Categories: Stories

Faint hope of cutting Hunzvi down to size

Police evicted war veterans from a farm on the outskirts of Harare and set their makeshift huts ablaze raising hopes that they might finally cut war veterans leader Chenjerai Hunzvi to size.

But Hunzvi continued to be defiant calling on war veterans to continue invading farms and move on to factories and commercial enterprises.

The war veterans had been occupying the farm since May.

In another incident police arrested 13 war veterans who had blockaded a road to protest the slow pace of resettlement in Goromonzi.

Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo said that lawlessness on the farms, including interference with normal farming activities, and unauthorized land allocations would not be tolerated.

 

Full cable:

 

Viewing cable 00HARARE4662, FIRST STEP TOWARD RESTORATION OF RULE OF LAW?

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Reference ID

Created

Released

Classification

Origin

00HARARE4662

2000-08-22 15:59

2011-08-30 01:44

CONFIDENTIAL

Embassy Harare

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

 

221559Z Aug 00

 

 

CONFIDENTIAL     PTQ4017

 

PAGE 01       HARARE 04662 221559Z

ACTION AF-00

 

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   AGRE-00 AID-00   CEA-01   CIAE-00 SMEC-00

COME-00 CTME-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00

EB-00   EUR-00   EXIM-01 E-00     FAAE-00 VC-00   FRB-00

H-01     TEDE-00 INR-00   IO-00   ITC-01   L-00     VCE-00

AC-01   NSAE-00 OIC-02   OMB-01   OPIC-01 PA-00   PM-00

PRS-00   ACE-00   P-00     SP-00   IRM-00   SSO-00   STR-00

TRSE-00 USIE-00 R-00     PMB-00   DSCC-00 PRM-01   DRL-02

G-00     NFAT-00 SAS-00     /012W

——————7C9425 221600Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6889

INFO NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

AMEMBASSY LONDON

AMEMBASSY PARIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 004662

 

SIPDIS

 

STATE FOR AF, AF/S, AF/EPS, EB/IFD/ODF, EB/TPP/ODC

TREASURY FOR ED BARBER, GRACE SONE, AND HOFFMAN BARAK

STATE PASS USTR/RWHITTAKER

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH

LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY

PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS

PASS USAID FOR RICHARD MCCALL AND AFR/SA – MWILLIAMS

CONFIDENTIAL

 

PAGE 02       HARARE 04662 221559Z

 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/10

TAGS: PHUM PGOV EAGR ECON ZI

SUBJECT: FIRST STEP TOWARD RESTORATION OF RULE OF LAW?

JURY IS STILL OUT

 

REF: A) HARARE 4627 B) HARARE 4389

 

CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR MCDONALD. REASONS 1.5 (B) AND

(D).

 

1. (C) IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS ON AUGUST 21, POLICE

EVICTED WAR VETERANS FROM A COMMERCIAL FARM ON THE

SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF HARARE AND ARRESTED 13 WAR VETERANS

WHO HAD BARRICADED A ROAD EAST OF THE CAPITAL. IN THE

FIRST INCIDENT, POLICE TOLD THE WAR VETERANS TO LEAVE

BECAUSE THE FARM THEY HAD OCCUPIED SINCE MAY HAD NOT BEEN

DESIGNATED FOR RESETTLEMENT, THEN PROCEEDED TO SET THEIR

MAKESHIFT HUTS ABLAZE. IN THE SECOND CASE, THE ARRESTED

WAR VETERANS HAD BLOCKADED A ROAD TO PROTEST THE SLOW

PACE OF RESETTLEMENT IN THE GOROMONZI AREA EAST OF

HARARE.

 

2. (C) ALTHOUGH THE GOZ CONTINUES TO PRESS AHEAD WITH ITS

ACCELERATED LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM — RECENTLY

IDENTIFYING 229 ADDITIONAL FARMS AS READY FOR THE FINAL

STEP OF COMPULSORY ACQUISITION — IT APPEARS, FINALLY, AT

LEAST IN THESE TWO INSTANCES, TO BE CRACKING DOWN ON THE

FREE REIGN ENJOYED BY THE WAR VETERANS DURING THE PAST

SIX MONTHS. IN AN INTERVIEW IN THE GOVERNMENT-INFLUENCED

“THE HERALD” ON AUGUST 22, HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER JOHN

CONFIDENTIAL

 

PAGE 03       HARARE 04662 221559Z

NKOMO INSISTED THAT LAWLESSNESS ON THE FARMS, INCLUDING

INTERFERENCE WITH NORMAL FARMING ACTIVITIES, AND

UNAUTHORIZED LAND ALLOCATIONS WOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.

NKOMO ALSO PUBLICLY CRITICIZED THE AUGUST 19 CALL BY WAR

VETERANS LEADER CHENJERAI HUNZVI FOR INVASIONS OF

ADDITIONAL FARMS, FACTORIES, AND COMMERCIAL

ESTABLISHMENTS. THIS IS ENCOURAGING IN LIGHT OF THE

MINISTER’S LESS THAN HELPFUL AND CONTRADICTORY COMMENTS

TO THE AMBASSADOR DURING THEIR MEETING ON AUGUST 16 (REF

A).

 

3. (C) COMMENT: THESE TWO INCIDENTS OF POLICE

INTERVENTION ARE AN ENCOURAGING DEPARTURE FROM GOZ NON-

ACTION TO DATE, IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT HAS TURNED A

BLIND EYE TO THE VETERANS’ ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR. IT IS

POSSIBLE THAT THE WAR VETERANS HAVE OUTLIVED MUCH OF

THEIR USEFULNESS FOR THE GOVERNMENT, AND, IN FACT ARE

DOING SO MUCH DAMAGE TO THE GOZ’S CREDIBILITY THAT THEY

HAVE BECOME A LIABILITY. THIS COULD EXPLAIN THE POLICE

ACTIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE. WHILE THE GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN

THIS IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN RESTORING SOME SEMBLANCE OF

ORDER, THE POLICE ACTIONS WERE, SO FAR, AN ISOLATED

INSTANCE. THEY OCCURRED IN THE WAKE OF REPORTS OF NEW

FARM INVASIONS NEAR MASVINGO, IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ZIMBABWE.

IT WILL BEAR CLOSE WATCHING, THEREFORE, TO SEE WHETHER

THE VETERANS’ UNBRIDLED FREEDOM IS COMING TO AN END, AS

WELL AS THE GOVERNMENT’S TACIT, OFTEN DIRECT, SUPPORT FOR

THEIR ACTIVITIES. CLEARLY, MUCH, MUCH MORE MUST BE DONE

TO DEMONSTRATE TO ZIMBABWEANS AND THE INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNITY THAT THE GOZ IS GENUINELY COMMITTED TO

RESTORING THE RULE OF LAW.

CONFIDENTIAL

 

PAGE 04       HARARE 04662 221559Z

 

MCDONALD

 

CONFIDENTIAL

 

>

 

(14 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

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