LESOTHO: SADC ENVOY BRINGS GOL, OPPOSITION TOGETHER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000357

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/19/2017
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: SADC ENVOY BRINGS GOL, OPPOSITION TOGETHER

REF: A) MASERU 350 AND PREVIOUS; B) MASERU 355

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CLASSIFIED BY: Charge d'Affaires a.i. W. Patrick Murphy, CDA
a.i., EXEC, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) SUMMARY: On June 16, former President of Botswana
Kitumile Masire, head of a SADC mediation team in Lesotho,
succeeded in pulling together various stakeholders, including
the governing and opposition parties, to discuss the nation's
current political stalemate. Masire achieved an agreement for a
formal dialogue, commencing on June 25, to discuss political
tolerance and respect and to review Lesotho's electoral system
and parliamentary seat allocation procedures. The joint session
was generally amicable, according to Lesotho's Foreign Minister,
but not without some verbal fireworks. Masire's success in
herding the parties together for the first time since the
post-election impasse emerged in February provides substantial
hope for reconciliation. The present deteriorating security
situation in Lesotho (ref A) gives his mission an increasingly
weighty sense of urgency and importance. The governing and
opposition parties, however, diverge considerably on
expectations of the results the dialogue may produce. Masire
and his SADC mediation team will have their work cut out for
them. END SUMMARY.

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SADC Troika Dialogue
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2. (U) Former President of Botswana Sir Kitumile Masire visited
Lesotho June 14-18 as an "eminent person" assigned by the SADC
Organ of Politics, Defense, and Security Cooperation Ministerial
Troika to mediate among stakeholders in the nation's current
political standoff (ref A). His effort is a follow-up to the
conclusions of the SADC Troika's earlier mission to Lesotho in
April 2007, which recommended that a formal political dialogue
be initiated to resolve the country's post-electoral political
impasse which has raised concerns about the country's stability.

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Read Out From Foreign Minister
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3. (SBU) During a June 18 meeting between the Deputy Prime
Minister and diplomatic representatives regarding an ongoing
curfew and security deterioration (ref B),Foreign Minister
Tsekoa briefed on Masire's mediation visit. Noting that "time

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is not on our side," Tsekoa said that the GOL treated the
mediation process seriously and as a means to help resolve the
country's political impasse. The FM said that Masire had met
with all target stakeholders during his visit, including the
governing LCD party, opposition parties, the nation's media
monitoring panel, the Lesotho Council of NGO's, and the
diplomatic corps (ref A),among others. On Saturday, June 16,
Masire met jointly with all stakeholders, reversing his earlier
decision that a joint session between the LCD and the opposition
would be counterproductive. (NOTE: The UN Resident Coordinator
(UNRC) told Charge that Masire had contacted her to report that
during his consultations he had discovered enough commonalities
among stakeholders to conclude that a mediation session during
his first visit could in fact yield tangible results. END NOTE.)


4. (SBU) Masire, according to FM Tsekoa, tabled two issues
during the Saturday mediation session: 1) the need to conduct a
dialogue on basic political ground rules including political
tolerance, respect for authority, and respect for other
political players; and 2) the need to bring in "outside"
(international) experts to discuss and evaluate Lesotho's Mixed
Member Proportional (MMP) electoral model and the allocation of
parliamentary seats. On the first issue, opposition figures
stated that they would need time to prepare for such a dialogue,
but agreed to address it upon President Masire's return to
Lesotho on Monday June 25 to resume the mediation effort. (NOTE:
Tsekoa expressed surprise that the opposition would need time to

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prepare for issues as fundamental as mutual respect. END NOTE.)


5. (SBU) After some debate, said FM Tsekoa, the session's
participants agreed to bring foreign technical experts to
Lesotho to discuss the MMP model. Tsokoa was quick to point out
the divergence of expectations between the governing and
opposition parties regarding the outcome of these experts'
recommendations. Opposition parties foresee a process that
results in their gain of more parliamentary seats, while the
governing party sees the seat distribution as a purely legal
issue that must be settled through the courts with effect only
on future elections.


6. (SBU) FM Tsekoa stated that he did not see an overlap between
current court cases on seat allocation and the work of
international experts on the MMP model, as the latter would
merely produce recommendations that are not legally binding. He
added that President Masire had responded emphatically to the
opposition parties that the technical experts would offers
views, but only "the law of the land" could change electoral
procedures. All sides, concluded Tsekoa, agreed that while the

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political parties could suggest specific technical experts,
President Masire would make the actual nominations on the basis
of a stakeholder consensus that "the best available experts"
needed to be identified.


7. (U) In a letter dated June 18 to the UNRC expressing
gratitude for UNDP funding of the "SADC Mediation Mission," and
seeking additional resources for the next stage, FM Tsokoa said
that Masire had "successfully facilitated a preliminary
post-electoral dialogue between Government and Opposition
Parties and other stakeholders," reaching agreement on an agenda
and on starting the "main dialogue" on June 25. A June 17 SADC
press release said that Masire, who commended the stakeholders
for their willingness to engage in a dialogue to resolve their
differences, had "expressed the importance of promoting a
culture of dialogue and good governance that allows for
sustainable peace and security in Lesotho."

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The Opposition Weighs In
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8. (SBU) On June 19, five of Lesotho's main opposition parties,
led by ABC leader (and former LCD Minister) Tom Thabane, held a
press conference to address the Masire mediation mission. The
parties, affirming they had agreed with the SADC Troika's
recommendation to hold further dialogue to discuss issues
related to parliamentary seat allocation, identified publicly
the specific experts they would like to see study Lesotho's MMP
model. The opposition leaders also noted disapprovingly that
Tanzanian FM Membe, during his delivery to Lesotho on June 11 of
the SADC Troika report, has assiduously avoided any discussion
of the allocation of proportional parliamentary seats - the
opposition's main bone of contention. (NOTE: Thabane told
several diplomats separately that he was "pleased" with the
Masire mediation, saying that the opposition had submitted a
number of key issues for the dialogue agenda, including party
alliances, official opposition leader status, and personal
security. "Masire was hard on us," said Thabane, "but he was
hard on the LCD, too."

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Gains Despite Fireworks
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6. (C) COMMENT: The Foreign Minister characterized the mediation
session as generally amicable, but not without some verbal
fireworks between the governing and opposition parties.
Nonetheless, Masire's success in herding the parties together
for the first time since the post-election impasse emerged in
February provides substantial hope for reconciliation and a
return to normalcy. The present deteriorating security
situation in Lesotho (ref A) has given his mission an
increasingly weighty sense of urgency and importance. The
governing and opposition parties, however, diverge considerably
on expectations of the results the dialogue may produce. Masire
and his SADC mediation team will have their work cut out for
them. END COMMENT.
MURPHY