C O N F I D E N T I A L LUSAKA 000492


DEPT FOR AF/S BRIAN WALCH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2019
TAGS: PGOV SADC ZI ZA
SUBJECT: SADC ON ZIMBABWE - TIME IS ON OUR SIDE

REF: STATE 70664

Classified By: Ambassador Donald E. Booth for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) With Foreign Minister and Permanent Secretary out of
country, PolOff delivered reftel demarche July 10 to Kimbala
Meleka, Assistant Director for Africa and the Middle East at
the Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meleka acknowledged
that the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as a
guarantor of the Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement (GPA),
is fully aware of the challenges to the GPA that have been
raised by Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Meleka said SADC heads of state haven't acted on their
concerns because President Robert Mugabe has promised he
would act on MDC's concerns. Meleka suggested that the
numerous challenges "may not be addressed in one go" but that
SADC is "closely monitoring the evolution of the situation"
and, depending on events on the ground, "may intervene." He
said the issue was not raised at the June 20 SADC
Extraordinary Summit because the focus at that meeting was
squarely on the situation in Madagascar. Meleka said the
situation in Zimbabwe would be addressed during the July 18
-20 Interstate Politics and Diplomacy Committee meetings to
be held in Swaziland (comprised of SADC Ministers of Foreign
Affairs), where Zimbabwe will be in attendance to speak to
specific political and security issues.


BOOTH