GOZ PREEMPTS ACTIVIST'S BURIAL, PROMISES MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000227 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR S. HILL NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC ZI SUBJECT: GOZ PREEMPTS ACTIVIST'S BURIAL, PROMISES MORE VIOLENCE REF: REFTEL: HARARE 218 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Section 1.4 b/d -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) President Mugabe on March 16 promised ZANU-PF's youth wing more violence against opposition supporters. GOZ security forces over the weekend severely attacked the MDC spokesman, prevented two opposition leaders from seeking treatment in Johannesburg of their injuries sustained on March 11, and arrested pro-Senate MDC president Arthur Mutambara as he also tried to leave the country. In an attempt to disrupt the funeral procession of slain MDC activist Gift Tandare, GOZ security officials on March 17 seized his body and forced the family to bury the body in its rural homestead. End Summary. -------------- Mugabe Promises More Violence -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Brushing aside condemnation of the crackdown on March 11 (ref A),Mugabe promised more violence against the opposition at meeting of ZANU-PF's youth wing on March 16. According to press accounts, Mugabe told the youths, who often act as ruling party shock troops ahead of national elections, that "the police have the right to bash" opposition activists. Separately, a business contact informed us that Mugabe had told the youth wing that ZANU-PF was at war and that they could use any means they like against the opposition. -------------- Further Harassment of Leaders -------------- ¶3. (SBU) GOZ security officials continued their harassment of opposition leaders over the weekend. On Saturday, police stopped Sekai Holland and Grace Kwinje ) the two most seriously injured of the opposition leaders ) from boarding a medical flight to Johannesburg for treatment. ZHLR lawyers informed us that police claimed the activists needed Ministry of Health clearance before they could leave the country for treatment. Holland and Kwinje were first taken to Harare Central Police Station, where their passports were seized, and then returned to Avenues Hospital. (Note. The Australian ambassador told us that Holland, who is married to an Australian citizen, has an infected leg, due to the beating, and is in danger of losing it absent medical care in South Africa. End Note.) ¶4. (SBU) Also on Saturday, police arrested pro-Senate MDC leader Arthur Mutambara as he attempted to leave for Johannesburg to visit his family there. Mutambara remained in jail as of this morning, but pro-Senate MDC sources told us he had not been mistreated. The March 19 edition of the government-controlled Herald quoted the police spokesperson as stating that Mutambara violated orders from the Attorney General's Office that he remain in the country until charges stemming from the March 11 prayer rally were filed. (Note. Opposition lawyers had earlier told us that the Attorney General's Office had refused to issue charges. End Note.) ¶5. (SBU) On Sunday, assailants attacked MDC spokesman and MP Nelson Chamisa while he was at the airport awaiting a flight HARARE 00000227 002 OF 002 to Brussels to attend an EU-sponsored meeting of parliamentarians. The attackers reportedly beat him several times with a metal rod, causing a fracture to his right eye socket. Chamisa is currently at Avenues Hospital and reportedly in stable condition. The attackers left the scene in an unmarked car and were almost certainly affiliated with government security services or the ZANU-PF youth militia. -------------- Corpse Seized Against Taboos -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) agents on March 17 seized the body of slain MDC activist Gift Tandare against the wishes of his widow, according to MDC sources. Instead the CIO forced Tandare's father to bury the body in his rural homestead in Mt. Darwin, some 200 kilometers north of Harare. In vain, Tandare's widow and lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on March 18 applied for and received a High Court order forbidding the police from interfering in Tandare's burial. ¶7. (SBU) The seizure of Tandare's body was a transparent attempt to scuttle his funeral procession, planned for March 19 in Harare, which could have been a rallying point for the opposition. Appearing to acknowledge the serious taboos that the GOZ has broken, the Herald on March 19 attempted to portray the state's involvement as benevolently assisting the family to bury Tandare. For the moment, plans for a memorial service for Tandare appear to have been disrupted. However, opposition sources tell us it still might occur next weekend. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) MDC and civil society leaders over the past two weeks have shown great courage in the face of the GOZ's brutal onslaught. Their unflinching determination appears to have galvanized their supporters. However, there is a growing danger that the senior leadership of the opposition may fail to take advantage of this momentum. Many of the leaders are still recovering from serious injuries and others are leaving the country to drum up further international support. In a meeting with the Ambassador today (septel),Tsvangirai said the MDC was planning a "retreat" to take stock and plan next steps. ¶9. (C) More demonstrations and rallies resulting in more beatings and arrests may not be the way forward but the opposition needs to find ways to keep the pressure on the regime and to build on the perception that they have seized the initiative from Mugabe. In that regard, one of the most important developments of the past two weeks was the emergence of a "street" level of pposition leadership. These individuals mounted solidarity marches across the country while their senior leaders were in jail and recovering in hospital. Their emergence means that the opposition is developing the capacity to stretch the regime's dwindling resources and to better sustain itself in the face of government repression and efforts to decapitate the movement. DELL