GOZ REACTS TO CATHOLIC BISHOPS' PASTORAL LETTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000449

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ZI
SUBJECT: GOZ REACTS TO CATHOLIC BISHOPS' PASTORAL LETTER

REF: A. A) HARARE 284


B. B) 2006 HARARE 783

Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell under Section 1.4 b/d

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Summary
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1. (C) After several weeks of silence, the GOZ, through
newspaper interviews with President Robert Mugabe and
Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban
Development Ignatius Chombo, slammed the pastoral letter of
the Catholic Bishops' Conference disseminated and read at the
beginning of April. In a conversation with poleconchief on
May 17, Archbishop Robert Ndlovu said the letter entitled
"God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed" had raised important
issues that would need to be considered in next year's
election. Ndlovu said the Church was open to dialogue with
the government, but he thought this unlikely given election
year politics. The bishops will meet in June to consider the
government's reaction and next steps. End Summary.

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Letter Widely Disseminated
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2. (SBU) The pastoral letter (Ref A) blamed a small black
elite for perpetuating colonial-like misrule and for the
assault, beating and torture of unarmed demonstrators.
Referring to a crisis of governance, it called for the repeal
of repressive legislation and a new constitution. According
to Ndlovu, the letter was read from pulpits throughout the
country. Numerous copies were distributed to Catholics and
non-Catholics alike throughout the country.


3. (C) Ndlovu told us the letter was well-received in urban
areas but the reaction to it was mixed in rural areas. He
believed this was because of the omnipresence of ZANU-PF and
limited access of people to other than the government
controlled media in these areas. He also noted that
government security forces had impounded copies of the letter
to prevent more extensive dissemination.

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GOZ Slams Letter
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4. (U) Almost a month later, in an interview with the
GOZ-controlled Herald, Mugabe termed the letter "political
nonsense" and accused the Bishops of embarking on a
"dangerous path." He said he would talk to some of the
bishops about the substance of the letter, but specifically
excluded outspoken Bulawayo Archbishop Pius Ncube. However,
GOZ minister Chombo several days later raised the level of
rhetoric, calling the letter "hateful, unfair, inaccurate,
too general, malicious, insidious and, to some extent,
diabolic."


5. (C) Ndlovu said the bishops' public address of truth to
power had clearly struck a nerve with the government. He
thought that the delayed government reaction was due to
surprise. The letter had taken them unawares. He argued
that in fact it was the government that had politicized the
letter by their harsh response and by conflating the Church
with the political opposition.


HARARE 00000449 002 OF 002


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Bishops Open to Dialogue
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6. (C) Referring to Mugabe's statement that he would discuss
the letter with "some" of the bishops, Ndlovu said the
Bishops, Conference would be glad to meet with him, but
would insist on the presence of all bishops, including Ncube.
To date, they had not heard from the president.


7. (C) The Catholic Bishops, Conference was a signatory,
along with the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, to the "National Vision"
document, endorsed by Mugabe in October, which called for
national dialogue (Ref B). Ndlovu told us he and the bishops
had not abandoned the idea of a nation-wide dialogue that
included the government, but he believed the focus in the
upcoming months would be on the 2008 election rather than
dialogue. Nevertheless, he believed the issues set out in
the pastoral letter would be raised by candidates in the
election.


8. (C) Ndlovu concluded that the bishops would meet at the
beginning of June to consider the GOZ's reaction to the
letter and next steps. Despite the government's caustic
reaction, he believed the bishops were united in their desire
to continue to raise the points set out in the letter.

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Comment
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9. (C) As we noted Ref A, the pastoral letter contains some
of the most forthright African criticism ever of Mugabe and
his regime. The regime's harsh response would appear to be a
signal that, despite its religious authority, Mugabe is
prepared to strike back at further Church efforts critical of
him and his government. Churches remain the one national
institution in Zimbabwe that Mugabe and ZANU-PF have not been
able to co-opt. They are thus regarded (not incorrectly) by
the regime as a potentially very dangerous foe. Hence the
strength of the regime backlash.
DELL