NEW LEGISLATION WOULD TIGHTEN GOZ'S GRIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000434

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR B. NEULING
S/CT FOR D. ZIMOV
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2015
TAGS: PTER ASEC PINR EAGR TBIO PGOV ECPS PHUM PREL
ZI
SUBJECT: NEW LEGISLATION WOULD TIGHTEN GOZ'S GRIP

REF: A. REF A: HARARE 349

B. REF B: HARARE 319

C. REF C: HARARE 308

D. REF D: 2005 HARARE 395

Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) The GOZ in recent weeks has put forward several bills
to Parliament, many of which would bolster the state's
security apparatus. The Suppression of Foreign and
International Terrorism Bill would update Zimbabwe's
counterterrorism laws, and the Interception of Communications
Bill would allow the GOZ to monitor and intercept phone
calls, emails and postal communication, and create a new
agency to oversee such signals intelligence. Civil
libertarians caution that both bills could be used against
political opponents. Private communication firms, meanwhile,
have expressed concern that the Interception of Communication
Bill would foist on them an oppressive financial burden,
which might cause several to close. Rounding out the list of
potential oppressive legislation, the GOZ has discussed
restrictions on the distribution of foreign media in
Zimbabwe, has proposed a new Human Rights Commission that
would undercut legitimate groups, and continues to wield the
threat of resubmitting a bill to regulate the activities of
NGOs. In other legislative business, the lower house
recently passed a bill to regulate the use of biotechnology
in Zimbabwe, and we have heard indications that the more
contentious parts of the Education Bill may be revised soon.
End Summary.

--------------
Spate of Bills Awaiting Lawmakers
--------------


2. (C) John Makamure, the director of USAID's parliamentary
support project implemented by the State University of New
York (SUNY),told poloff on April 4 that President Mugabe's
criticism of "underperforming" ministers earlier in the year
had generated the recent spate of legislation as government
officials attempt to earn their keep. A total of six bills
await introduction to Parliament. Makamure suggested that
narrow political self-interest, rather than national need,
was what was driving the otherwise thin legislative agenda
these days.

--------------
New Security Legislation(
--------------


3. (C) Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi on March 24
introduced the Suppression of Foreign and International
Terrorism Bill (emailed to AF/S and S/CT),which would update
Zimbabwe's existing counterterrorism (CT) framework,
originally constructed by the colonial government in 1963.
The Bill would allow the Home Affairs Minister to designate
terrorist groups and would impose stricter sentences for
terrorists and their facilitators. (N.B. We understand that
S/CT is researching this Bill to determine if it follows
international best practices.)


4. (C) Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport and
Communication Chris Mushowe has circulated ) but not yet
introduced to Parliament - the Interception of Communication
Bill (emailed to AF/S),which would grant the GOZ authority

HARARE 00000434 002 OF 004


to monitor and intercept domestic phone calls, emails and
postal communications. The Bill seeks to address a Supreme
Court decision in March 2004 that declared an earlier
monitoring and interception law to be unconstitutional. The
draft Bill would create a signals intelligence agency, the
Monitoring of Interception of Communications Center (MICC),
which would conduct an intercept once the Minister had issued
a warrant. The Bill would also require that communication
service providers purchase, install, and maintain the
monitoring equipment. SUNY staff commented that this Bill
was poorly written ) most likely by a junior drafter in the
Attorney's General's office - and would almost certainly be
revised before it was submitted to Parliament. SUNY added
that unlike the CT Bill there appeared to be no major push
behind this bill and that former intelligence officer
Mushowe's influence appeared to be waning.

--------------
(Draws Civil Society, Private Industry's Fire
--------------


5. (C) Civil libertarians, however, have criticized both
pieces of legislation, saying that their combined impact will
lead to the serious erosion the country's already dwindling
democratic space. Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) President
Joseph James told poloff on March 31 that the bills
concentrated too much authority in an executive that would
likely use the powers to further harass the opposition. The
definition of a terrorist organization in the CT Bill, for
instance, was extremely vague, according to James, and
included any group "formed with a view to(usurping the
functions of a government." (N.B. The definition of
terrorism is also circular, potentially leading to varying
interpretations.) Indeed, both independent and
state-controlled media have reported that the GOZ could have
used the CT legislation against MDC supporters arrested in
connection with the since debunked arms cache "discovery" in
early March (ref B).


