TSVANGIRAI UPDATES OECD HEADS OF MISSION ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000955 SENSITIVE SIPDIS AF/S FOR B. WALCH DRL FOR N. WILETT 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: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ZI SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI UPDATES OECD HEADS OF MISSION ON DEADLOCK -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) MDC leader and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai updated heads of OECD missions on October 22 and stated that no progress had been made towards concluding negotiations between ZANU-PF and the MDC on a power-sharing government. While disappointed that Mugabe was not negotiating in good faith, he indicated he will attend the rescheduled SADC Troika meeting in Harare on October 27. According to Tsvangirai, newly-appointed South African president Motlanthe will be present as well. END SUMMARY. -------------- Neither Progress, Nor Good Faith Efforts -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador attended a gathering of OECD heads of mission on October 22 at which MDC leader and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai delivered an update on the status of the deadlocked negotiations between the two MDC formations and ZANU-PF. Tsvangirai was quick to declare that no progress had been made and described the negotiations as being "like trench warfare: one step at a time." According to Tsvangirai, President Mugabe and his negotiators were still insisting on all key ministries, which had forced him to request that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union re-engage as the guarantors of the agreement. ¶3. (SBU) Tsvangirai also discussed his decision not to attend the October 20 meeting of the SADC Troika--composed of Swaziland, Angola, and Mozambique--in Mbabane. He explained that while he was granted an emergency travel document, he wanted to draw attention to the continued denial of his passport application. Tsvangirai asserted that Mugabe had directed the Registrar General to refuse his application, and that it was "not an issue of a passport, but a test of the sincerity of Mugabe's and ZANU-PF's willingness to cooperate in good faith." (NOTE: The daily newspaper and government mouthpiece, the Herald, has portrayed Tsvangirai's decision as evidence that he is not serious about addressing the crisis facing Zimbabwe. The Registrar General and Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba blamed western SANCTIONS resulting in a lack of passport paper for failing (since August) to provide Tsvangirai with a passport. Passports have been regularly issued to other Zimbabweans over this period. END NOTE.) -------------- -- Tsvangirai and Motlanthe to Attend Next Session -------------- -- ¶4. (SBU) The SADC Troika discussion of Zimbabwe has now been rescheduled for October 27 in Harare. Tsvangirai intimated he will attend, but said he will first confer with advisors and discuss his participation with the MDC national executive on October 24. Tsvangirai mentioned that newly-appointed South African president Kgalema Motlanthe will attend the Troika session on October 27, despite not being an official Troika member. Tsvangirai was straightforward in stating that he believed that Mbeki was rapidly becoming irrelevant to the process. -------------- Other Sticking Points, Mugabe, and Demarches -------------- HARARE 00000955 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) Tsvangirai also stated that the negotiations were not solely concerned with the division of ministries. Additionally, the appointment of governors and ambassadors was being discussed, as well as policy issues including how best to reverse the economy's slide and hyperinflation. ¶6. (SBU) When asked if he was still convinced Mugabe would implement a deal, Tsvangirai answered that the president was desperate and had no other option. He added that he had received MDC intelligence reports that if the deal failed, there was a chance of the military stepping in. He did not elaborate further on that scenario. ¶7. (SBU) Although Tsvangirai did not directly ask for our intervention, he hinted that a series of coordinated demarches from OECD nations to SADC capitals would be welcomed. MCGEE