Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HARARE533
2006-05-09 15:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Harare
Cable title:
DEMONSTRATORS TAP SCHOOL FEE RESENTMENT
how-toVZCZCXRO8417 RR RUEHMR DE RUEHSB #0533/01 1291534 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 091534Z MAY 06 FM AMEMBASSY HARARE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9980 INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1200 RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1036 RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1203 RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0031 RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0464 RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 0830 RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1257 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 3620 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1029 RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1663 RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC RUFGNOA/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1415
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000533
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: DEMONSTRATORS TAP SCHOOL FEE RESENTMENT
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
-------
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000533
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: DEMONSTRATORS TAP SCHOOL FEE RESENTMENT
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (U) Police arrested 185 demonstrators who had been
protesting school fees at a Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA)
demonstration in Bulawayo on May 4; all were released as of
May 8. A brief WOZA demonstration in Harare May 8 attracted
80-100 participants. None of the participants were arrested
in connection with a 15-minute march that dispersed of its
own volition. End Summary.
--------------
185 Arrested, Released in Bulawayo March
--------------
2. (U) Approximately 400 members of the women's activist
group Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA) marched in Bulawayo on
May 4 demanding the reversal of primary and secondary school
fee increases of up to 1,000 percent. The demonstration
marked the first instance in which large numbers of men and
school-aged children participated alongside WOZA's female
marchers. A WOZA press statement noted that many of the
children wore their school uniforms, signifying that it may
be the last time that they will be able to wear the clothing
since they cannot afford to pay for the new school term that
begins today.
3. (C) Police arrested 185 demonstrators, including 73
children, some as young as seven years old. All of the
children were released the evening of May 4 and all eight
mothers with young babies present were released by May 6.
WOZA reported on May 8 that the remaining detainees were kept
in harsh conditions and had been denied access to blankets,
despite the early onset of Zimbabwe's winter, leading some to
become ill. A WOZA spokeswomen on May 8 told Post that
prosecutors that morning had dropped all charges against the
marchers, who were all finally freed later in the day.
--------------
Smaller Harare March Uneventful
--------------
4. (U) On May 8, WOZA members in Harare conducted another
demonstration against school fees. Embassy personnel
observed an estimated 80-100 marchers, including some men and
school-aged children in uniform, as they chanted slogans
against the tuition hike and made their way to the offices of
Education Minister Anneas Chigwedere. Pamphlets distributed
read in part, "mothers demand their children's right to
education." The brief demonstration elicited no police
response and the marchers quickly dispersed at their
destination.
--------------
Comment
--------------
5. (C) With a new school term beginning May 9, parents are
now preoccupied with scraping together enough money to pay
for the new higher fees. Especially hard hit are primarily
lower income families that attend government schools, where
tuition hikes of more than 500 percent this term are common.
WOZA's demonstrations against school fee hikes are tapping
into budding popular resentment. Providing a fitting
backdrop to the march in Harare, banks in the business
district experienced exceptionally long lines as parents
queued at the last minute to pay school fees. It is unclear
whether police forbearance against the Harare demonstration
HARARE 00000533 002 OF 002
reflected a lack of clear instruction on the ground or a
conscious decision from senior police levels.
DELL
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: DEMONSTRATORS TAP SCHOOL FEE RESENTMENT
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (U) Police arrested 185 demonstrators who had been
protesting school fees at a Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA)
demonstration in Bulawayo on May 4; all were released as of
May 8. A brief WOZA demonstration in Harare May 8 attracted
80-100 participants. None of the participants were arrested
in connection with a 15-minute march that dispersed of its
own volition. End Summary.
--------------
185 Arrested, Released in Bulawayo March
--------------
2. (U) Approximately 400 members of the women's activist
group Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA) marched in Bulawayo on
May 4 demanding the reversal of primary and secondary school
fee increases of up to 1,000 percent. The demonstration
marked the first instance in which large numbers of men and
school-aged children participated alongside WOZA's female
marchers. A WOZA press statement noted that many of the
children wore their school uniforms, signifying that it may
be the last time that they will be able to wear the clothing
since they cannot afford to pay for the new school term that
begins today.
3. (C) Police arrested 185 demonstrators, including 73
children, some as young as seven years old. All of the
children were released the evening of May 4 and all eight
mothers with young babies present were released by May 6.
WOZA reported on May 8 that the remaining detainees were kept
in harsh conditions and had been denied access to blankets,
despite the early onset of Zimbabwe's winter, leading some to
become ill. A WOZA spokeswomen on May 8 told Post that
prosecutors that morning had dropped all charges against the
marchers, who were all finally freed later in the day.
--------------
Smaller Harare March Uneventful
--------------
4. (U) On May 8, WOZA members in Harare conducted another
demonstration against school fees. Embassy personnel
observed an estimated 80-100 marchers, including some men and
school-aged children in uniform, as they chanted slogans
against the tuition hike and made their way to the offices of
Education Minister Anneas Chigwedere. Pamphlets distributed
read in part, "mothers demand their children's right to
education." The brief demonstration elicited no police
response and the marchers quickly dispersed at their
destination.
--------------
Comment
--------------
5. (C) With a new school term beginning May 9, parents are
now preoccupied with scraping together enough money to pay
for the new higher fees. Especially hard hit are primarily
lower income families that attend government schools, where
tuition hikes of more than 500 percent this term are common.
WOZA's demonstrations against school fee hikes are tapping
into budding popular resentment. Providing a fitting
backdrop to the march in Harare, banks in the business
district experienced exceptionally long lines as parents
queued at the last minute to pay school fees. It is unclear
whether police forbearance against the Harare demonstration
HARARE 00000533 002 OF 002
reflected a lack of clear instruction on the ground or a
conscious decision from senior police levels.
DELL