JOHANNESBURG , 23 July 2008 (IRIN) - The expectation that the ban on humanitarian organisations operating in Zimbabwe would be lifted after an agreement between rival political parties was signed, was misplaced, the country director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, George Tadonki, told IRIN.

President Robert Mugabe's government suspended the work of all humanitarian organisations on 28 May, after accusing them of engaging in political activities.

The ban remains in place, even after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on 21 July by Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, the leaders of both wings of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), providing a framework for talks between rival political parties to establish a new constitution and a government of national unity.

Talks are scheduled to begin in Pretoria, South Africa, on 24 July.

Humanitarian operations were suspended in the window period between the 29 March elections - in which the ruling ZANU-PF lost its majority in parliament for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980, and Mugabe come second in the presidential poll - and the 27 June presidential run-off vote after the challenger, Tsvangirai, narrowly missed winning the first round by the required 50 percent plus one vote.

Tsvangirai withdrew from the second round of voting in protest against widespread political violence that claimed more than 60 lives and caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people.

"The hopes are that the humanitarian restrictions will be lifted, but I fear that they will not be lifted in full ... and we are worried about that," Tadonki said.

According to the memorandum "The Parties agree that, in the interim, they will work together to ensure the safety of any displaced persons and their safe return home, and that humanitarian and social welfare organisations are enabled to render such assistance as might be required."

Tadonki said humanitarian organisations would be allowed to provide assistance to victims of violence, but the memorandum did not suggest a complete lifting of the ban on humanitarian organisations, or indicate when or whether humanitarian organisations could resume their work.

On 18 June the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) published its crop assessment, which forecast that more than five million Zimbabweans would suffer food insecurity in the next nine months, a million people more than the previous year.

"The [crop assessment] Mission estimates that 2.04 million people in rural and urban areas will be food insecure between July and September 2008, rising to 3.8 million people between October [and December], and peaking to about 5.1 million at the height of the hungry season between January and March 2009," FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) to Zimbabwe said.

Tadonki said some non-governmental organisations had resumed unofficial operations, but were "negotiating at field level" for access. Such an approach was not sustainable and was setting "a dangerous precedent".

He said humanitarian organisations operated on the principles of being impartial and neutral, and any actions that called those principles into question would be a problem.

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