The prime minister in Zimbabwe’s new coalition government said on Wednesday that President Robert Mugabe has agreed to free political prisoners, but the Attorney General was ”wilfully obstructing” releases.
Morgan Tsvangirai, speaking at a news conference, said the continued detentions were threats to the new unity government, as were continuing abuses of the rule of law and Mugabe’s unilateral appointment of senior civil servants.
The coalition was formed almost two weeks ago to address Zimbabwe’s crises after months of political deadlock that left the government paralysed.
The Southern African nation has the world’s highest inflation rate, a widespread hunger crisis and a cholera epidemic that has sickened more than 80 000 people and killed more than 38 000 since August.
Tsvangirai is under increasing pressure from supporters who say it was a mistake to agree to govern alongside Mugabe, accused of ruining his country’s economy and its democracy over three decades in power.
While Tsvangirai stopped well short on Wednesday of saying the coalition was near collapse, he did say that ”as long as these matters remain unresolved it will be impossible for the transitional government to move forward”. He added he would discuss his concerns with Mugabe.
‘Attempt to derail unity govt’
Tsvangirai’s party has called the arrest of party members and independent rights activists a politically motivated attempt by factions in Mugabe’s party to derail the unity government.
Prominent detainees include Roy Bennett, Tsvangirai’s nominee for deputy agriculture minister. Bennett was arrested on February 13, the day the unity Cabinet was sworn in.
A judge on Tuesday granted bail to Bennett in a weapons case, but ordered him held at least another week while prosecutors decide whether to appeal the bail ruling.
On Wednesday, Tsvangirai said Mugabe agreed to free on bail those activists charged with alleged subversion and terrorism and release unconditionally those who have yet to be charged.
”Rather than allowing the judicial process to take its course with regard to the granting of bail, the Attorney General’s office is wilfully obstructing the release of all detainees by abusing the appeal process, and this must stop forthwith,” Tsvangirai said.
In South Africa on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about reports of arrests and detention of opposition activists and human rights defenders. ”I hope that these people will be freed as soon as possible,” Ban said.
Ban was in South Africa at the start of a nine-day African tour that does not include Zimbabwe because, he said, ”it’s not the time”. In Harare on Tuesday, Mugabe’s office appointed 31 senior civil servants to government ministries without consulting his coalition partners, said Tsvangirai. All were long-standing officials, none associated with Tsvangirai’s party.
Under the unity government deal, senior government appointments are to be made by the president and the prime minister together. Tuesday’s appointments breached the agreement and had ”no point in law and is null and void,” Tsvangirai said on Wednesday.
There have also been protests about Mugabe’s appointment of Gideon Gono as central bank governor, and of Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a former attorney for Mugabe’s party.
Gono’s handling of monetary policy is blamed in part for the economic meltdown. Critics say Zimbabwe’s decline began with Mugabe’s land reform policy that saw white-owned farms seized and given to his cronies instead going to impoverished blacks as he had claimed.
Surge in farm attacks
Tsvangirai said on Wednesday that a fresh campaign targeting white farms by Mugabe party militants had been reported in recent weeks.
”Attacks on the farms are undermining our efforts to restore agricultural production and investment,” he said.
Tsvangirai said the invasions were in breach of the coalition government.
”I have asked the ministers of home affairs … to bring the full weight of the law down on the perpetrators who continue to act within a culture of impunity and entitlement,” he said. ”No person in Zimbabwe is above law.”
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), which represents mainly white farmers, said attacks by militants from Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party have increased over the last month and urged the government to take action.
”We still have farmers being prosecuted, farmers being evicted and in the latest incident armed Zanu-PF youth are patrolling and hanging around a farm in Chegutu,” CFU chief executive Hendrik Olivier told AFP.
”As of yesterday, we had 77 incidents. We don’t see any change with the unity government. We have a settlement among politicians at the top. We don’t have a settlement on the farms.”
Also in South Africa on Wednesday, Southern African finance ministers met to discuss a bailout package for Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai has said it may need $5-billion for an economic recovery programme.
But there are misgivings about whether Zimbabwe’s unity government can spend the money wisely.
Zimbabwe’s neighbours are also struggling with the global economic crunch. South Africa’s economy has contracted for the first time in a decade and its key mining sector is in crisis — as are Zambia’s and Botswana’s. — Sapa-AP, AFP