Botswana’s ambassador to the United Nations Charles Ntwaagae said he was concerned about Zimbabwe’s fragile power-sharing agreement because President Robert Mugabe remained in the driver’s seat despite President Ian Khama’s continued call for new elections.
Ntwaagae said that with increasing rates of crime related to illegal immigration from Zimbabwe into Botswana, his people were now asking the question: “Why should we pay for Zimbabwe’s mess?”
He also regretted the death of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife, Susan, under what he termed “such suspicious circumstances”, but, when pressed, he was unable to defend his suspicion or provide further insight into Mrs Tsvangirai’s death.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09USUNNEWYORK354, AMB. RICE MEETS WITH BOTSWANA PERM. REP. TO THE UN
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO0704
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0354 0961545
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061545Z APR 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6270
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1364
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000354
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2019
SUBJECT: AMB. RICE MEETS WITH BOTSWANA PERM. REP. TO THE UN
Classified By: ECOSOC M/C Robert Hagen for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
¶1. (C) Summary – In an April 02 meeting between Ambassador
Rice and Botswana’s Ambassador to the UN Charles T. Ntwaagae,
Ambassador Rice expressed her appreciation for Botswana’s
friendship and leadership in Southern Africa, and inquired
about recent political developments in both South Africa and
Zimbabwe. Ambassador Ntwaagae expressed concern over
deteriorating political stability in Southern Africa, but
voiced confidence in the ‘strong relationship’ between
Botswana and the United States. End Summary
¶2. (C) Although Ambassador Ntwaagae said that Botswana’s
attention remained focused on national elections in October
09, he expressed concern over Zimbabwe’s continually fragile
power-sharing agreement. Ntwaagae gloomily submitted that
‘Mugabe remains in the driver’s seat’ despite President
Khama’s continued call for new elections in Zimbabwe. With
increasing rates of crime related to illegal immigration from
Zimbabwe into Botswana, Ntwaagae said that his people were
now asking the question: ‘why should we pay for Zimbabwe’s
mess’?
¶3. (C) Ambassador Ntwaagae said he regretted the untimely
death of Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife under ‘such suspicious
circumstances’, but, when pressed, was unable to defend his
suspicion or provide further insight into Mrs. Tsvangirai’s
death. Ntwaagae did, however, respond to Ambassador Rice’s
request for suggestions to mitigate the suffering of the
people of Zimbabwe, saying that targeted contributions to
health and education would be most beneficial.
¶4. (C) In response to Ambassador Rice’s inquiry about
upcoming elections in South Africa, Ambassador Ntwaagae said
that while he expected ANC leader Jacob Zuma to be elected
President in the April 22 elections, political wildcards such
as the Congress of the People (Cope), Desmond Tutu, and
Winnie Mandela could all influence election outcomes. Those
outcomes are of particular interest to Botswana, with impacts
on tourism and trade chief among concerns.
¶5. (C) Ambassador Ntwaagae volunteered his concern to
Ambassador Rice that former Namibian Foreign Minister Hidipo
Hamutenya and his RDP party were mounting increasing pressure
to unseat the current Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Were this to happen, Ntwaagae suggested that Hamutenya would
likely install a deeply partisan government drawn along
tribal lines, leaving Botswana politically isolated in a
deteriorating region of the world.
¶6. (C) Lastly, Ambassador Ntwaagae expressed his pleasure in
hearing that the United States would be running for election
to the UN Human Rights Council, and said that the United
States Government could count on Botswana’s full support.
Rice
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