ZVOBGO-AMBASSADOR MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000137

SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY
PARIS FOR C. NEARY
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2013
TAGS: PREL ZI
SUBJECT: ZVOBGO-AMBASSADOR MEETING

REF: HARARE 64

Classified By: political section chief Matt Harrington. Reasons: 1.5 (
B) and (D).


1. (C) ZANU-PF elder statesman Eddison Zvobgo told the
Ambassador January 15 that he preferred to keep his upcoming
trip to the U.S. focused primarily on personal business but,
at the Ambassador's suggestion, he agreed to consider
stopping in Washington. Zvobgo discussed a faction within
the ruling party that wants Mugabe to resign, and named
General Solomon Mujuru and former Finance Minister Simba
Makoni as two of its most prominent members. He said his
group planned to press for an extraordinary party congress to
deal with the national crisis and succession issues, and
solicited support for the group's efforts. Zimbabwe, Zvobgo
believed, cannot survive another two years with Mugabe at the
helm without suffering irreparable damage. End Summary.

FOOD
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2. (C) On January 15, Amb and Poloff met with Eddison
Zvobgo, an elder statesman in the ruling party who has been
estranged from President Mugabe since 2000, to discuss the
political and economic future of Zimbabwe and ZANU-PF.


3. Zvobgo lamented the deteriorating food situation and
commented that he had had to intervene on behalf of some of
his constituents/staff to procure corn from the Grain
Marketing Board (GMB). Zvobgo told us that he had only
received 100 packets of corn meal yesterday, several weeks
after he contacted the GMB.

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TRIP TO THE US
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4. (C) Ambassador noted Zvobgo's planned trip to the U.S.
and suggested that Zvobgo stop in Washington. Zvobgo at
first did not seem amenable to a Washington stop, stating
that he planned to go to Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago to
visit old friends but had not planned on pursuing a political
agenda. He told us that he prefers to denounce and criticize
the government and ZANU-PF from within Zimbabwe thereby
exercising his rights of free speech. Furthermore, he said
he did not see the point in such meetings in Washington as
the situation in Zimbabwe is debilitating. The Ambassador
assured him that the meetings would not be public but
discreet. In the end, Zvobgo agreed to discuss the utility
of such meetings with his wife and would let us know his
decision. (NOTE: As reported reftel, Zvobgo previously told
poloff January 9 that he was traveling to the United States
in part to raise support for a rival faction within ZANU-PF.
END NOTE.)

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PARTY DISSENSION
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5. (C) Zvobgo reiterated his earlier assertion to Poloff
that there exists a faction within the party that wants
Mugabe to resign. The Ambassador asked who else was
involved. Zvobgo named Solomon Mujuru, Simba Makoni,
Shadreck Beta from Manicaland, and a "Murerwa from Harare."
(Note: The only Murerwa with which we are familiar is
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa, who represents Goromonzi, a
consitutency which abuts Harare province, in Parliament. End
Note). He did assure us that this faction was well
represented amongst veteran and younger party members.
Zvobgo said that the fight could best be carried from within
the party and that his group would press for an extraordinary
party congress to deal with the national crisis and
succession issues.


6. (C) Zvobgo asked if the US might be willing to support
this
&party within a party.8 The Ambassador was noncommittal
but told Zvobgo that the US has nothing against ZANU-PF per
se but takes issue with the human rights and civil liberties
abuses perpetrated by the party leadership and the
government. The Ambassador said the U.S. would be willing to
support groups of people who were working for a return to the
rule of law and a resumption of respect for human rights and
civil liberties. Zvobgo seemed to accept this but wanted
assurances that any support would be discreet. The
Ambassador reassured him on this count. No specific types of
support were requested or discussed.


7. (C) The Ambassador asked Zvobgo his opinion on the recent
press story about a possible Mugabe resignation. Zvobgo
seemed to believe that the leak must have come from within
ZANU-PF, either someone who disliked the person rumored as
the heir apparent -- Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa
-- or who just wanted to shake things up. He did not place
much credence in the story but agreed that Mugabe needs to
leave office before his term is up if Zimbabwe is to recover
economically. Zvobgo was dismayed at the decline of
ZANU-PF's fortunes and blamed Mugabe. The Ambassador
mentioned his meeting with General Mujuru on January 9 and
Mujuru,s proposal that Mugabe step down in two years, after
the parliamentary elections. Zvobgo thought two years was
too long to wait--the country would be in ruins by that time
and the party would be irreparably damaged.

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PARLIAMENT
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8. (C) Zvobgo told us he plans to propose a long-overdue
anti-corruption commission to Parliament after it resumes on
February 14. This commission was called for in the 1990's
constitutional revision, but never implemented. Zvobgo said
he has around seven ZANU-PF MPs who will support him. He
said he had not introduced it sooner out of respect for the
younger MPs.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) Zvobgo has long been dissatisfied with what has
happened to his party and he is a good source of information
on developments within ZANU-PF (He was a Politburo member for
20 years until being expelled by Mugabe in 2000 -- for honest
and public criticism of the Zimbabwean President -- and he
remains an MP and member of the somewhat less influential
Central Committee). However, he told us several months
before the election that he was trying to coordinate public
statements from a number of ruling party heavyweights calling
on Mugabe not to contest. As we know, no such statements
were ever issued, and Zvobgo sought temporary safehaven in
South Africa for a couple of months around that time after
expressing criticism of Mugabe. Although he has had
difficulty in the past convincing others to follow in moves
against Mugabe and party leadership, further deterioration
here could push some of Zvobgo's more frightened party
colleagues finally to take a stand, purely out of
self-interest. As we have reported recently, frustration is
growing within the Politburo, many members of which believe
Mugabe's departure is necessary, but none of whom have a
realistic plan or the guts to accomplish this, and none of
whom are interested in genuine reconciliation and cooperation
with the MDC.
SULLIVAN