CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE RELEASES HARD-HITTING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000284 SIPDIS 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: DECL: 04/04/2012 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ZI SUBJECT: CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE RELEASES HARD-HITTING PASTORAL LETTER HARARE 00000284 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell under Section 1.4 b/d -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Zimbabwe is releasing April 5 a pastoral letter which blames the suffering of the Zimbabwean people on a small black elite which replaced a small while elite, and has perpetuated colonial-like misrule. The letter refers to the assault, beating, and torture of unarmed demonstrators and detainees, and calls for a new constitution and the repeal of repressive legislation. Harare Archbishop Robert Ndlovu told polecon chief that the letter has already circulated in Harare where local officials were accusing priests of affiliation with the MDC. Ndlovu said the Conference would meet again at the end of April to gauge the GOZ's reaction and consider next steps. He added the Conference may ask the Vatican to comment on the letter. While such comment might have little effect on the GOZ, we believe it could serve to focus international attention on the misdeeds of the Mugabe government. End Summary. -------------- Pastoral Letter -------------- ¶2. (U) The letter, entitled "God Hears The Cry Of The Oppressed," begins by declaring that "the people of Zimbabwe are suffering.8 It ascribes the resulting anger to &bad governance and corruption." It goes on to note that after members of the government and opposition profess loyalty to the same Church and participate in Church rituals, the next day "Christian State Agents, policemen and soldiers assault and beat peaceful, unarmed demonstrators and torture detainees." ¶3. (U) Referring to the crisis of governance, the letter goes on to discuss the deteriorating health system, educational sector, infrastructure, and public transport system. It notes that two years after Operation Muranbatsvina, thousands are without homes and that "that inexcusable injustice has not been forgotten." It condemns the "radical land reform programme" and states that as a result of the program many are hungry and unemployed. The section on governance concludes, "The list of justified grievances is long and could go on for many pages....The suffering people of Zimbabwe are groaning in agony: 'Watchman, how much longer is the night.' (Is 21:11)" ¶4. (U) The letter states that "being elected to a position of leadership is not a license to do as one pleases(" and claims that after independence the wealth and power of the tiny white elite was &appropriated by an equally exclusive black elite." The letter goes on to note that the present crisis has colonial roots; the colonial structures of pre-independence Zimbabwe persist today and have been reinforced by enactment of repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). "It almost appears as though someone sat down with the Declaration of Human Rights and deliberately scrubbed out each in turn." Repressive legislation was enacted, according to the letter, by the black elites intent on perpetuating HARARE 00000284 002.2 OF 003 their power. ¶5. (U) The Conference, in the letter, states that the confrontation in the country has reached a flashpoint. As the suffering population seeks to protest, "the State responds with ever harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings, and torture." The Conference calls for a new constitution, free and fair elections, and repeal of repressive legislation. (Note. We are sending the letter by unclassified email to AF/S. End Note.) -------------- The Genesis of the Letter -------------- ¶6. (C) Archbishop Ndlovu told us the situation in Zimbabwe was "pathetic." People were resigned to oppression and scarcity of food, and he did not think they would take to the streets in protest. He thought the end of the Mugabe era was near, but it was taking longer than expected. He was concerned that with food scarcity, due to drought and government mismanagement of agriculture, the government could use food assistance as a tool in the upcoming election. ¶7. (C) Against this backdrop, Ndlovu said the Bishops' Conference drafted the pastoral letter. However, it was overtaken by the violent events of March 11 and afterward. The Conference subsequently redrafted the letter to put greater emphasis on government-sponsored violence. -------------- GOZ Reaction to the Letter -------------- ¶8. (C) While the letter was not to be released until April 5, Holy Thursday, Ndlovu said it had already been circulated on the Internet. Several Harare priests had notified him that ocal GOZ officials had threateningly accused them f collaboration with the MDC. Ndlovu opined tha after the letter is formally released the GOZ wuld not formally respond to it, but would criticze it privately. He added that the Church was seeking dialogue over a new Constitution, but the GZ was now in election mode and probably not interesting in talking. The recent upsurge in violence was an element of its elections strategy. -------------- The Conference,s Next Steps -------------- ¶9. (C) Ndlovu said the Conference of Bishops would meet again at the end of April to take stock of the GOZ's reaction to the letter. A request to Rome for comment on the letter was a possibility. If such a request were made, he believed the Vatican would honor it. He was skeptical, however, of any effect it would have on the government or on Zimbabwe in general. (Note. According to Ndlovu, Catholicism is the largest organized religion in Zimbabwe. Fifteen percent of Zimbabweans are Catholics, approximately 500,000 people in Harare out of 1.5 million in the country. The next largest organized groups are Methodists and Anglicans. About 60 percent of Zimbabweans are &traditionalists,8 with some claiming to be Christians. End Note.) HARARE 00000284 003.2 OF 003 -------------- Mugabe and Catholicism -------------- ¶10. Ndlovu said that Mugabe often referred to the importance of his Catholic upbringing. Ndlovu said he had met with Mugabe privately on one occasion and that Mugabe had not wanted to discuss Catholicism in the context of contemporary Zimbabwe. Ndlovu added that recent efforts to meet with Mugabe had been to no avail. -------------- Bio Note -------------- ¶11. (C) Like his outspoken and controversial colleague, Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, Ndlovu is an Ndbele. He appears to share many of Ncube's sentiments about the government and current conditions in Zimbabwe, but is a consensus builder and prefers to move deliberately. Ndlovu was born and raised in Western Zimbabwe. He received an undergraduate degree in theology from the University of Zimbabwe and a graduate degree in scripture from the Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi. He trained priests for a number of years in Harare. Before assuming his present position about two years ago, he was a bishop in Hwange. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) The pastoral letter is an explicit and forceful document that lays blame for the suffering of the Zimbabwean people squarely on the government. It includes some of the most forthright criticism we have ever seen from Africans about how the Mugabe regime has betrayed and perverted the ideals of liberation, and it represents a direct attack on Mugabe,s legitimacy which he justifies almost exclusively on his liberation credentials. ¶13. (C) Ndlovu is probably right when he says the government will try to publicly ignore the letter while privately adding its authors to its ever-growing list of enemies. He is probably also right that comment from the Vatican would have little effect on the GOZ. It would, however, get international attention, particularly among those members of the European Union that have been conciliatory toward Zimbabwe, which include the largely Catholic southern European countries. We will follow up with Ndlovu later this month, after the next Bishops' Conference, and urge him to pursue support from the Vatican. End Comment DELL