RWANDAN PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO HARARE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001572 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS BRUSSELS FOR HINSON-JONES E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/11 TAGS: PREL PINR ZI RW CG SUBJECT: RWANDAN PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO HARARE REF: KIGALI 1856 CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HARARE 01572 101616Z CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE D'AFFAIRES EARL M. IRVING FOR REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) THE ZIMBABWE FOREIGN MINISTRY'S DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA, GODFREY MWEDZI, SPOKE TO POLOFF ON MAY 10 ABOUT RWANDAN PRESIDENT KAGAME'S ONE-DAY VISIT TO HARARE ON MAY 7. MWEDZI STATED THAT KAGAME'S LUNCH MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MUGABE WAS "EXCLUSIVELY BETWEEN THEM" AND DID NOT INCLUDE ANY MINISTERS OR OTHER GOZ OFFICIALS. ONLY ON ONE OCCASION DID KAGAME BRIEFLY MEET WITH ZIMBABWEAN MINISTERS. THE ZIMBABWEAN DIPLOMAT STATED THAT DEBRIEFINGS ON WHAT WAS DISCUSSED HAD NOT YET TRICKLED DOWN TO HIS LEVEL (WHICH IS JUST BELOW THAT OF PERMANENT SECRETARY). MWEDZI STATED THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL MEETING SIPDIS WAS CORDIAL, AND THEY SURELY DISCUSSED THE DRC, BUT IT WOULD BE "PURE SPECULATION" ON HIS PART TO OFFER ANY DETAILS OF THE DISCUSSION. MWEDZI TRIED TO DOWNPLAY THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KAGAME'S VISIT, STATING THAT ZIMBABWE AND RWANDA WERE NOT AT WAR, AND THEY CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN NORMAL DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS; RWANDA DID SO THROUGH ITS MISSION IN PRETORIA. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: DESPITE THE DIPLOMAT'S DOWNPLAYING, IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT KAGAME WOULD COME TO HARARE, HIS FIRST PUBLIC VISIT HERE SINCE THE WAR IN THE DRC BROKE OUT IN 1998 (KAGAME MADE A SURREPTITIOUS VISIT BROKERED BY SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT MBEKI IN 1999). WE CAN SURMISE THAT KAGAME SOUGHT TO BREAK SOME OF THE ICE THAT HAS FORMED IN THE RWANDAN-ZIMBABWEAN RELATIONSHIP, AND ALSO TO SHOW THAT HE CAN BE A REASONABLE STATESMAN WHO IS NOT INTERNATIONALLY ISOLATED. IN ADDITION, KAGAME CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HARARE 01572 101616Z UNDOUBTEDLY WANTED TO ENSURE THAT RWANDAN INTERESTS, SUCH DISARMING THE INTERAHAMWE IN THE DRC, ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT BY ZIMBABWE AT THIS CRUCIAL JUNCTURE IN THE DRC PEACE PROCESS. NOT TO BE OUTDONE, THE UGANDANS SENT A SPECIAL ENVOY WITHIN 24 HOURS OF KAGAME'S DEPARTURE. END COMMENT. IRVING CONFIDENTIAL >