HARARE HIT HARD: ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN THE CAPITAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000517

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR S. HILL
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM KDEM ZI
SUBJECT: HARARE HIT HARD: ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN THE CAPITAL

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Glenn Warren for reason 1.4(d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: With reports of ZANU-PF-led electoral
violence escalating near the capital city, on June 18
Ambassador McGee and Emboffs toured the high-density Harare
neighborhood of Epworth to investigate abuses, evaluate the
presence of security forces, and gauge receptiveness to
pre-election observer missions. The Embassy contingent found
the MDC-stronghold partially under the control of so-called
"war veterans" running re-education "bases" and documented
evidence of recent attacks on MDC supporters' homes. Embassy
staff witnessed the brutality of a ZANU-PF youth militia
first-hand when hundreds of Epworth residents fled a mob of
young men, many in ZANU-PF T-shirts and all brandishing
sticks, who chased women, children and the elderly toward a
ZANU-PF meeting. Residents appeared fearful and unwilling to
fight back. Security forces were not visible, despite the
nearby police station. END SUMMARY


2. (C) Following a rash of reports of ZANU-PF-sponsored
violence in the high-density areas surrounding Harare,
Ambassador McGee and Embassy officers visited the MDC
strong-hold of Epworth, just south of Harare proper. Access
to these areas, as in the rural provinces, remains a
challenge. SADC observers were turned away from Epworth on
June 17 by ZANU-PF militants. During the Australian
Ambassador's trip to Epworth last week, he was surrounded by
a youth mob who threw rocks at his car until he left the
neighborhood. We were accompanied by an MDC party organizer
from Mashonaland East who had relocated to Epworth after
having his rural home destroyed. He told us that on the
previous evening, from 12am to 2am, about 200 ZANU-PF war
veterans and youth, (many of the latter bussed in from Mbare,
another high-density neighborhood in Harare) accompanied by
police, had attacked parts of Epworth, destroying a number of
homes belonging to MDC members, including his, by knocking
down walls and pulling out asbestos filling.


3. (C) Shortly after arrival in Epworth, we encountered a
road-block of boulders manned by ZANU-PF youth, some wearing
party T-shirts and holding their fists in the air in the
traditional sign of support for the Mugabe regime. After
going around the roadblock, we stopped at one of ZANU-PF's
many "bases" in Epworth, this one in Overspill, a centrally
located but off-road clearing intended for use by the party
to hold regular "re-education" meetings to intimidate
would-be MDC voters. Our MDC companion said that meetings
were typically held in the day for women, children and the
elderly, and for youth and employed men in the evening. Many
of the people in the area were wearing ZANU-PF shirts or
hats. Nearby, we observed a recently-destroyed two-room
concrete house. The still-hot coals in the cooking area, as
well as discarded clothes, cooking utensils, money and other
items intertwined with the rubble of the walls gave the
appearance of a place that was hastily left by its
inhabitants. We questioned several men wearing ZANU-PF
shirts. They denied to us that they or members of their
party had been engaged in violence, instead blaming the MDC
for any violence that had occurred.


4. (C) While searching for another base site on an isolated
back road, our team encountered two young men who quietly
confirmed for the Ambassador that beatings, perpetrated by
ZANU-PF youth, had been taking place in the area. When
asked why MDC supporters in a place like Epworth (where they
greatly outnumber ZANU-PF supporters) did not fight back, one
of the men replied that people were afraid and that they were
outnumbered by the mobs that were primarily made up of youths
bused in from other areas for nighttime attacks. They were
also afraid to go to the authorities, who they believed to be
colluding with ZANU-PF.


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5. (C) As our two-car convoy turned onto a main road, we
witnessed a few hundred women, children, elderly men and
youth running en mass down the street. We then saw a large
group of youth, some wearing ZANU-PF T-shirts and all
brandishing large sticks, axes, and tire irons; chasing
people from their homes and yards in an apparent effort to
herd them to a central location. There was palpable fear on
the faces of the pursued, which included mothers with
children on their backs. The youths, who appeared crazed as
if high on drugs or alcohol, did not seem deterred by the
presence of diplomatic vehicles. One of our team videotaped
some of the event.


6. (C) The MDC organizer who accompanied us subsequently
explained that the fleeing people we had observed had been
trying to get to the nearby police station for protection
from the band of youths. The ZANU-PF youths had wanted the
residents to attend a re-education meeting at a base located
in a wooded area bordering the road.


7. (C) After returning to the Embassy, Emboffs contacted the
SADC observation office in Harare to suggest that SADC
immediately deploy an observer team to Epworth to witness the
ongoing situation. SADC was unable, however, to quickly
mobilize a team.


8. (C) COMMENT: Reports of violence, intimidation and
displacement targeting MDC supporters continue to flood in
and there is no sign that the Mugabe regime's campaign is
waning; rather, it continues to escalate, despite the
presence of SADC observers, diplomatic assessment trips, and
the eye of the international community. There is currently
zero political space for the opposition, not only in remote
rural areas, but now even in MDC strong-holds in Harare. The
MDC cannot hold rallies, it has no access to the media, and
its leaders are being arrested. It is noteworthy that in
Epworth, before the March 29 election, there were numerous
MDC rallies and MDC posters were ubiquitous. Now, there is
no evidence of an MDC presence. Some MDC leaders think that
even in the absence of a free and fair election, however,
there is such antipathy to ZANU-PF and Mugabe that the MDC
can prevail. With the fear that we have observed, and with
massive displacements of people from their voting wards, we
are skeptical. END COMMENT.

Warren