6. (C) Terming the Interception of Communication Bill
"horrific" and "fascist," James declared that it was also
likely unconstitutional. The LSZ was therefore planning to
mount a lobbying campaign in coordination with the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) against its passage. If the
bill became law in its current form, James said that the LSZ
would challenge it in court, noting the precedent set by the
Supreme Court's ruling against the earlier monitoring and
intercept law.


7. (C) Nikki Lear, chief operating officer of Zimbabwe's
largest internet service provider MWEB, told poloff on April
10 that the Interception of Communication Bill's requirement
that communication providers purchase and install the
monitoring equipment would present a huge financial problem
for the companies. MWEB's South Africa branch was looking to
install the equipment at a price tag of 5-7 million Rand,
which Lear said was too much for the company's Zimbabwean
office to afford, much less the country's 23 other smaller
internet providers. The Zimbabwe Internet Service Providers
Association (ZISPA) would be devising a strategy soon,
looking at the South African industry's successful lobbying
efforts against similar legislation there. However, if the
legislation passed into law without revision, Lear said that
MWEB would have no choice but to pull out of Zimbabwe.

--------------
Rounding Out The Oppressive Legislation
--------------


HARARE 00000434 003 OF 004



8. (C) Adding to the list of repressive legislation, local
media have reported that the GOZ aims to strengthen the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA),
to introduce a Human Rights Commission that could undermine
legitimate organizations, and to resubmit the controversial
NGO Bill (ref D). The state-controlled Herald in late March
reported that the GOZ planned to amend AIPPA to expand its
writ over the distribution of foreign media in Zimbabwe. MDC
MP and pro-Senate faction shadow communication minister
Abednico Bhebhe told poloff on March 29 that this amendment
was targeted against local stringers for foreign media
services. State-controlled media also reported that the
Cabinet had approved a constitutional amendment to establish
the Human Rights Commission, a move termed "deceptive" by
ZLHR in a press release because it would not address the
fundamental problem of Zimbabwean human rights ) the
widespread manipulation of executive powers. Meanwhile, an
online news source in early March quoted Justice Minister
Partick Chinamasa as saying that the GOZ was "polishing up"
the NGO Bill, which he expected to become law by the end of
the year. Shortly afterward, the state-controlled Chronicle
featured a warning from ZANU-PF Chairman John Nkomo that NGOs
should not dabble in politics. Despite this rhetoric,
Makamure commented that he saw no indications that the return
of the NGO Bill was imminent.

--------------
Biotech Bill in Train
--------------


9. (U) In other legislative developments, the House of
Assembly on April 4 passed the National Biotechnology
Authority Bill, which now goes to the upper house. This Bill
could create the Authority to oversee the import, research,
and use of all biotechnology processes and products. The
Bill's stated aim is to ensure that the development of
biotech in Zimbabwe does not cause adverse effects on public
health or the environment. The Bill would also create a
fund, with money generated from a new levy, to promote the
marketing and production of biotech research and products.

--------------
Education Bill Still Awaits Signature
--------------


10. (C) Meanwhile, the only bill passed by Parliament this
year, the Education Bill (ref C),has yet to be signed into
law. Jameson Timba, the chairman of the Association of Trust
Schools, told poloff on March 18 that he met with Mugabe
earlier that week and secured the leader's promise to revise
a last-minute amendment to the Bill that governed fees that
boarding schools could charge. Timba said that Mugabe
appeared unaware of the amendment but ultimately agreed with
Timba that the Education Bill as written would force many
religious schools to close. Notwithstanding Mugabe's
apparent promise, we have yet to see indications that the
Bill will be sent back to Parliament for revision.

--------------
Thin Parliamentary Business Otherwise
--------------


11. (SBU) Despite widespread media speculation, the
government has not submitted other high-profile legislation,
such as a rumored constitutional amendment to harmonize the
presidential and legislative elections. The GOZ has also
backed down from the Mining Bill in the wake of widespread
condemnation (ref A). Most recently Mugabe was quoted in the
state-controlled Herald on April 1 saying that the

HARARE 00000434 004 OF 004


indigenization ratio ) announced at 51 percent by the Mining
Minister Amos Midzi - was still "at a very early stage of
discussion." The government has also yet to put forward the
Domestic Violence Bill, although responding to pressure from
women's rights groups Chinamasa has publicly pledged to
submit the legislation by year's end.

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


12. (C) Even as a beleaguered GOZ proposes "bridge-building"
with the West and talks about the need to reduce
confrontation, it is simultaneously revealing its true
authoritarian colors in this proposed legislation.
DELL