Zimbabwe: Food must not be used as a political tool, says Amnesty

Rights group Amnesty International on Friday expressed grave concern at the Zimbabwe government's cancellation of a food assessment mission aimed at establishing possible need for relief aid. "The government has told international donors that it will not need food aid this year. On 7 May the government stopped a UN Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission from evaluating the current harvest. This was followed by statements in the state-controlled Herald newspaper, attributed to the Minister for Agriculture, claiming that Zimbabwe has produced more grain than it needs this year," Amnesty said.