SWEDISH AMBASSADOR EXPLAINS SWEDEN'S AID

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000672 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR WILLIAMS STOCKHOLM FOR MILOVANOVICH PASS USAID FOR AFR/SA C. PALMA CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HARARE 00672 01 OF 02 081521Z E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/11 TAGS: PREL EAID PHUM KDEM PINR ZI SW SUBJECT: SWEDISH AMBASSADOR EXPLAINS SWEDEN'S AID CUTBACK TO ZIMBABWE CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE D'AFFAIRES EARL M. IRVING FOR REASONS 1.5 B/D. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: RELATIONS BETWEEN ZIMBABWE AND SWEDEN FELL TO AN ALL-TIME LOW DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY AS THE SWEDISH GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAD SUSPENDED BILATERAL AID TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE. ZIMBABWEAN FOREIGN MINISTER STANISLAUS MUDENGE RESPONDED ANGRILY, SAYING THAT HIS GOVERNMENT WOULD REVIEW ITS RELATIONS WITH SWEDEN. THE GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE, THROUGH AN ANONYMOUS SPOKESMAN, ALSO IMPLIED THAT THE SWEDISH EMBASSY MIGHT NO LONGER BE WELCOME IN ZIMBABWE. AT A LUNCHEON ON FEBRUARY 7, SWEDEN'S AMBASSADOR TO ZIMBABWE, LENNARTH HJELMAKER, CITED HIS GOVERNMENT'S WISH TO MAKE A STRONG STATEMENT OF ITS CONCERN WITH EVENTS IN ZIMBABWE, COUPLED WITH BAD TIMING, AS THE REASON FOR THE CURRENT TENSION BETWEEN SWEDEN AND ZIMBABWE. AMBASSADOR HJELMAKER DID NOT THINK THAT HE OR HIS STAFF WERE IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING DECLARED PERSONAE NON GRATA, BUT CONCEDED THAT HE WAS WORKING HARD TO MANAGE THE DELICATE SITUATION. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) THE FEBRUARY 1 ANNOUNCEMENT IN STOCKHOLM THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF SWEDEN WAS SUSPENDING BILATERAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HARARE 00672 01 OF 02 081521Z DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE DID NOT PLAY WELL IN HARARE. THE STATE-OWNED DAILY NEWSPAPER "THE HERALD" DISTORTED THE FACTS OF THE SWEDISH DECISION IN ITS FEBRUARY 2 STORY, CLAIMING THAT "SWEDEN...HAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT IS SLASHING AID TO THE GOVERNMENT AND WILL CHANNEL ABOUT 400 MILLION ZIMBABWE DOLLARS TOWARDS OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS." WHILE THIS IS NOT TRUE (SWEDISH AID SUPPORTS HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS, NON- PARTISAN DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS AND DISASTER RELIEF),IT PROVIDED RIGHTEOUS HIGH GROUND FOR AN UNNAMED GOZ SOURCE WHO WAS QUOTED IN THE "HERALD" REPORT. THE SOURCE SAID "...EMBASSIES WITH NO BUSINESS WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND INTENDING TO CONCENTRATE THEIR EFFORTS ON BACKING OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTIES AND NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, MEDDLING IN THE INTERNAL POLITICS OF THE COUNTRY, HAVE NO REASON TO BE HERE... THERE IS NO WAY THAT GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE KINDLY TO A SITUATION WHERE AN EMBASSY BROUGHT INTO THE COUNTRY FOR OFFICIAL STATE-TO-STATE INTERACTION IS ALLOWED TO DE-OFFICIALIZE ITSELF AND BECOME CONDUITS OF FOREIGN OFFICIAL SUPPORT TO BOTH THE OPPOSITION AND PARTISAN NGOS CREATED BY THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS. THEY ARE BECOMING FEATURES OF SUBVERSION AND EXPECT STATE BENEDICTION. THIS CANNOT BE..." ¶3. (U) FOREIGN MINISTER STANISLAUS MUDENGE ALSO REACTED ANGRILY AND PUBLICLY, APPEARING ON STATE- CONTROLLED ZBC TELEVISION ON FEBRUARY 5 TO CRITICIZE THE SWEDISH DECISION. MUDENGE SAID THAT HE WOULD REVIEW ZIMBABWE'S RELATIONS WITH SWEDEN, IMPLYING THE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 HARARE 00672 01 OF 02 081521Z POSSIBILITY OF A DIPLOMATIC RUPTURE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. ¶4. (C) AT