Movement for Democratic Change shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Tendai Biti told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Joseph Sullivan that he did not think much of South African President Thabo Mbeki who was one of the mediators in the Zimbabwe crisis describing him as a “cold, calculating politician”.
Biti, instead, preferred Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who was also one of the negotiators describing him as a consummate bridge-builder.
Biti and party secretary-general Welshman Ncube told the ambassador that they were comfortable with Obasanjo’s efforts to facilitate dialogue with ZANU-PF than with Mbeki’s.
Ncube advised the United States government against pressing publicly for a new election, encouraging it instead to push South Africa and Nigeria to take the public lead on the issue.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 02HARARE786, ZIMBABWE: MDC URGES USG TO LET SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
CONFIDENTIAL PTO2310
PAGE 01 HARARE 00786 01 OF 02 261323Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 USNW-00 DODE-00 DS-00
EUR-00 E-00 VC-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 LAB-01
VCE-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 IRM-00 DSCC-00 DRL-02 NFAT-00
SAS-00 /005W
——————7AA877 261323Z /38
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1318
INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000786
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/12
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: MDC URGES USG TO LET SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA
PUSH FOR NEW ELECTION
REF: A) HARARE 748 B) HARARE 721
CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MATT HARRINGTON. REASONS:
1.5 (B) AND (D).
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITION MDC LEADERSHIP ARE
MORE COMFORTABLE WITH PRESIDENT OBASANJO’S EFFORTS TO FACILITATE
DIALOGUE WITH ZANU-PF THAN WITH PRESIDENT MBEKI’S. THE PARTY’S
SECRETARY-GENERAL, WELSHMAN NCUBE, ADVISED THE USG AGAINST
SIPDIS
PRESSING PUBLICLY FOR A NEW ELECTION AT THIS STAGE, INSTEAD
ENCOURAGING US TO PUSH SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA TO TAKE THE
PUBLIC LEAD ON THIS ISSUE. NCUBE DESCRIBED THE PARTY’S
INTERACTIONS WITH THE CANADIAN COMPANY AT THE CENTER OF THE
ALLEGED ASSASSINATION PLOT AGAINST PRESIDENT MUGABE. DANGER
SIGNS OF A SETUP WERE EVIDENT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE COMPANY’S
APPROACH TO THE MDC, AND THE PARTY’S FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THOSE
AT THE TIME REVEALS A SURPRISING POLITICAL NAIVETE. END SUMMARY.
¶2. (C) THE AMBASSADOR, ACCOMPANIED BY POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF,
MET AT HIS RESIDENCE ON MARCH 22 WITH MDC SECRETARY-GENERAL
WELSHMAN NCUBE. NCUBE WAS JOINED BY THE MDC’S SHADOW FOREIGN
MINISTER AND MP TENDAI BITI.
TALKS WITH MBEKI, OBASANJO
————————–
¶3. (C) WE ASKED TENDAI BITI, WHO HAD PARTICIPATED IN MORGAN
TSVANGIRAI’S POST-ELECTION TALKS ON MARCH 18 WITH PRESIDENTS
SIPDIS
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 00786 01 OF 02 261323Z
MBEKI AND OBASANJO (REF B), FOR HIS IMPRESSIONS OF THOSE
DISCUSSIONS. BITI APPROVINGLY DESCRIBED OBASANJO AS A CONSUMMATE
BRIDGE-BUILDER WHO DID AN IMPRESSIVE JOB OF BREAKING THE ICE IN A
MEETING WHICH WAS AWKWARD AT FIRST. HE THOUGHT MUCH LESS OF
PRESIDENT MBEKI, WHOM HE DESCRIBED AS A “COLD, CALCULATING
POLITICIAN.” BITI CONFIRMED THAT THE TWO PRESIDENTS DID NOT
PRESS FOR A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY AS THE WAY FORWARD BUT
DID ENCOURAGE AN MDC-ZANU-PF DIALOGUE.
¶4. (C) NCUBE NOTED THAT THE FACILITATORS NAMED BY MBEKI AND
OBASANJO — ANC SECRETARY-GENERAL KGALEMA MOTHANTHE AND NIGERIAN
ACADEMIC PROFESSOR ADBEYO ADEDEJI — HAD ARRIVED IN ZIMBABWE AND
WERE CURRENTLY TOUCHING BASE WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF BOTH PARTIES.
