SADC: POSSIBLE EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT ON ZIMBABWE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000177

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/22/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV PINR KDEM ECON ZI LT
SUBJECT: SADC: POSSIBLE EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT ON ZIMBABWE

REF: MASERU 175; MASERU 168; MASERU 157; STATE 34009; STATE 34008

MASERU 00000177 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: W. Patrick Murphy, DCM, EXEC, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: Tanzanian Foreign Minister Membe, in Lesotho
for the SADC Council of Ministers meeting, told Maseru-based
diplomats on March 22 "in confidence" that the SADC Double
Troika ministers had recommended to their respective capitals
that Tanzania host an Extraordinary Summit for SADC Heads of
State within the next week to address the Zimbabwe situation.
Although the Double Troika issued a tepid and vague press
release on Zimbabwe, Membe stated that behind closed doors the
Troika had concluded that the facts "not only justify, but they
require" that SADC "confront the difficulties and challenges
posed by our neighbor" (Zimbabwe).


2. (C) Membe, who told the DCM he was "highly certain" the
Summit would take place on March 28 or 29, the goal of the
Summit would be to create peace in the region, but also to "give
confidence to the world that SADC is a credible organization."
It appears that demarches on the Zimbabwe crisis may be having
an impact within SADC, revealing in Lesotho and elsewhere a
growing understanding that SADC must act, lest the Zimbabwe
crisis damage the organization's credibility and/or create
greater economic and political implications for the region.
Although FM Membe did not reveal a plan of action for the
Extraordinary Summit, or preview possible outcomes, he insisted
that the Heads of State "will not be silent" on Zimbabwe. End
Summary.


3. (C) On March 22, Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Bernard Kamillius Membe held a late evening discussion with
Lesotho-based diplomats on a possible SADC mediation role to
help resolve Lesotho's ongoing election-related political crisis
(septel). Diplomats at the discussion included the Chinese and
Irish Ambassadors, the South African Charge, DCM, and the UN
resident coordinator. At the conclusion of the session, DCM
asked Membe if the SADC Council of Ministers, which had just
concluded its meeting in Maseru, had addressed the Zimbabwe
situation in any meaningful manner. Membe, describing the
Zimbabwe issue as "extremely complicated" for SADC, said that
the Council had not dealt directly with the issue, but the SADC
Troika (Lesotho, Tanzania, and Namibia) had spent considerable
time discussing the crisis..


4. (C) Membe said "in confidence" that, unlike Lesotho, which
had been very forthcoming with SADC about its internal political
challenges, Zimbabwe was proving to be extremely vexing for the
regional organization. As a result, Membe added, the SADC
Double Troika had issued a statement at the conclusion of the
Council meeting, but, he acknowledged, the statement was neither
specific nor direct (see para 7 below for full text of the
Double Troika press release).


5. (C) FM Membe said that the Troika foreign ministers had spent
the week in Lesotho "satisfying ourselves and our colleagues
that the Zimbabwe issue may require broader consideration." He
said the Troika had concluded that the facts "not only justify,
but they require" that SADC "confront the difficulties and
challenges posed by our neighbor." As a result of their
deliberations, Membe said, the Troika ministers had recommended
to their respective capitals that Tanzania, as Chair of the
Organ on Politics, Defense and Security, host an "Extraordinary
Summit" of SADC Heads of State "as soon as practically possible"
to discuss the Zimbabwe situation.


6. (C) Membe, who said that a Summit of SADC Heads of State
within the next week was a "90 percent" certainty, added that
such an unusual session was a necessity, given the regional
political and economic implications of the Zimbabwe situation.
He stated that the goal of the Summit would be to create peace
in the region, but also to "give confidence to the world that
SADC is a credible organization." In a sidebar discussion with
DCM following the discussion with the diplomats, Membe said he
was "highly certain" that the Summit would take place March 28
or 29 (following the next meeting of the Organ on Politics,
Defense and Security). Ambassador Perry is scheduled to meet
with Lesotho Foreign Minister Tsekoa on March 23, our next
opportunity to discuss the Zimbabwe situation with the GOL, and
to seek Lesotho's version of the Council of Ministers meeting
and Troika deliberations.


7. (C) Begin Text of SADC Double Troika Press Release (Issued on
SADC letterhead):

Taking Advantage of the SADC Council of Ministers Meeting in
Maseru on 22 March the SADC Double Troika met to consider the
economic, political and security situation in Southern Africa.
They:

--Recognized the initiative which the Chairperson and the Organ

MASERU 00000177 002.2 OF 002


on Politics, Defense and Security, H.E. Jakaya Kikwete,
President of the United Republic of Tanzania took to visit the
Republic of Zimbabwe for briefing and consultation on recent
developments there.

--Reviewed the reports by local and international media and
statements by various capitals regarding the situation in the
SADC region.

In view of these, the SADC Double Troika underscored the
importance of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security
intensifying its consultations on the political and economic
challenges confronting the region.

End Text.


8. (C) Comment: It appears that the demarches on the Zimbabwe
situation in capitals, and specifically in SADC capitals and
with SADC Chair, Lesotho, are having an impact. Our own daily
approaches to senior GOL officials over the past week (including
Ambassador Perry's in-depth discussions with Prime Minister
Mosisili and a half dozen Ministers) have revealed a growing
understanding that SADC must act, lest the Zimbabwe crisis
damage the organization's credibility and/or create greater
economic and political implications for the region. Tanzanian
FM Membe was positively exuberant about the potential role for
SADC in mediating the Lesotho crisis ("It is inspiring," he
said, "that the GOL and the political parties in Lesotho have
such confidence that SADC can potentially play a role to prevent
the crisis from escalating into violence.") His exuberance was
equally abundant on the forthcoming opportunity for SADC Heads
of State to tackle Zimbabwe. Although he did not reveal a plan
of action, or preview possible outcomes of the Summit, he
insisted that the Heads of State "will not be silent" on
Zimbabwe. End Comment.
PERRY