A LUNCHEON IN THE SWISS EMBASSY ON FEBRUARY 7, AMBASSADOR HJELMAKER TOLD EMBOFF THAT PART OF THE REASON FOR ZIMBABWE'S ANGER WAS THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AID SUSPENSION HAD BEEN BADLY HANDLED. HE SAID THAT HIS GOVERNMENT WANTED TO MAKE A STRONG STATEMENT ABOUT ITS CONCERN OVER ZIMBABWE'S DEPARTURE FROM DEMOCRATIC NORMS, BUT THAT BAD TIMING IN STOCKHOLM AND HARARE MEANT THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT TOOK ZIMBABWE'S FOREIGN MINISTRY BY SURPRISE. HJELMAKER SAID THAT ZIMBABWE'S AMBASSADOR TO SWEDEN HAD BEEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY WHEN THE SWEDES DECIDED IN LATE JANUARY TO SUSPEND BILATERAL AID. SWEDISH PROCEDURE IS THAT GOVERNMENT DECISIONS ARE GAZETTED ON THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH ("...JUST PART OF OUR OPEN DEMOCRACY..." SAID HJELMAKER),SO THE DECISION WAS PUBLISHED BEFORE THE ZIMBABWEAN AMBASSADOR COULD BE NOTIFIED. SIMILARLY, FOREIGN MINISTER MUDENGE AND AMBASSADOR HJELMAKER WERE BOTH ABSENT FROM HARARE DURING THE LAST WEEK OF JANUARY, SO A SUBORDINATE AT THE SWEDISH EMBASSY ONLY INFORMED THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (THROUGH WHICH ALL BILATERAL ASSISTANCE IS CHANNELED) OF THE SUSPENSION. THESE TWO CIRCUMSTANCES MEANT THAT THE ZIMBABWEAN CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTO6270 PAGE 01 HARARE 00672 02 OF 02 081521Z ACTION AF-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 SMEC-00 USNW-00 DINT-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00 FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-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 TRSE-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-01 DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 /009W -------------- C2E945 081521Z /38 P 081523Z FEB 01 FM AMEMBASSY HARARE TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8194 INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM AMEMBASSY LONDON SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 HARARE 000672 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR WILLIAMS STOCKHOLM FOR MILOVANOVICH PASS USAID FOR AFR/SA C. PALMA CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HARARE 00672 02 OF 02 081521Z E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/11 TAGS: PREL EAID PHUM KDEM PINR ZI SW SUBJECT: SWEDISH AMBASSADOR EXPLAINS SWEDEN'S AID CUTBACK TO ZIMBABWE FOREIGN MINISTRY WAS CAUGHT FLAT-FOOTED BY THE SWEDISH ANNOUNCEMENT. HJELMAKER TOLD EMBOFF THAT MUDENGE WAS INFURIATED, AND EXCORIATED THE AMBASSADOR FOR THIS BREACH OF PROTOCOL. ¶5. (C) THE SWEDES HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY STALWART SUPPORTERS OF ROBERT MUGABE'S ZIMBABWE AND VERY GENEROUS PROVIDERS OF DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE. GIVEN THAT HISTORY, THEIR DECISION TO SUSPEND FUNDING OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS HERE REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT DEEPENING OF ZIMBABWE'S ISOLATION FROM WESTERN DEMOCRACIES. SWEDEN'S LACK OF A COLONIAL HISTORY IN AFRICA, OR OF OTHER IMPERIALISTIC CREDENTIALS, MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE TO DISMISS THE SUSPENSION OF AID AS PART OF THE "BRITISH-IMPERIALIST PLOT" TO RUIN ZIMBABWE. NONETHELESS, THE UNNAMED GOZ SOURCE DID TELL "THE HERALD" THAT "THE SWEDES ARE NOW INCREASINGLY REDUCING THEMSELVES TO AN APPENDAGE OF WHITEHALL." ¶6. (C) COMMENT: BECAUSE OF THEIR LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORT FOR ZIMBABWE AND THEIR TRADITION OF NEUTRALITY, THE SWEDES ARE UNLIKELY TO BE THROWN OUT OF ZIMBABWE. THIS EPISODE DOES, HOWEVER, SUGGEST THE NEED FOR CAREFULLY CHOREOGRAPHED NOTIFICATION IF THE UNITED STATES EVER NEEDS TO DELIVER BAD NEWS TO THE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HARARE 00672 02 OF 02 081521Z GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE. END COMMENT. IRVING CONFIDENTIAL >