Police warned human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa that they were considering bringing charges against the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights for “stage managing” protests to embarrass the country.
This was after demonstrations by Women of Zimbabwe Arise in Bulawayo and in Harare to mark International Refugee Day.
Eight people were arrested in Bulawayo and five in Harare on charges of disturbing the peace.
Three journalists, including one from The Herald, were also detained but later released.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE506, ZIM NOTES 06-19-09
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO4140
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0506/01 1701335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191335Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4634
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2323
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2898
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3017
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1449
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2280
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2647
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3065
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5508
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2193
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000506
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LDOBBINS AND JHARMON
COMMERCE FOR BECKY ERKUL
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM EAGR ECON EFIN ZI
SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 06-19-09
—————————-
SUMMARY – Topics of the week
—————————-
– Tsvangirai Delegation Heads to Europe…
– Moyo Attacks Tsvangirai…
– Western Governments Declared Responsible for “Sticking Issues”…
– Senior MDC-T Official Arrested for Perjury…
– Amnesty International Secretary General Slams Zim…
– Ambassador Bids Farewell to VP Mujuru…
– … And Says Hello to the “First Lady of the Army”…
– WOZA Protesters Beaten, Arrested, Denied Medical Care…
– ZLHR Wins Another Major Award…
– Constitutional Outreach Starts Next Week…
– Massive Blackout Hits Zim…
– Gold and Economic Recovery…
– World Bank Mining Mission on its Way…
– Rate of Deflation Slows…
– Business Eager to Produce, but Still Thwarted…
– Cost of Registering a Company Falls…
– Quote of the Week:
—————————–
On the Political/Social Front
—————————–
¶1. Tsvangirai Delegation Heads to Europe… Following last week’s
visit to the U.S., Prime Minister Tsvangirai turned his attention to
contnental Europe, spending this week meeting with senior European
officials. Justice Minister Chinamasa and Foreign Affairs Minister
Mumbengegwi of ZANU-PF were both granted visas by the EU to attend
the discussions after Mugabe threatened to cancel the trip if
Zimbabwe was only to be represented by MDC officials. The EU
response to the delegation has been welcoming, but tempered by
persistent concerns of farm invasions and human rights abuses.
After meeting with German Chancellor Merkel earlier in the week, the
German government pledged an additional US$35 million of governance
and food aid which will be channeled through the World Bank.
Tsvangirai heads to the UK this weekend.
¶2. Moyo Attacks Tsvangirai… Former Minister of Information
Jonathan Moyo attacked PM Tsvangirai in an online article this week,
calling Tsvangirai’s trip to the U.S. a “personal disaster” and “a
complete waste of time.” Moyo said Tsvangirai appeared as a
supplicant and embarrassed Zimbabwe. He also attacked the new
newsletter from the PM’s office that hit the streets this week,
saying it was clearly a “USAID pamphlet.”
¶3. Western Governments Declared Responsible for “Sticking Issues”
… The Herald published its list of “sticking issues” this week.
The ZANU-PF-controlled paper listed sanctions as the number one
issue and declared MDC-T and Western governments responsible for
resolving the issue. According to the list, MDC-T and Western
governments are also responsible for the third issue, “pirate radio
stations and hostile websites.”
¶4. Senior MDC-T Official Arrested for Perjury… MDC-T Director
General Tondepei Shonhe was arrested on June 16 on charges of
perjury. He allegedly committed the offense in an affidavit
submitted as part of a high court case involving the three MDC-T
Qsubmitted as part of a high court case involving the three MDC-T
activists who were re-abducted by police on June 2. Although
granted bail by a magistrate, the AG’s office, as it routinely does,
appealed. Shonhe will remain in jail at least a week until the
appeal is heard. See Harare 503.
HARARE 00000506 002 OF 003
¶5. Amnesty International Secretary General Slams Zim… Amnesty
International’s Secretary General Irene Khan wrapped up a six-day
visit to Zimbabwe on June 18. In a press conference in Harare, Khan
noted the continued shortfalls of the inclusive government in
improving human rights in Zimbabwe. Notably, she criticized
elements of the MDC that are ignoring human rights concerns for “the
sake of political expediency.” See:
www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/
without-justice-there-can-be-no-real-healing- in-
zimbabwe-20090618.
¶6. Ambassador Bids Farewell to VP Mujuru… Ambassador McGee met
with Vice President Joice Mujuru on Wednesday in advance of his
departure in July. See Harare 500.
¶7. … And Says Hello to the “First Lady of the Army” … Jocelyn
Chiwenga, wife of Army Commander General Constantine Chiwenga,
phoned up Ambassador McGee this week to berate and threaten him. See
Harare 502.
