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EU Commissioner "deeply concerned" for upcoming second round of Zimbabwe elections |
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 EU officials have expressed strong concerns over the political and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe in the run-up to the second round of the presidential elections, scheduled for 27 June. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was detained by police for the second time in three days on 6 June, and the government has banned all aid organisations from operating in the country. Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel released a press statement expressing deep concern over reports that some leaders of the Zimbabwean opposition had been detained during electoral campaigning. "We are endeavouring to clarify the situation and obtain further information on the ground. The situation raises the wider concern that appropriate conditions be in place ahead of and during the second round of Presidential elections on 27th June", he said. On the issue of the ban on humanitarian organisations, Michel stated: "This ban must be lifted right away. I am deeply distressed to think that hundreds of thousands of people who depend on aid from the European Commission and others for their very survival now face an even more uncertain future. It is essential that relief workers be given unrestricted and secure access so they can provide assistance to the most vulnerable." The European Commission is the most important aid donor in Zimbabwe, providing 90.9 million euros in 2007. Human rights groups and aid NGOs claim that the intention of the Mugabe government's ban is to remove independent witnesses to its campaign of violence against the opposition, and to manipulate food supplies as a political tool in the election. Source: |
