Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HARARE1067
2006-09-05 13:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Harare
Cable title:
TSVANGIRAI LEADS MARCH ON PARLIAMENT
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C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001067
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S.HILL
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI LEADS MARCH ON PARLIAMENT
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001067
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S.HILL
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI LEADS MARCH ON PARLIAMENT
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
1. (U) Anti-Senate MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai led a
demonstration of between 500 and 1,000 supporters from the
party's downtown Harare headquarters to Parliament in the
afternoon of September 1. Marchers, many of whom joined the
demonstration in progress, carried placards calling for
Mugabe to step down, and demanding free education and a new
constitution. At the end of the march, Tsvangirai,
accompanied by more than 50 members of the party's national
executive council, delivered a petition and the party's
roadmap for democratic change to Speaker of Parliament and
ZANU-PF chairman John Nkomo.
2. (SBU) According to press reports, the police appeared to
have been caught off guards by the march and failed to
respond quickly to what was the first MDC march since the
opposition's fracture last October. Anti-Senate MDC
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa on September 5 told us that
details of the march were known only to Tsvangirai and a
handful of organizers and that the national executive council
learned about the march only that morning.
3. (SBU) Chamisa said the demonstration,s success would
likely lead to further peaceful acts of resistance. The
march had moreover shown opposition supporters that the
party's leadership was firmly behind peaceful resistance.
Other MDC activists tell us the demonstration was only the
most visible of other "water testing" measures. For
instance, in rural Mashonaland West parents were being
encouraged to send their children to school ) which starts
today - even if they cannot pay the new, higher fees.
--------------
Comment
--------------
4. (C) After a round of well-attended rallies across the
country, Tsvangirai has finally put words into action and
conducted a successful, albeit minor, demonstration. It is
significant on several counts: it is the first march since
the opposition party's fracture last October; it is the first
major action since Tsvagirai promised a &winter of
discontent8 at the MDC Congress in March; and, unlike MDC
demonstrations before the fracture, Tsvagirai personally led
it. Moreover, the lack of police reaction may boost the
MDC,s confidence and set the stage for future events.
DELL
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S.HILL
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI LEADS MARCH ON PARLIAMENT
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
1. (U) Anti-Senate MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai led a
demonstration of between 500 and 1,000 supporters from the
party's downtown Harare headquarters to Parliament in the
afternoon of September 1. Marchers, many of whom joined the
demonstration in progress, carried placards calling for
Mugabe to step down, and demanding free education and a new
constitution. At the end of the march, Tsvangirai,
accompanied by more than 50 members of the party's national
executive council, delivered a petition and the party's
roadmap for democratic change to Speaker of Parliament and
ZANU-PF chairman John Nkomo.
2. (SBU) According to press reports, the police appeared to
have been caught off guards by the march and failed to
respond quickly to what was the first MDC march since the
opposition's fracture last October. Anti-Senate MDC
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa on September 5 told us that
details of the march were known only to Tsvangirai and a
handful of organizers and that the national executive council
learned about the march only that morning.
3. (SBU) Chamisa said the demonstration,s success would
likely lead to further peaceful acts of resistance. The
march had moreover shown opposition supporters that the
party's leadership was firmly behind peaceful resistance.
Other MDC activists tell us the demonstration was only the
most visible of other "water testing" measures. For
instance, in rural Mashonaland West parents were being
encouraged to send their children to school ) which starts
today - even if they cannot pay the new, higher fees.
--------------
Comment
--------------
4. (C) After a round of well-attended rallies across the
country, Tsvangirai has finally put words into action and
conducted a successful, albeit minor, demonstration. It is
significant on several counts: it is the first march since
the opposition party's fracture last October; it is the first
major action since Tsvagirai promised a &winter of
discontent8 at the MDC Congress in March; and, unlike MDC
demonstrations before the fracture, Tsvagirai personally led
it. Moreover, the lack of police reaction may boost the
MDC,s confidence and set the stage for future events.
DELL