¶8. WOZA Protesters Beaten, Arrested, Denied Medical Care… During
a Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) march in Bulawayo on Wednesday,
eight were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and three
required medical treatment from police-inflicted injuries. The
eight are expected to appear in court on June 19. In a second march
in Harare on Thursday, five women were detained along with three
journalists, including one from The Herald. The journalists and one
woman were released, but the remaining four women were badly beaten
by police and are being denied medical care and remain in the filthy
police station. Police reportedly warned human rights lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa that police are considering bringing charges against
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) for “stage managing” the
protests to “embarrass the country.” The protests marked
International Refugee Day, which WOZA marks annually, arguing
Zimbabweans are like refugees in their own country.
¶9. ZLHR Wins Another Major Award… The 2009 American Bar
Association (ABA) Rule of Law Award will be given to ZLHR at the
ABA’s Rule of Law meeting in Chicago on August 1. ZLHR lawyers are
renowned for their courageous defense of Zimbabwe’s human rights
defenders in the face of significant threats and harassment by the
government.
¶10. Constitutional Outreach Starts Next Week… The Parliamentary
Select Committee announced this week that public meetings on the
constitution will be held throughout Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces between
June 24 and 27. ZANU-PF has attempted to delay the process.
¶11. Massive Blackout Hits Zim… Most of Zimbabwe lost power on
Monday night and early Tuesday after the country’s two main power
stations went down, reportedly due to a fault in Zambia. Power woes
are likely to persist as regional power utilities threaten to cut
off exports to Zimbabwe due to unpaid debts to regional power
suppliers estimated at around US$57 million. For its part, the
Qsuppliers estimated at around US$57 million. For its part, the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) announced it will cut
off power to local consumers who have not paid their bills (a flat
US$30/month for residents of high-density neighborhoods, whether
they have had service or not) since February this year.
————————–
Economic and Business News
————————–
¶12. Gold and Economic Recovery… Allowing producers to market
their gold at today’s high world price, eliminating foreign exchange
surrender requirements, plus a policy of no royalties on gold, have
all helped position the industry to contribute to economic recovery.
Nevertheless producers still lack capital due to the GOZ’s US$30
HARARE 00000506 003 OF 003
million arrears to the industry and overall tight credit, power
outages that led to the flooding of mines, and a lack of technical
skills, though indications point to more mine workers now returning
to Zimbabwe from developed countries than leaving. Gold production
could double this year to 6-7 MT and increase further in 2010, but
empowerment legislation needs to be more foreign-investor friendly
as the sector cannot recapitalize on the domestic market alone. See
Harare 499.
¶13. World Bank Mining Mission on its Way… A World Bank Mission
will be in Zimbabwe from June 22-26 to assess challenges in reviving
the mining sector and the need for technical assistance. The
Mission will meet with mining companies, the mining ministry and
other key government agencies to identify priority issues and
actions. It will also hold discussions with cooperating partners on
coordinated approaches to addressing the sector’s needs.
¶14. Rate of Deflation Slows… The Central Statistical Office
reported that the monthly rate of decline in consumer prices slowed
from 1.1 percent in April to 0.1 percent in May. While food prices
continued to fall, costs rose for utilities, fees for municipal
services, transport and health care.
¶15. Business Eager to Produce, but Still Thwarted… Business
leaders are eager to rebuild the economy and are much more
optimistic about the future since introduction of dollarization and
other policy changes earlier this year. In a series of meetings in
Harare, Gweru, and Bulawayo this week with embassy staff, executives
identified labor demands, access to and terms of credit, high
utility costs, and the political environment as the main constraints
on recovery.
¶16. Cost of Registering a Company Falls… The Ministry of Justice
and Legal Affairs reduced company registration fees from
US$800-1,000 to a minimum US$100 this week. While a welcome
improvement, most informal traders have scant capital and will still
not be able to formalize their businesses. Expanding the country’s
tax base continues to present a huge challenge to the
revenue-strapped inclusive government.
¶17. Quote of the Week:
“Persistent and serious human rights violations, combined with a
failure to introduce reform of the police, army and security forces
or address impunity and the lack of clear commitment on some parts
of the government, are real obstacles that need to be confronted…
Whenever we raised the issue of human rights change, the government
answered that it needed more resources. Ending attacks on human
rights defenders, lifting restrictions on the media, and allowing
public protests do not require money – they only require political
will.”
— Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan,
in a press release issued at the end of her six-day visit to
Zimbabwe on June 18, 2009.
Q
MCGEE
(29 VIEWS)
