Wednesday, February 25, 2009
By Michael Georgy
PRETORIA (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to release detained activists and said such a move would help unlock international humanitarian support.
Many of the activists still held in Zimbabwe are members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, the long-time opposition party which entered a unity government with Mugabe earlier this month.
One of the most prominent is senior MDC official Roy Bennett, who remains in detention pending an appeal by state lawyers against the high court's granting of bail on Tuesday.
"It would be a welcome gesture for the leader of Zimbabwe to embrace all different opinions and leaders in the country by releasing all these detained people," Ban said.
"I hope that he would listen to the expectations of the international community by releasing them all as soon as possible," he said after talks in South Africa with President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Bennett, a white farmer who lost his farm under Mugabe's land seizures, had been earmarked to become deputy agriculture minister. He faces charges -- which he denies -- of plotting terrorism, insurgency and banditry.
Zimbabwe's new government urgently needs to tackle an economic meltdown that has led to the world's highest inflation, food shortages and a cholera epidemic that has killed 3,877 people and infected over 83,000 others.
Tsvangirai said last week it would cost as much as $5 billion to repair the economy.
"The economic situation is very dire and the humanitarian situation is also very worrisome," Ban said.
RECONCILIATION
He added that Mugabe should promote national reconciliation and the international community, led by the United Nations, stood ready to help support Zimbabwe's recovery with humanitarian aid.
"But all these efforts ... would get stronger and more support from the international community if we can see progress in the political and national reconciliation," Ban said.
The 15-nation Southern African Development Community said a regional aid package for Zimbabwe could be affected by the impact of the global financial crisis.
SADC finance ministers were meeting in South Africa on Wednesday to discuss an aid package for Zimbabwe.
"When (finance) ministers consider any support to Zimbabwe they have to take into consideration what is going on (globally), so for sure it is a challenge," SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomao told Reuters. Continued...
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