THE MDC HAD SHARED ITS NEGOTIATING PRINCIPLES WITH THE
FACILITATORS AND WOULD WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE OTHER SIDE CAME UP
WITH. ASKED WHETHER THE FACILITATORS WERE FAIR BROKERS, NCUBE
SAID HE DID NOT KNOW THE NIGERIAN BUT HAD HEARD GOOD THINGS ABOUT
HIM. IT WAS TOO EARLY TO TELL, HE SAID, WHETHER THE ANC
SECRETARY-GENERAL WOULD PLAY A POSITIVE ROLE. HE WAS PLEASED
SIPDIS
THAT MOTHANTHE HAD STATED HIS OBJECTIVE AS PROMOTING SUFFICIENT
RECONCILIATION TO HAVE A UNITY GOVERNMENT BEFORE AND AGAIN AFTER
NEW ELECTIONS.
WAY FORWARD: NEW ELECTION?
————————–
¶5. (C) ASKED WHAT THE MDC’S CURRENT OBJECTIVES WERE, BITI SAID
HE SUPPORTED FORMATION OF AN INTERIM GOVERNMENT, THEN DRAFTING OF
A NEW CONSTITUTION WHICH WOULD GOVERN NEW ELECTIONS. BITI
INSISTED THAT THE CONSTITUTION-DRAFTING PROCESS WOULD NOT TAKE
LONG, AS SIGNIFICANT MATERIAL HAD BEEN GLEANED SINCE THE MOVE FOR
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 00786 01 OF 02 261323Z
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM BEGAN IN 1999. NCUBE ADDED THAT KEY
ELEMENTS OF THE PARTY LEADERSHIP WOULD BE GATHERING AT A RETREAT
NEAR BULAWAYO OVER THE WEEKEND TO STRATEGIZE ON NEXT STEPS.
(COMMENT: HEAVY SURVEILLANCE BY POLICE AND CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
ORGANIZATION AGENTS OF THE PLANNED VENUE IN THE MATOBO HILLS
TOURIST AREA FORCED PARTICIPANTS TO RECONVENE IN BULAWAYO. WE
WILL BE SEEKING A READOUT OF THE LEADERSHIP’S DISCUSSIONS. END
COMMENT.) THE AMBASSADOR ASKED WHETHER IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR
THE UNITED STATES TO PRESS PUBLICLY FOR A NEW ELECTION. NCUBE
SAID SUCH AN APPROACH AT THIS EARLY STAGE WOULD BE
COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, PLAYING INTO MUGABE’S EFFORTS TO DEMONIZE THE
WEST. HE ADVISED US TO ENCOURAGE SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA
QUIETLY TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THIS ISSUE. ASKED WHETHER THE MDC
HAD IN PLACE A PLAN IN CASE ITS LEADERSHIP WAS ARRESTED, NCUBE
SAID THE SIMPLE ANSWER WAS “NO, WE HAVE NO PLAN B TO DEAL WITH
SUCH A SCENARIO.”
DICKENS AND MADSON SAGA
———————–
¶6. (C) NCUBE HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH TREASON ALONG WITH MDC LEADER
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PTO2311
PAGE 01 HARARE 00786 02 OF 02 261323Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 USNW-00 DODE-00 DS-00
EUR-00 E-00 VC-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 LAB-01
VCE-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 IRM-00 DSCC-00 DRL-02 NFAT-00
SAS-00 /005W
——————7AA889 261323Z /38
P 261306Z MAR 02
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1319
INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 HARARE 000786
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/12
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: MDC URGES USG TO LET SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA
PUSH FOR NEW ELECTION
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 00786 02 OF 02 261323Z
MORGAN TSVANGIRAI AND THE PARTY’S SHADOW AGRICULTURE MINISTER,
RENSON GASELA, IN THE ALLEGED ASSASSINATION PLOT AGAINST
PRESIDENT MUGABE. NCUBE TOLD US THAT THE COMPANY AT THE CENTER
OF THE ALLEGED PLOT, DICKENS AND MADSON, HAD HIRED RUPERT
JOHNSON, A LONG-TIME FRIEND OF GASELA’S, TO MAKE THE INITIAL
PITCH TO THE MDC. ACCORDING TO NCUBE, JOHNSON WAS AN UNWITTING
PAWN IN THE WHOLE AFFAIR — HE WAS RECRUITED TO WORK IN DICKENS
AND MADSON SOME MONTHS EARLIER; IT TURNS OUT ONLY TO SET UP
TSVANGIRAI AND HE HAS SINCE BEEN DISMISSED BY THE COMPANY.
