COMMERCIAL FARMER SEVERELY INJURED WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 005515 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH USDOC FOR DHENKE-ROGERS LONDON FOR CGURNEY PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SD - DWELLER, AFR/SA - CPALMA, NNEWMAN, AA/AFR - VNEWTON, AND A/AID - RMCCALL USTR FOR ROSA WHITAKER E.O. 12958: DECL 09/28/2010 CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HARARE 05515 01 OF 02 281517Z TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR PREL EAID ZI SUBJECT: COMMERCIAL FARMER SEVERELY INJURED WITH MACHETE. CLASSIFIED BY DCM EARL IRVING FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A WHITE COMMERCIAL FARMER WAS ATTACKED WITH A MACHETE BY A WAR VETERAN ON SEPTEMBER 26 AFTER THE VETERAN TRIED TO STOP HIM FROM PLANTING TOBACCO. THE FARMER SUFFERED A DEEP GASH ACROSS HIS FACE AND NOSE, AND WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL, WHERE HE IS RECOVERING FOLLOWING SURGERY. THIS INCIDENT IS INDICATIVE OF RISING TENSIONS ON COMMERCIAL FARMS, WHERE CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN OCCUPYING WAR VETERANS AND FARM WORKERS HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE. POLICE REACTION HAS BEEN LESS THAN PROFESSIONAL IN MANY CASES, ALTHOUGH THE FORCE NOW HAS ORDERS TO PREVENT FURTHER OCCUPATIONS. THE COMING RAINY SEASON WILL BRING A NEW DIMENSION TO FARM TENSION -- BETWEEN WAR VETERANS AND THE GOVERNMENT, WHICH TO DATE HAS FAILED TO DELIVER ON ITS PROMISE OF LAND TO THIS ROUGH CONSTITUENCY. END SUMMARY. -------------- THE ATTACK -------------- ¶2. (C) ACCORDING TO RICHARD AMYOT OF THE COMMERCIAL FARMERS UNION (CFU),A WHITE COMMERCIAL FARMER WAS BRUTALLY ATTACKED BY A WAR VETERAN WITH A MACHETE ON SEPTEMBER 26. THE ATTACK OCCURRED IN KAROI, A FARMING CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HARARE 05515 01 OF 02 281517Z DISTRICT 200 KM NORTH OF HARARE, A REGION TORN BY LAND- RELATED VIOLENCE SINCE EARLY THIS YEAR. AMYOT TOLD ECONOFF THAT THE FARMER, MARSHALL ROPER, HAD BEGUN TO PLANT TOBACCO ON HIS FARM, WHICH HAD BEEN OCCUPIED BY SO-CALLED WAR VETERANS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. TWELVE SQUATTERS APPROACHED ROPER AND TOLD HIM HE COULD NOT PLANT. A HEATED DISCUSSION ENSUED, AND A WAR VETERAN WITH A MACHETE SWUNG AND STRUCK ROPER IN THE FACE, CAUSING A DEEP GASH ACROSS HIS CHEEKS AND NOSE. ROPER FIRED A PISTOL INTO THE AIR IN SELF-DEFENSE AFTER COLLAPSING ON THE GROUND. THE WAR VETERANS THEN FLED. AMYOT BELIEVES ROPER WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED IF HE HAD NOT BEEN ARMED. THE POLICE HAVE ARRESTED FOUR PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE INCIDENT, BUT THEY ARE REPORTEDLY STILL LOOKING FOR ROPER'S ATTACKER. A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SEVERELY WOUNDED ROPER APPEARED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SEPTEMBER 27 EDITION OF THE INDEPENDENT "DAILY NEWS", SPARKING WIDESPREAD DISGUST AND INDIGNATION IN HARARE. MINISTER OF JUSTICE JONATHAN MOYO AND ZANU-PF SPOKESMAN NATHAN SHAMUYARIRA BOTH EXPRESSED REGRET AT THE INCIDENT AND PROMISED A FULL INVESTIGATION. -------------- NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT -------------- ¶3. (C) AMYOT STATED THAT THE ATTACK ON ROPER WAS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. ROPER AND MANY OTHER FARMERS IN OTHER REGIONS HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS THREATS OVER THE LAST WEEKS. THE PREVIOUS WEEK, A GROUP OF COMMERCIAL FARMERS, FED UP WITH THE FARM INVASIONS, LACK OF POLICE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 HARARE 05515 01 OF 02 281517Z INTERVENTION, AND A NEED TO BEGIN PLANTING, BLOCKED A ROAD IN THE CHIVHU FARM DISTRICT IN CENTRAL ZIMBABWE WITH A BARRIER TO KEEP WAR VETERANS AND OTHER