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

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Summary
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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.

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Mugabe Promises More Violence
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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.

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Further Harassment of Leaders
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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

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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.

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Corpse Seized Against Taboos
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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.

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Comment
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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