The Secretary of State was askedâ€â€
Mr. Henry Bellingham (North-West Norfolk) (Con):
Will the Secretary of State join me in paying tribute to the new Prime
Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, and will he waste no time in
opening a dialogue with him? Does he not agree that it is an absolute
disgrace that Mugabe continues to imprison Movement for Democratic
Change activists, as well as imprisoning, and holding without trial,
one of the MDC Cabinet appointees, Roy Bennett?
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband):
Yes, it is welcome that Morgan Tsvangirai is now the Prime Minister of
Zimbabwe, but it is far from welcome that he does not yet have all the
Executive powers that should go with that office. It is particularly
galling that some aspects of the agreement that he signed have not been
fulfilled, notably in respect of the distribution of portfolios between
the parties to the agreement. The hon. Gentleman is also right to raise
the case of Roy Bennett, the Deputy Agriculture Minister, and the
charges that have been laid against him. We have been clear that we
will not only continue our humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe, but stand
ready to engage in a massive reconstruction effort, but that must be on
the basis of clean politics, an end to violence and an economic
approach that benefits the people of Zimbabwe, rather than the cronies
of Robert Mugabe.