AMBASSADOR DELL WALKS OUT ON GOZ FOREIGN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000226 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS AF/S FOR S.HILL ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E.LOKEN STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B.PITTMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ZI SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DELL WALKS OUT ON GOZ FOREIGN MINISTER'S SET PIECE ADMONISHING WESTERN DIPLOMATS REF: HARARE 218 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Section 1.4 b/d -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) GOZ Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi summoned Western diplomats March 12 for a "briefing" on the current situation. Before the briefing began, Ambassador Dell sought assurances that the minister would give diplomats the opportunity to respond and express their concerns. When he did not receive these assurances, he departed. Mumbengegwi read a prepared statement and then adjourned the gathering without answering questions. In his statement, he accused the MDC of unlawful and violent activity, failed to discuss beatings of opposition leaders and activists, and without naming names, accused Western ambassadors of "complicity" in MDC violence. He threatened to declare persona non grata diplomats who violated Zimbabwe's laws or interfered in its internal affairs. End Summary. -------------- Ambassador Walks Out -------------- ¶2. (U) The MFA on March 19 summoned Western diplomats for a briefing by Foreign Minister Mumbengegwi on the current situation in Zimbabwe in light of the violent events of the past week. Mumbengegwi had briefed African and Non-Aligned Movement diplomats on March 16. The briefing was covered by State-controlled media and will doubtless feature prominently on ZBC tonight. ¶3. (U) Before the briefing began, Ambassador Dell requested assurances that he and other diplomats would be able to ask questions and express their concerns about current events. He also expressed dismay that what had been billed as a diplomatic briefing was being turned into a one-sided press conference with television cameras. When MFA officials refused to give such assurances, the Ambassador departed, saying he was not prepared to participate in such a sham. Polecon chief remained as notetaker. -------------- Events According to Mumbengegwi -------------- ¶4. (U) Mumbengegwi began by averring that for over a year the MDC had planned a campaign of lawlessness and violence and had set up country-wide networks to attack law enforcement and render the country ungovernable. MDC leaders had announced they would not respect the rule of law and had chosen the platform of the international media to make seditious statements aimed at world capitals. Despite all this, he continued, the GOZ did not take actions; Zimbabwe might be the only country in the world as tolerant. (Comment: Sic.) ¶5. (U) Mumbengegwi discussed several opposition rallies in February which he claimed the GOZ had authorized, and in which opposition leaders had advocated mass action and lawlessness. Turning to March 11, he stated police refused to grant a permit for a rally in light of MDC rhetoric during HARARE 00000226 002 OF 003 the previous month and the increasing threat of violence. The MDC and other opposition leaders sought to contravene the police by denominating the protest a prayer meeting. ¶6. (U) Mumbengegwi alleged that on March 11 over 200 opposition supporters used children as shields and attacked police with tear gas and other weapons. They also vandalized a police checkpoint. At one point, police fired 18 warning shots and then in self-defence shot a student ringleader. (Note. Presumably Gift Tandare. End Note.) He also alleged that on two different occasions (he did not specify dates) MDC youths threw petrol bombs at police. In the second incident three officers were injured. ¶7. (U) Mumbengegwi stated MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara along with National Constitutional Assembly leader Lovemore Mahduku were arrested for inciting violence. He did not mention the arrests of others or the beatings they endured while in police custody. Nor did he mention this past weekend's events, including the assault on MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa, seized at the airport while waiting to board a flight to South Africa (septel). -------------- GOZ's Veiled Threat to Western Diplomats -------------- ¶8. (U) Without naming names, Mumbengegwi attacked Western diplomats, accusing them of "feverish" support for the MDC and "complicity in an orgy of violence." He said they considered themselves self-appointed guardians of democracy and law and order, but had condoned and supported the MDC factions in planning and executing violence. ¶9. (U) Stating that eight ambassadors had visited police stations on March 11 to provide food and water, and had had "the nerve" to instruct police to bring detainees to court, Mumbengegwi stated that Zimbabwe was a sovereign state, not subject to outside influence, and diplomats seeking access to GOZ officials must go through the MFA. He also stated that the same ambassadors had inappropriately observed proceedings when detainees were brought to court. ¶10. (U) Mumbengegwi concluded by stating that Zimbabwe did not require instruction from former colonial masters and that any attempts to re-colonize it would be resisted. Citing the Vienna Convention, he said that ambassadors must desist from interference in Zimbabwe's internal affairs and obey the law. If they did not, they would be declared persona non grata. He then left the room without allowing for any questions or responses from the diplomats. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Clearly stung by intense international focus on Zimbabwe over the past week, Mumbengegwi' "briefing" was a feeble rant aimed at blaming the opposition and Western diplomats for the violence of the past 10 days. It had a surreal quality, as diplomats sat around a table listening to Mumbengegwi's warped version of reality which completely exonerated the GOZ for any wrongdoing, and were admonished that Zimbabwe would expel diplomats who did not behave (not the first time the GOZ has made such a threat and likely not the last). In the end, he succeeded only in convincing the HARARE 00000226 003 OF 003 assembled diplomats that the GOZ is acting out of fear, and that it is very conscious of the international disapproval it has engendered. DELL