DONOR INTERACTION WITH OPPOSITION AND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L MASERU 000250

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR AF/S

E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL LT
SUBJECT: DONOR INTERACTION WITH OPPOSITION AND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
ON PARLIAMENTARY STALEMATE

REF: (A) EARLIER MEETING WITH OPPOSITION (SEPTEL) (B) MASERU 35

CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) With May 24 Parliamentary action pending, opposition
leader General Lekhanye (Secretary General of BNP) called
Ambassador for an "urgent" meeting last week. We met May 18
(see septel) to hear his complaint that despite a petition to
the Speaker of Parliament, a lower level BNP official attended a
September 2005 SADC Parliamentary Forum. He also charged that
House Leader, Deputy Prime Minister Lehohla, condemned the BNP
on the floor and called for a 5-10 month expulsion of the BNP's
leadership. This action would effectively remove the BNP from
participating in national 2007 elections.


2. (C) Ambassador urged BNP representatives to make sure they
had all the facts correct, to seek an audience with the speaker
and to remain active in the democratic process (i.e., do not
threaten boycotts). We also stated that, as we had done during
the 2005 elections, we and other development partners would
deliver the same message to the GOL - elections had to include
all parties, be free, fair and transparent. (Note: The BNP
leaders also met with the Irish Ambassador, who represented the
EU members, and the UN Resident Representative. All of us
encouraged them to meet with us as a group rather than going
from mission to mission with the same message. End Note.)


3. (C) My donor colleagues and I conferred and called on the
Deputy Prime Minister May 23 to try to ascertain the GOL's side
of the story. The DPM denied BNP allegations that the Speaker
had refused to meet but had, in fact, received a petition that
was then "under siege" in her office by elements of the youth
league of the BNP for three hours. He was, in our view,
defensive, saying the BNP should be "punished" for such action
which he alleged were similar to inciting disruptions in 1994
and 1998 which resulted in political/civil unrest. At the same
time, he said, the situation and pending May 24 parliamentary
actions were not "irretrievable." We recommended a negotiated
settlement between the majority LCD party and the BNP to avoid
parliamentary/electoral crises. (Comment: In late May 24
meeting with Finance Minister Thahane, Ambassador learned the
Prime Minister had called for an emergency party caucus that
evening, presumably to address this matter. End Comment.)


4. (C) Following our donor meeting with the DPM, we asked the
BNP leaders to meet with development partners (U.S., Irish, UN )
early May 23 to advise them that we had delivered the same
message of open negotiations among all parties during the May 24
Parliamentary meeting. The BNP leader (former head of the
military regime in Lesotho) denied they had "besieged" the
speaker, but had demonstrated two blocks away. We pressed for
rational discussion of the facts as an important tactic on the
floor. The Irish Ambassador (Paddy Fay) told the BNP there's no
sense in "winning a battle and losing the war." The UN Rep
(Mrs. Hodan Haji-Mohamud) noted (as we had done before) that
the donor community was not to interfere in internal politics,
but was present to support democratic and economic progress;
without such progress, she added, donors could not operate. We
cited the extreme situation in Zimbabwe which had led to
distress for its citizens and withdrawal of donor assistance.
Such a situation was unnecessary in Lesotho where the fledgling
democracy had demonstrated the capability of adherence to
democratic practices and rule of law.


5. (C) Comment: We are continuing our efforts to have
Lesotho's leaders of all stripes look forward, not backward, and
avoid unnecessary confrontation. The outcome of parliamentary
and intra party discussions should be available soon and we
anticipate further exchanges with various party representatives,
likely at their request following internal discussions. End
Comment.

PERRY