FARM INVADERS FROM INTERRUPTING THEIR PLANTING OPERATIONS. THIS LED TO A CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THE FARMERS AND THEIR WORKERS ON ONE SIDE, AND, ON THE OTHER, WAR VETERANS, INCLUDING, ACCORDING TO AMYOT, PLAINCLOTHES POLICEMEN AND/OR AGENTS FROM THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION (CIO). THE WAR VETERANS SHOT AT THE FARMERS WITH MILITARY-STYLE ASSAULT WEAPONS AND THE FARMERS FIRED BACK, BUT NO ONE WAS HURT. POLICE ARRESTED FOUR OF THE FARMERS AND SEVERAL FARM WORKERS AND TOOK THEM TO THE LOCAL STATION. A GROUP OF COMMERCIAL FARMERS AND THEIR FARM WORKERS, NUMBERING IN THE THOUSANDS, CONVERGED ON THE STATION TO SUCCESSFULLY DEMAND THE RELEASE OF THEIR COLLEAGUES AND TO PROTEST THE GENERAL BREAKDOWN OF LAW AND ORDER IN THE AREA. -------------- - CONFUSION REIGNS REGARDING THE ROLE OF THE ZRP -------------- - ¶4. (C) AMYOT SAID THAT POLICE REACTIONS TO INCIDENTS ON THE FARMS HAVE VARIED FROM REGION TO REGION. SENIOR CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ7577 PAGE 01 HARARE 05515 02 OF 02 281517Z ACTION AF-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AGRE-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 DODE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00 VC-00 FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SP-00 STR-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-01 DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 /009W -------------- 8AFEB7 281518Z /38 P 281520Z SEP 00 FM AMEMBASSY HARARE TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7230 INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC USDOC WASHDC SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 HARARE 005515 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH USDOC FOR DHENKE-ROGERS LONDON FOR CGURNEY PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SD - DWELLER, AFR/SA - CPALMA, NNEWMAN, AA/AFR - VNEWTON, AND A/AID - RMCCALL USTR FOR ROSA WHITAKER E.O. 12958: DECL 09/28/2010 CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HARARE 05515 02 OF 02 281517Z TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR PREL EAID ZI SUBJECT: COMMERCIAL FARMER SEVERELY INJURED WITH MACHETE. POLICE OFFICIALS, ACCORDING TO AMYOT, HAVE INFORMED THE CFU THAT THEY WILL ACTIVELY PREVENT FURTHER OCCUPATIONS AND DISRUPTIONS TO NORMAL FARMING OPERATIONS. POLICE COMMANDERS IN SOME AREAS ARE ABIDING BY THIS ORDER WHILE, IN OTHER REGIONS, THEY DO NOTHING TO STOP ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES BY SQUATTERS OR, IN SOME CASES, EVEN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THEM. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: VIOLENT CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN FARMERS AND WAR VETERANS MAY ESCALATE IN THE COMING WEEKS, AS FARMERS TRY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANTING BEFORE THE ONSET OF RAINS IN NOVEMBER, AND WAR VETERANS TRY TO BLOCK THEM. INFORMATION MINISTER MOYO AND ZANU-PF HAD LITTLE CHOICE BUT TO CONDEMN THE ATTACK ON ROPER. THEY REITERATED THAT NO NEW FARM OCCUPATIONS OR INTERFERENCE WITH FARMING ACTIVITIES WOULD BE PERMITTED, HOWEVER, THEY ALSO CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE LEGITIMACY OF THE OCCUPATIONS AS ON-GOING POLITICAL "DEMONSTRATIONS". THE GOZ HAS BEEN MAKING THESE PLEDGES FOR SOME TIME, BUT NEW OCCUPATIONS AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES CONTINUE, RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THE GOZ IS LOSING CONTROL OVER THE WAR VETERANS. THIS RELATIONSHIP BEARS CLOSE MONITORING AS WELL, AS THE RAINS DRAW NEARER, AND THE GOVERNMENT FINDS ITSELF WITH INCREASINGLY LESS ROOM TO MANEUVER. END COMMENT. MCDONALD CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HARARE 05515 02 OF 02 281517Z CONFIDENTIAL >