Zimbabwean Labor Leader Interrogated, Office Raided

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000168 SENSITIVE SIPDIS AF/S FOR BWALCH DRL FOR SMORGAN, MMITTELHAUSER, AND TDANG DOL/ILAB FOR SHALEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM PREL PREF ASEC ZI SUBJECT: Zimbabwean Labor Leader Interrogated, Office Raided REF: 09HARARE760 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On February 19, the Secretary General of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), Gertrude Hambira, was interrogated by a group of 17 security officials for her part in producing a film documenting abuse suffered by farm workers in Zimbabwe. During the interrogation, senior security officers intimidated and threatened the leader of the farm workers' union and her lawyer. On Wednesday February 24, GAPWUZ's office was raided. Hambira fears she and GAPWUZ may face further action by the government in retaliation for the documentary. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- Farm Workers Union Leader Interrogated -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On Friday February 19, Gertrude Hambira, the Secretary General of GAPWUZ appeared before a group of security officials representing the Joint Operations Command (JOC) at the request of an assistant commissioner of police. ¶3. (SBU) According to Hambira, she and her lawyer ,Trust Maanda from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights , appeared for about 45 minutes before a group of 17 security officials from the army, police, prison service, and intelligence services. Deputy Police Commissioner Innocent Matibiri (who is President Mugabe's nephew) led the questioning. Matibiri began by asking about the video and report "House of Justice" that was produced by GAPWUZ in conjunction with another local organization, the Research and Advocacy Unit with assistance from the U.S.-based organization Witness. "House of Justice" was first shown to a group of diplomats in Harare in October (reftel) and has since been shown in numerous settings internationally and is also on the internet on You Tube and other websites. (NOTE: The documentary is online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqOjiq19rHk. END NOTE.) ¶4. (SBU) Matibiri asked Hambira why she made the video rather than reporting the issue to the Joint Operational Command ( JOC). He asked who "gave her the authority" to make the documentary. The interrogators also told Hambira that the video dealt with human rights issues "not trade union issues" and accused her of overstretching her bounds. An army official known as Chedundu heckled, "These people are dangerous. Are there any rooms in the cells? We should put them in the cells right now." They also warned Maanda that he needed to be careful if he was going to associate with such dangerous people. ¶5. (SBU) The group asked Hambira about her funding sources. (NOTE: She did not disclose that GAPWUZ receives funding from any government. END NOTE.) They also asked how far the video had gone, specifically asking if the video had been given to the Southern Africa Development Community. At the end of the meeting, they told Hambira that they would call her back. When we met with Hambira on February 22, she indicated her office had already taken measures to increase security but that GAPWUZ needed additional measures to protect the security of its data. ¶6. (SBU) Hambira told us she had reported the incident to Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions' President Lovemore Matombo, who promised to raise the incident with the Minister of Labor. HARARE 00000168 002 OF 002 -------------- -------------- GAPWUZ Office Raided; Hambira Hiding -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) At noon on February 24, GAPWUZ's office in downtown Harare was raided by security officials looking for documents and for Hambira. Hambira was out of the office at the time and is in a safe place. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The security service team's interrogation of Hambira has sent a shiver through many in civil society who see it as a harsh reminder that the security environment remains tenuous for those who speak out against the security forces and ZANU-PF. It is unclear why the JOC has taken such a sudden interest now - months after the video was released and shown to a wide audience. We suspect someone senior in government just learned about the documentary and was angry to learn that the security forces had done nothing to block it. Regardless of the reasons why, this intimidation of GAPWUZ is evidence that the security forces' attitude towards labor unions has not changed. Dhanani