LESOTHO JUNE 22 SITREP: A CALM BUT UNCERTAIN CURFEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000365

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/ITA, DS/DSS/OSAC, S/CT, D, P, M, INR, CA, AF/S;
GABORONE FOR RSO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM ASEC CASC LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO JUNE 22 SITREP: A CALM BUT UNCERTAIN CURFEW

REF: A) MASERU 359 AND PREVIOUS; B) MASERU 355 AND PREVIOUS ; C) 2006 MASERU 560 AND 525

MASERU 00000365 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 22, Maseru remained perfectly calm one
week after implementation of a curfew implemented to end attacks
on senior political and government figures. The security
situation, however, remains unpredictable. There are no signs
the Lesotho police have made progress in identifying the
perpetrators or in retrieving weapons seized during the attacks.
The curfew remains in effect until further notice. Although
the GOL remains silent on the situation, on June 21 the Lesotho
Defense Forces and the country's largest NGO coalition each made
statements, reflecting confidence in handling the situation and
growing frustration with the curfew, respectively. Hopes are
high that the return on June 25 of former President of Botswana
Masire to commence a SADC-mediated political dialogue will help
return the country to normal. The local population is also
hopeful that taxi associations and labor unions will not strike,
action that would once again paralyze the Maseru economy. END
SUMMARY.

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Amid Relative Calm, LDF
and LCN Issue Statements
--------------


2. (U) One week after the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS)
announced a curfew in response to violent attacks on senior
government and political leader residences, Maseru is calm and
the GOL is functioning normally. The 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
curfew remains in effect until further notice. The LMPS has
given no indication of any progress achieved in identifying the
perpetrators of the original attacks (June 10 and 14) or attacks
subsequent to implementation of the curfew on military and
security personnel, or in retrieving weapons and communication
equipment seized during these attacks. Post continues to
receive sporadic reports of abuses of civilians by police and
military officials at checkpoints during curfew hours.
Nonetheless, other than occasional reports of reckless shooting
by undisciplined or drunken soldiers, there were no reports of
attacks or serious security incidents during the period June
18-22.


3. (U) On June 21, the Lesotho Defense Forces (LDF) Public
Affairs Office issued a press release regarding the ongoing
situation. The statement reads as follows:

BEGIN TEXT.

The Lesotho Defense Forces Public Affairs Office (LDF PAO)
hereby informs the nation that following last week's attacks on
the LDF personnel on duty at the Honorable Ministers' homes and
at one LDF vehicle checkpoint in Maseru, the Army and the Police
have since embarked on massive operations aimed to track down
the perpetrators of these heinous criminal activities and
discover weapons stolen in these attacks.

It has come to the attention of the LDF Command that these
criminals are heavily armed with automatic rifles and roam
around disguised in LDF, Lesotho Mounted Police Service, South
African Police Service, or private security companies' uniforms.
It has also been discovered that these criminals intention is
to bring about confusion to both Police and Army operatives on
the ground, and commit criminal activities calculated to hold
the nation in the grip of fear by means of torture and
hijackings of essential services, Government and state security
services vehicles on duty.

Process has since been made in ongoing investigations, and with
the use of information furnished by peace loving citizens, the
Army is on the right track in its quest to hunt down the
attackers. While it is clear that these criminals have declared
war on all state security services, the LDF Command therefore
appeals for the continued support of all volunteers to provide
much needed information that will help the LDF to get to the
bottom of these attacks.

(sic) END TEXT.


4. (U) Also on June 21, the Democracy and Human Rights
Commission of the Lesotho Council of NGOs (LCN) released a
statement on the curfew situation. LCN is a highly regarded
umbrella organization of NGOs operating in Lesotho. The
statement noted that various stakeholders in the country have
serious concerns regarding the conduct of security personnel on
duty during curfew hours. According to the statement, "The
prevailing harassment and violation of human rights will ruin
the credibility of Lesotho's human rights record in the region
and internationally... The Democracy and Human Rights
Commission regrets the failure of government to issue any
communication on the issue of the curfew."

MASERU 00000365 002.2 OF 002



--------------
The Harvest Factor
--------------


5. (U) On June 22, private radio station Harvest FM broadcast a
report that it had received a letter allegedly from renegade
members of the LDF. In the letter, the authors stated that they
would "not be governed by a foreigner," a reference to a recent
controversy concerning Prime Minister Mosisili's possession of a
South African ID card. The letter also accused PM Mosisili of
corruption, citing interest free loans for cabinet members and
parliamentarians and the highly criticized acquisition in 2006
by ministers and other senior officials of new Mercedes Benz
sedans for only $500 (ref C).


6. (U) Following a call berating the radio presenter for reading
the letter, another caller who referred to himself as "Khanyapa"
(English translation: Anaconda) claimed to be an anti-GOL
renegade soldier. He commended the presenter for reading the
letter and stated that his group would "continue its plan."
Shortly thereafter, the station announced that the LMPS had
detained the radio presenter for questioning.

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A Tense Calm Amid Public Statements
--------------


7. (SBU) COMMENT: At week's end Maseru remained perfectly calm,
although the unpredictability of the security situation and
uncertainties related to the curfew remain. The LCN statement
on the curfew reflected generally negative public opinion with
the GOL's handling of the situation and growing impatience with
the curfew. The LDF's statement demonstrated confidence in
handling the security deterioration, but notably made no mention
of coordination with the Lesotho police, allegations of
complicity by active or retired military personnel in the
violence, or of the June 14 attack on the leader of the
opposition. Hopes are high that developments next week will
help return the city to normal, including the return on June 25
of former President of Botswana Masire to commence a
SADC-mediated dialogue aimed at resolving a political impasse
between the GOL and the opposition. The local population is
also hopeful that taxi associations and labor unions will not
strike, action that would once again paralyze the Maseru economy
(ref A). END COMMENT.
MURPHY