SADC SUSPENDS MADAGASCAR, CONTEMPLATES ZIMBABWE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MBABANE 000086 STATE FOR AF/E (MBEYZEROV),AF/S (MJWILLS, MHARRIS, EPELLETREAU),AF/RSA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2013 TAGS: PREL SADC KDEM AU WZ ZI SUBJECT: SADC SUSPENDS MADAGASCAR, CONTEMPLATES ZIMBABWE BAIL-OUT REF: A. (A) MBABANE 81 ¶B. (B) STATE 029453 Classified By: Ambassador Maurice Parker, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: On March 30, ten Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State met in Swaziland for an Extraordinary Summit to discuss the coup d'etat of former Madagascar President Ravalomanana and a 10 Billion USD Short-Term Emergency Recovery Program (STERP) for Zimbabwe. SADC suspended Madagascar's membership with immediate effect and urged the international community not to recognize the government of Andry Rajoelina. It called upon the de facto leader to vacate the office of the President to pave way for the unconditional reinstatement of President Ravalomanana. Former President Ravalomanana was present at the Summit. The Heads of State also endorsed the STERP package proposed by the Government of Zimbabwe, has given member countries two weeks to pledge their individual level of funding support, and called on nations to lift all sanctions on the Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ). SADC member states also plan to campaign for international donors to fund the STERP. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) On March 30, King Mswati III hosted the Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State at Lozitha Royal Palace to discuss the coup d'etat of former Madagascar President Ravalomanana and a financial recovery package for Zimbabwe. Head of states attendees included: Democratic Republic of the Congo President Kabila, Lesotho Prime Minister Mosisili, Malawi President Mutharika, Mauritius Prime Minister Ramgoolam, Mozambique President Guebuza, South African President Motlanthe, Tanzanian President Kikwete, Zambian President Banda, Zimbabwean President Mugabe, and former Madagascar President Ravalomanana. Foreign Ministers from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola also attended. The Extraordinary Summit decided not to recognize Rajoelina as president of Madagascar and suspended Madagascar's SADC membership. The summit called for the unconditional reinstatement of Ravalomana and constitutional rule of law, renewing the call of the Organ of Politics, Defense, and Security Cooperation's March 19 communique for the international community not to recognize the Rajoelina government. The communique did not detail the potential penalties for Madagascar's non-compliance. ¶3. (U) SADC's March 30 communique urged all member states to participate in a dedicated campaign to advocate for international donor agencies and financial institutions to fund the STERP. SADC member states' diplomatic missions and the newly formed Coordination Committee, comprised of SADC Finance Ministers, are to visit major capitals in Europe, Asia and America, as well as the major financial institutions, to campaign for international funding for Zimbabwe's proposed 10 billion USD recovery package. SADC repeated the February 27 SADC Council of Ministers' meeting message for the international community to ease or lift all sanctions on Zimbabwe. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: While Embassy questions whether SADC will be successful in raising the ten billion USD STERP to support Zimbabwe's economic recovery proposal, we are impressed that the Heads of State communique on issues regarding the crisis in Madagascar are generally consistent with the actions proposed in Reftel B. It is noted that the Swazi media, in reviewing the communique, has focused on what they consider "hypocritical actions of SADC" regarding Madagascar, in contrast to SADC's continuing tolerance for the actions taken by President Mugabe and ZANU-PF. Embassy contacts have not been available for comment since the conclusion of the Summit, which reportedly ended at 11:00 PM Monday. Any additional information regarding behind- the-scenes discussions will be reported soonest. PARKER