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.

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Urgent Meeting Called
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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.

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Harare Summit was a Step Forward...
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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.

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International Skepticism, GRM still Upbeat
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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.


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COMMENT: Disappointment ) GRM Says Nothing New
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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