MFA BRIEFS DIP CORPS ON ZIMBABWE TALKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000091 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL MZ ZI SUBJECT: MFA BRIEFS DIP CORPS ON ZIMBABWE TALKS REF: PRETORIA 164 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Todd C. Chapman, Reasons 1.4(b+d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Vice Foreign Minister Henrique Banze called together representatives of all diplomatic missions in Mozambique on January 28 to discuss the state of play on Zimbabwe. He said the Harare talks had marked progress, but that a special SADC summit in Pretoria the following week was still necessary to resolve outstanding issues, especially since the impasse was affecting the entire region. In spite of skepticism expressed by some of the Ambassadors present, he said that the outcome of Pretoria was also positive, should be seen as a step forward, and that the timeline towards complete resolution could be quite long. The GRM's stance is disappointing, as it shows no major change in its position despite the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. END SUMMARY. -------------- Urgent Meeting Called -------------- ¶2. (U) On January 28, Vice Foreign Minister Henrique Banze called for an urgent meeting of all the chiefs of mission of the diplomatic corps resident in Mozambique to brief on the SADC summit on Zimbabwe that had ended the day before. The VFM opened by telling the audience of more than 70 diplomats that given the large number of bilateral meeting requests to discuss Zimbabwe he had received since returning from Pretoria with President Armando Guebuza, he had decided to take the step of bringing all interested parties together at once. -------------- Harare Summit was a Step Forward... -------------- ¶3. (U) The VFM said that the GRM viewed the January 19 talks in Harare as a discussion between Zimbabweans--in which SADC did not actively participate--that would hopefully bring closer together ZANU-PF which wanted to form a government and then settle outstanding issues, and MDC which wanted to settle outstanding issues before forming a government. Though these discussions were "successful" and resolved most concerns, Banze said, there were still some pending issues and SADC leaders then recommended an extraordinary summit take place the following week with more active SADC participation that would result in a clear timeline to deal with all remaining concerns. He indicated that the GRM now saw the Zimbabwe question as affecting the entire region, and that the GRM wanted Zimbabwe to be as stable as possible. -------------- -- Pretoria Communique Review, More Positive Words -------------- -- ¶4. (SBU) Banze then read the Pretoria summit communique verbatim (reftel),and highlighted in particular that a timeline was created that would see a government formed by early February along with the creation of Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister positions and addressing control of the Ministry of Interior. Banze emphasized that the GRM's stance was that any solution ultimately needed to be created and implemented by Zimbabweans themselves. When the German Ambassador expressed concern that the communique seemed to be mostly an agreement between ZANU-PF and SADC--to the exclusion of MDC, Banze replied that the document was not a SADC document, rather, one that had been agreed to by all parties, and had included MDC input up until the very end. He said that SADC had no interest in a solution that doesn't include MDC. -------------- International Skepticism, GRM still Upbeat -------------- ¶5. (C) The Swedish Ambassador asked whether dialogue can realistically be expected to continue, and the Portuguese DCM expressed doubt that the Prime Minister and Deputy PM positions could be created so quickly. Banze responded that the GRM viewed the Pretoria summit as a "positive step" and continued to urge all parties to work quickly to implement the main points. Banze said the GRM urged MDC and ZANU-PF to have the energy and patience to continue dialogue, and that any movement forward should be considered a good thing. He observed that some issues could take a very long time to be addressed, noting that Mozambique was still working on issues related to the independence war thirty years later. The VFM called on all international partners to work "constructively" with Zimbabwe. MAPUTO 00000091 002 OF 002 -------------- - COMMENT: Disappointment ) GRM Says Nothing New -------------- - ¶6. (C) Banze is considered one of the more competent GRM interlocutors, who usually deals with issues directly and honestly. This performance was underwhelming, however. Since the MFA rarely convokes the entire diplomatic community in this way, expectations were high that the GRM was ready to make a strong statement on Zimbabwe. Instead, many left with the vague sensation of an opportunity lost, given that the VFM did little more than regurgitate information that most observers already knew and characterize the current impasse as a positive movement. Even so, at least we know that this is still the official GRM stance on Zimbabwe and additionally, the VFM made quite clear that the GRM is weary of constant demarches by international partners. Chapman