Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07HARARE1059
2007-11-27 11:08:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Harare
Cable title:  

OTHER DONORS CAUTOUS ABOUT ADDRESSING

Tags:  PREL EAID PGOV ECON ZI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6517
PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #1059 3311108
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 271108Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2177
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1780
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1668
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1799
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1076
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 0029
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0068
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0926
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC//DHO-7//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK//DOOC/ECMO/CC/DAO/DOB/DOI//
RUEPGBA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ23-CH/ECJ5M//
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001059 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIO AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
USAID FOR L.DOBBINS ND E. LOKEN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FO ACSS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2017
TAGS: PREL EAID PGOV ECON ZI
SUBJECT: OTHER DONORS CAUTOUS ABOUT ADDRESSING
MISUNDERSTANDINGS

REF: HRARE 1018

Classified By: DCM: Kathy Dhanani. Rason: 1.4 d

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001059

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIO AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
USAID FOR L.DOBBINS ND E. LOKEN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FO ACSS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2017
TAGS: PREL EAID PGOV ECON ZI
SUBJECT: OTHER DONORS CAUTOUS ABOUT ADDRESSING
MISUNDERSTANDINGS

REF: HRARE 1018

Classified By: DCM: Kathy Dhanani. Rason: 1.4 d


1. (C) On November 26 USAID hosted a meeting with Ambassador,
Ambassadors from the UK Australia, the EU, Sweden and the
Netherlands a well as aid agency chiefs from Canada and the
U, to discuss addressing misunderstandings among poitical
leaders and SADC negotiators about donor conditions for
reengagement with the GOZ (Reftel).


2. (C) Those present generally agreed that, while the
international community may not be confident the SADC process
will succeed in changing conditions on the ground in
Zimbabwe, it is incumbent on us to publicly express support
as long as the process is moving forward. Participants in
the meeting did not feel that a public statement of our
principles for reengagement (as agreed to in London and
reconfirmed in the Hague) would be useful; the Australian
Ambassador said Canberra felt such a statement would give
Mugabe an opportunity to further scapegoat the international
community. However, all agreed that, as discussed in the
Hague, it is appropriate for donors to use our agreed
principles as the basis for our discussions with
interlocutors in Zimbabwe and beyond. While some
participants believed the South Africans were well aware that
international assistance will not automatically flow
following an MDC-ZANU PF agreement, all thought it might be
useful for missions in Pretoria to engage on this point with
the SAG.


3. (C) UK Ambassador Andrew Pocock offered a concise analysis
of the current situation and a recommendation for donor
response. He noted that the GOZ/ZANU is using three
strategies to try to burnish its image. The first seeks to
show that ZANU PF is fully cooperating in the SADC mediation
process to satisfy critics of democratic practices in
Zimbabwe. The second is a drumbeat of official statements
characterizing the crisis in Zimbabwe as an economic problem
(caused by sanctions) rather than a political crisis. The
third is to deny that there is undue violence in Zimbabwe.
Pocock suggested that donors stress in their discussions that
improved governance/respect for human rights/democratic
elections/enhanced humanitarian access and economic
stabilization are indivisible. He believed that SADC
governments need to hear from us that the crisis in Zimbabwe
is not just about economics. He said he understood his
government had used the Kampala Commonwealth Heads of
Government meeting to offer to support a SADC-led effort to
ensure that electoral reforms are implemented, that the
playing field is leveled and that 2008 elections in Zimbabwe
are free and fair.


4. (C) Comment: Post is disappointed but not surprised that
counterparts are cautious about public statements on
Zimbabwe. Swedish Ambassador Sten Rylander provoked a
furious reaction in state media when he talked about violence
during a UN-led meeting between the donors and the GOZ. The
preference in Harare is to wait and see, which means that
donors will be on the defensive when the GOZ accuses the
international community of hypocrisy for failing to respond
enthusiastically to paper reforms.
MCGEE