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. HARARE 00000517 002 OF 002 ¶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