harare. The Zimbabwe government had since lodged a complaint with the office of the UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon to intervene in Barwe’s case.
The 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly will run from September 25 to October 1 in New York under the theme ‘Peaceful Resolutions of Conflict.’
