Algeria’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Lazhar Soualem said it was important to arrange a graceful exit for President Robert Mugabe because hardliners from his party might become entrenched.
Soualem said Zimbabwe was undergoing transitions in three areas:
- There was the transformation going on inside ZANU-PF as young party members sought to move up into positions of authority. Arrayed against them were ideologically motivated extremists who wanted a return to revolutionary times.
- The political transition being undertaken by the ZANU-MDC coalition government.
- An economic process whereby the country moved from a cash-based economy to one that generated employment and added value.
He said that while such transformations took time, delaying too long, especially delaying the first two, gave extremists within ZANU-PF time to block reforms and solidify their power bases.
“It is important that the transition move forward as quickly as it can be accommodated. It is also important that the focus of efforts, both domestically and by the international community, be moved from individuals to the creation of institutions that support democratic government,” the ambassador said.
He said that in order to advance the cause of political and economic reform and avert chaos, it was important to somehow provide a graceful exit from power for Mugabe.
“This will be complicated by Mugabe’s monumental ego -everything since independence has revolved around him as an individual- and by the fears of his inner circle of advisors of losing their privileged positions and possible retribution for their past misdeeds. As complicated and difficult as it might be, he said, it is important that regional actors like SADC and the AU take this on.”
Full cable:
Viewing cable 10HARARE75, MEETING WITH ALGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO ZIMBABWE
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO5082
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0075/01 0341210
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 031210Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5367
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3406
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0024
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2566
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000075
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR BWALCH
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MGAVIN
ALGIERS FOR POLITICAL/ECONOMIC SECTION
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON EAGR ASEC ZI AG
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH ALGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO ZIMBABWE
Classified By: Ambassador Charles A. Ray for reasons 1.4 (b) (d).
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: According to the newly arrived Algerian
Ambassador to Zimbabwe, the country is currently in the midst
of three transitions: the internal transformation of ZANU-PF,
the transitional coalition government, and an economic
transition. If these transitions, especially the overall
political situation, take too long it will give hard line
extremists time to become entrenched. Externally and
internally the focus needs to be shifted from individuals to
building institutions. It is important that a graceful exit
be arranged for ZANU-PF leader Mugabe, but it will be
complicated by the inner circle of his advisors and by his
own ego. The recent election of Zimbabwe to the Peace and
Security Organ of the AU, which is being hyped in the
state-controlled press, is not as significant as ZANU-PF is
trying to portray it. It was merely Zimbabwe’s turn in the
regional rotation, and no one wanted to vote against them.
END SUMMARY.
¶2. (C) Lazhar Soualem, newly-arrived Algerian Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, paid a courtesy call on Ambassador on February 1.
Soualem has served for many years in the multi-lateral
affairs division of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, dealing
with African affairs. He said he met with Zimbabwean
President Mugabe just before he came to Harare, and this
helped to smooth his arrival and presentation of credentials.
Algeria and Zimbabwe have a historically friendly
relationship, but he has been instructed to observe events
here very carefully for any signs that the instability of
Zimbabwe is spreading to neighboring countries. The
so-called land reform program, for instance, is being watched
in Namibia and South Africa, and there are already some signs
that those countries are contemplating similar moves against
land owned by former colonial citizens.
¶3. (C) Zimbabwe is currently undergoing transitions in three
areas:
a. There is the transformation going on inside ZANU-PF as
young party members seek to move up into positions of
authority. Arrayed against them are ideologically motivated
extremists who want a return to revolutionary times.
b. The political transition being undertaken by the ZANU-MDC
coalition government.
c. An economic process whereby the country moves from a
cash-based economy to one that generates employment and adds
value.
While it is understood that such transformations take time,
delaying too long, especially delaying the first two, gives
extremists within ZANU-PF time to block reforms and solidify
their power bases. It is important that the transition move
forward as quickly as it can be accommodated. It is also
important that the focus of efforts, both domestically and by
the international community, be moved from individuals to the
creation of institutions that support democratic government.
¶4. (C) Robert Mugabe has been in power for several decades,
and unlike other revolutionary counterparts in the region
(ANC and FRELIMO, for instance), he has developed a cult of
personality and neglected institution building, leading to
ZANU-PF being the only independence movement to lose
post-independence elections. In order to advance the cause
Qpost-independence elections. In order to advance the cause
of political and economic reform and avert chaos, it is,
Soualem said, important to somehow provide a graceful exit
from power for Mugabe. This will be complicated by Mugabe’s
monumental ego — everything since independence has revolved
around him as an individual — and by the fears of his inner
circle of advisors of losing their privileged positions and
possible retribution for their past misdeeds. As complicated
and difficult as it might be, he said, it is important that
regional actors like SADC and the AU take this on.
¶5. (SBU) The Herald, ZANU-PF’s official mouthpiece in
Harare, recently trumpeted Zimbabwe’s election to the Peace
and Security Organ of the AU at the summit in Addis Ababa.
Soualem said that the propaganda is overblown, and is not of
HARARE 00000075 002 OF 002
as much significance as the Herald claims. These positions
are frequently rotated, and for the southern African region,
it was Zimbabwe’s turn, so no one voted against them. He
recognizes, though, that ZANU-PF will make every effort to
exploit this as a validation of their position and use it to
further stymie progress on the Global Political Agreement.
He said he would not normally even report something like this
to his government, but given the impact this is likely to
have on political reform here, he is contemplating doing so.
He candidly said, however, that there is likely nothing in
the short term that anyone can do about it.
¶6. (SBU) One of the things that bothered him very early in
his tenure here, Soualem said, was the lack of effective
communication between African embassies and their European
colleagues. He has pushed for a meeting with the EU
embassies to get a briefing on the new EU leadership
structure, and hopes to leverage this into more frequent
meetings to discuss development activities. (COMMENT: This
parallels our own efforts to get more coordination not only
with the African states, but with countries like China that
are active here. END COMMENT.)
RAY
(21 VIEWS)
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