[Cincinatus' Wife]

Morgan Tsvangirai - Zimbabwe's Opposition Leader Is Released *** HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's opposition leader was released on bail Friday after two weeks in jail on treason charges, but he was told he may not call for President Robert Mugabe's overthrow. Accompanied by his wife and a small throng of supporters, Morgan Tsvangirai left a Harare prison after delivering four cardboard boxes stuffed with 10 million Zimbabwe dollars - about $12,000 - in bail. Under the conditions of his release, Tsvangirai is barred from advocating Mugabe's removal by what Judge Susan Mavangira termed "violent or other unlawful means."

Tsvangirai, the head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested June 6 on treason charges following a week of anti-government strikes that shut down much of the already fragile economy. Opposition officials said Tsvangirai was held in a filthy, overcrowded cell. They vowed to continue their struggle. "His incarceration has only served to strengthen the people's resolve to intensify peaceful efforts to tackle the crisis of legitimacy in Zimbabwe," opposition spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said. ***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Freeing a Nation From a Tyrant's Grip By COLIN L. POWELL - A brave man recently met with me and described how life in his country has become unbearable. "There is too much fear in the country, fear of the unknown and fear of the known consequences if we act or speak out," explained Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Yet Archbishop Ncube speaks out fearlessly about the terrible human rights conditions in Zimbabwe, and is threatened almost every day with detention or worse.

For hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, the worst has already come. Millions of people are desperately hungry because the country's once-thriving agricultural sector collapsed last year after President Robert Mugabe confiscated commercial farms, supposedly for the benefit of poor blacks. But his cynical "land reform" program has chiefly benefited idle party hacks and stalwarts, not landless peasants. As a result, much of Zimbabwe's most productive land is now occupied by loyalists of the ruling ZANU-PF party, military officers, or their wives and friends.

The United States - and the European Union - has imposed a visa ban on Zimbabwe's leaders and frozen their overseas assets. We have ended all officialassistance to the government of Zimbabwe. We have urged other governments to do the same. We will persist in speaking out strongly in defense of human rightsand the rule of law. And we will continue to assist directly, in many different ways, the brave men and women of Zimbabwe who are resisting tyranny.

But our efforts are unlikely to succeed quickly enough without greater engagement by Zimbabwe's neighbors. South Africa and other African countries areincreasingly concerned and active on Zimbabwe, but they can and should play a stronger and more sustained role that fully reflects the urgency of Zimbabwe's crisis.If leaders on the continent do not do more to convince President Mugabe to respect the rule of law and enter into a dialogue with the political opposition, he and hiscronies will drag Zimbabwe down until there is nothing left to ruin - and Zimbabwe's implosion will continue to threaten the stability and prosperity of the region.

There is a way out of the crisis. ZANU-PF and the opposition party can together legislate the constitutional changes to allow for a transition. With the presidentgone, with a transitional government in place and with a date fixed for new elections, Zimbabweans of all descriptions would, I believe, come together to begin theprocess of rebuilding their country. If this happened, the United States would be quick to pledge generous assistance to the restoration of Zimbabwe's political andeconomic institutions even before the election. Other donors, I am sure, would be close behind.***