POLICE ZEALOUSLY CRACK DOWN ON OPPOSITION RALLIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000130

SIPDIS

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AF/S FOR S. HILL
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
USAID FOR M. COPSON AND E. LOKEN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ZI ASEC
SUBJECT: POLICE ZEALOUSLY CRACK DOWN ON OPPOSITION RALLIES


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Eric T. Schultz under Section 1
.5 b/d

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Summary
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1. (C) Police and ZANU-PF youth paramilitaries in Harare and
Bulawayo violently broke up rallies over the weekend by the
two opposition MDC factions. On February 18 in Harare, riot
police acting in defiance of a High Court order used water
cannons, teargas and batons to prevent an anti-Senate MDC
political rally of over 20,000 people, aimed at launching the
MDC,s 2008 presidential campaign. More than 20 individuals
were seriously injured and more than 60 MDC supporters and
leaders were arrested. The government-controlled press
blamed the MDC for instigating the violence. On February 17
in Bulawayo, police used batons to breakup a pro-Senate MDC
march attended by an estimated 2,000 supporters to launch its
"Defiance Campaign" against the government. We recommend the
Department issue a statement condemning the GOZ's actions
(see proposed text in paragraph 12). End Summary.

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Police Violently Quash Anti-Senate MDC Rally
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2. (U) Approximately 1,000 riot police in Harare used water
cannons, teargas and batons to prevent an estimated crowd of
20,000 from attending an anti-Senate rally on February 18 at
a stadium in the densely-populated Harare suburb of
Highfields. Morgan Tsvangirai, president of the MDC
anti-Senate faction, had planned to announce his candidacy
for president at the event but police physically denied his
entry at the stadium gates.


3. (C) Dr. Francis Lovemore, director of the Counseling
Services Unit, a local NGO that provides medical services to
victims of government abuse, told us that more than 20
individuals were seriously injured when police broke-up the
crowd at the rally. In addition, police arrested more than 60
MDC supporters at the stadium who were preparing for the
rally. These individuals have yet to be released.

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High Court Order Ignored
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4. (U) The GOZ crackdown occurred despite a High Court order
that specifically enjoined the police from interfering with
the rally. On February 16, Harare police cited the Public
Order and Security Act (POSA) to deny permission for
Tsvangirai's campaign kick-off, claiming that police did not

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have sufficient manpower to control the event, and that MDC
events historically had been "violent." Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR) lawyers successfully challenged this
denial in the High Court on February 17.


5. (U) However, immediately after the High Court ruling,
police began to preemptively arrest senior leaders of the
anti-Senate MDC, including, on the steps of the courthouse,
secretary-general and MP Tendai Biti, and, at his home, MP

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Paul Madzore. (Note: Both were still in detention as of
today. End Note.) On the morning of February 18, when it
became clear that police would not allow the rally to go
forward, MDC officials delivered a copy of the High Court

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order permitting the rally to the commanding police officer
for Harare, Thomsen Jangara. Jangara responded that he had
orders from &higher-ups8 to prohibit the event despite the
court order.

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GOZ Paints MDC as Instigator of Violence
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6. (C) According to Embassy contacts, many of the riot police
at the Harare rally were actually paid members of ZANU-PF
youth brigades. Their mission was to violently attack MDC
members in order to provoke a reaction that would support the
government's characterization of the MDC as violent. (Note:
Post has heard from several sources that these youth are paid
the equivalent of several hundred U.S. dollars per month,
several times what ordinary police receive. End Note.)


7. (SBU) The government-controlled press dutifully ignored
the brutality of the state's security apparatus and instead
reported that the MDC was responsible for the violence in
lurid headlines in their Monday and Tuesday editions. The
GOZ-controlled Herald's edition on February 19 carried the
headline "MDC unleashes violence" along with a prominent
picture of supposed MDC supporters throwing stones at police
and passer-bys.


8. (C) According to eye-witness reports, including that of an
Embassy local employee, the violence was initiated by the
riot police and in response some MDC youth began throwing
stones at the police. State media accounts have highlighted
injuries to four police officers who were reportedly attacked
by "rowdy MDC supporters."

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Pro-Senate MDC Rally Meets Similar Fate
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9. (C) Police in Bulawayo violently broke up a pro-Senate MDC
rally on February 17, attended by about 2,000, to launch its
"Defiance Campaign" plan of action. Police descended on the
pro-Senate MDC supporters as they walked a few blocks from
City Hall to the pro-Senate faction's offices in Bulawayo.


10. (C) Pro-Senate MDC communications officer Maxwell Zimuto
told poloff that several MDC supporters had been beaten by
police, including one individual who was hospitalized.
Zimuto also said that ten MDC staffers had been arrested in
Bulawayo but were released on February 19 after they paid an
admission of guilt fine.


11. (C) Pro-Senate MDC MP Abendico Bhebhe told us on February
20 that police had initially given the party permission to
hold the rally, but rescinded this permission citing
potential violence. Bhebhe said that pro-Senate MDC
Secretary General Welshman Ncube had appealed the decision to

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Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, who responded that all
political meetings had been banned.

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Recommended Statement
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12. (SBU) The Embassy recommends that the Department issue
the following statement at the appropriate level condemning
the actions of the GOZ:

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&The United States strongly condemns the actions of the
Government of Zimbabwe in violently suppressing peaceful
opposition political activity this past weekend. In defiance
of a court order, riot police broke up a rally in the
capital, Harare, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
at which its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was to announce his
candidacy for the country's 2008 presidential election.
Scores were injured and arrested for attempting to peacefully
assemble and exercise their political rights.

The police also violently suppressed a rally in Zimbabwe's
second city, Bulawayo, by the MDC's other faction over the
weekend, again injuring and arresting many MDC members. We
call on the Government of Zimbabwe to release those still
detained and to investigate the actions of the police.
Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crises cannot be
solved through continued government repression but instead
requires dialogue with the political opposition, with
Zimbabwe's civil society, and above all with the people of
Zimbabwe who have made clear their desire for democratic
change.8

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Comment
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13. (C) The GOZ's brutal response to the MDC rallies is yet
another sign that the regime is weakening in the face of the
country's economic collapse and the widespread opposition to
President Mugabe's bid to extend his term past 2008. The MDC
has been relatively quiet for the last year and a half, since
it fractured into two factions. However, the government
clearly believes the MDC still has the capacity to galvanize
growing popular unrest into active opposition and to that end
was willing to defy a court order and to once more use
violent means to prevent legitimate opposition activity.
SCHULTZ