TSVANGIRAI,S SECOND TREASON TRIAL CHARGES WITHDRAWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001105 SIPDIS AF/S FOR L. MUNCEY NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ZI MDC SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI,S SECOND TREASON TRIAL CHARGES WITHDRAWN Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Eric T. Schultz under Section 1.4 b/d ¶1. (U) The GOZ on August 2 dropped the remaining treason charge against MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai. The latest charge stemmed from Tsvangirai's role in mass demonstrations against the ruling party in June 2003. (Note: Prosecution on a first treason charge ended with Tsvangirai's acquittal in October. End note.) ¶2. (C) Tsvangirai's attorney, Eric Matinenga, told us on August 3 that the state could still proceed against Tsvangirai by way of a separate summons. Noting that the SIPDIS state's case was even weaker than the previous one, however, Mantinenga asserted that such an approach was highly unlikely. He added that a gag order in place since 2003 preventing Tsvangirai from saying certain things that could be perceived as undermining the GOZ's legitimacy expires with the case. ¶3. (C) Comment: The dropping of the case may say more about the GOZ's shifting priorities than it does about the weakness of the case. Whether the state was going to win these treason cases or not, the charges had long served the state's purposes by distracting and muzzling the opposition leader and depleting opposition coffers in legal costs. With the March election "won", the next national election not scheduled until 2008, and the opposition in apparent disarray, national economic implosion is replacing political control as the ruling party's most immediate concern. The regime seems increasingly aware that it will need international assistance to stem the country's myriad crises and is becoming more image-conscious as it wrestles with how to secure that assistance. In this regard, the dropped charge may be part of the regime's nascent efforts to improve its image, particularly with an eye to ongoing loan negotiations with South Africa, discussions with the UN on food and displaced persons assistance, and the upcoming IMF expulsion vote. SCHULTZ