SIPDIS
¶7. (C) ACCORDING TO NCUBE, DICKENS AND MADSON HAD APPROACHED THE
MDC WITH AN OFFER TO REPRESENT THE PARTY IN THE UNITED STATES AND
CANADA. THE COMPANY CLAIMED TO HAVE EXCELLENT CONNECTIONS AT THE
VERY HIGHEST LEVELS OF THOSE GOVERNMENTS. DICKENS AND MADSON
CLAIMED FURTHER TO HAVE RAISED MONEY FROM DISGRUNTLED ZIMBABWEANS
LIVING ABROAD AND SAID IT WOULD SIMPLY DEDUCT ITS LOBBYING FEES
OUT OF THESE FUNDS. THE MDC ONLY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO TRANSFER A
SMALL SUM OF MONEY TO THE COMPANY, AS THEY WERE TOLD PROOF OF
SUCH A TRANSFER MUST BE PRESENTED WHEN A LOBBYING GROUP REGISTERS
IN THE UNITED STATES TO REPRESENT A FOREIGN ORGANIZATION. IN A
PROPHETIC STATEMENT, THE MDC’S TREASURER INITIALLY BALKED AT
MAKING THIS PAYMENT, COMMENTING THAT HE HOPED THE PARTY WOULD NOT
COME TO REGRET ITS ASSOCIATION WITH DICKENS AND MADSON.
¶8. (C) NCUBE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, IN RETROSPECT, DANGER SIGNS
WERE EVIDENT FROM THE MOMENT DICKENS AND MADSON CONTACTED THE
PARTY. THE MDC IGNORED THEM, HOWEVER, AND REFRAINED FROM
VERIFYING THE COMPANY’S BONA FIDES AND THOSE OF ITS DIRECTOR, ARI
BEN-MENASHE, BECAUSE IT TRUSTED GASELA’S LONGSTANDING PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIP WITH RUPERT JOHNSON. NCUBE ADMITTED THAT THAT HAD
TURNED OUT TO BE A COLOSSAL MISTAKE. HE EXPRESSED CONFIDENCE,
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 00786 02 OF 02 261323Z
HOWEVER, THAT THE CHARGES WOULD NOT HOLD UP IN COURT AND RELISHED
THE PROSPECT OF CROSS-EXAMINING BEN-MENASHE. THE AMBASSADOR
NOTED THAT THE USG HAD A GREAT DEAL OF DEROGATORY INFORMATION
ABOUT BEN-MENASHE, AND ENCOURAGED NCUBE IN FUTURE TO APPROACH US
WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS CLAIMING TO HAVE
SENIOR CONNECTIONS WITHIN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
COMMENT
——-
¶9. (C) TENDAI BITI’S PREFERENCE FOR A NEW ELECTION HELD ONLY
AFTER NATIONAL ENDORSEMENT OF A NEW CONSTITUTION IS NOT PARTY
POLICY. MORGAN TSVANGIRAI HAS CALLED FOR A NEW ELECTION HELD
UNDER INTERNATIONAL SUPERVISION, BUT THE PARTY HAS NOT DETERMINED
THAT A NEW CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE A PREREQUISITE FOR ANOTHER
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. WE SHARE FOR NOW NCUBE’S VIEW THAT A
VISIBLE USG ROLE IN PUSHING FOR A NEW ELECTIONS COULD BE
COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AT THIS STAGE AND THAT WE SHOULD, INSTEAD,
ENCOURAGE THE SOUTH AFRICANS AND NIGERIANS TO TAKE THE LEAD ON
THIS ISSUE. THE MDC DEMONSTRATED A SURPRISING POLITICAL NAIVETE
IN ITS HANDLING OF THE DICKENS AND MADSON AFFAIR, WHICH HAS
PROVIDED THE GOZ WITH A LEGAL EXCUSE — NO MATTER HOW THIN — TO
GO AFTER THE PARTY LEADERSHIP.
SULLIVAN
CONFIDENTIAL
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