Mnangagwa on a diplomatic charm offensive

Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa was on a charm offensive with the diplomatic corps in an attempt to soften the government’s, and his own, image.

This was the impression of the United States embassy after meeting the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front secretary for administration at his ZANU-PF offices.

Mnangagwa said he was happy with the progress in the withdrawal of Zimbabwean troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo and was under the impression that Rwandan leader Paul Kagame might want to join the Southern African Development Community.

He said workers were asking war veterans to help resolve long-outstanding disputes that the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions had neglected but some rogue elements had taken advantage of the situation by intimidating and kidnapping people.

Mnangagwa admitted that the Movement for Democratic Change would continue to do well in the urban areas and was a force to reckon with.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 01HARARE1730, ZIMBABWE: MNANGAGWA EXPOUNDS ON DRC MATTERS

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

300947Z May 01

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PAGE 01       HARARE 01730 300946Z

ACTION AF-00

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   ACQ-00   CIAE-00 DINT-00 DODE-00 DOTE-00

SRPP-00 DS-00   EB-00   EUR-00   FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-00

H-01     TEDE-00 INR-00   L-00     VCE-00   AC-01   DCP-01

NSAE-00 OMB-01   OPIC-01 PA-00   PM-00   PRS-00   ACE-00

P-00     SP-00   TRSE-00 USIE-00 PMB-00   DSCC-00 DRL-02

G-00     NFAT-00 SAS-00   SWCI-00   /007W

——————F21FE2 300947Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8980

INFO NSC WASHDC

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

AMEMBASSY NAIROBI

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001730

SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER

LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY

PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS

NAIROBI FOR TERRY PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/11

TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ZI CG RW UG AO

SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: MNANGAGWA EXPOUNDS ON DRC MATTERS

WITH VISITING INR OFFICIAL

REF: HARARE 1572

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PAGE 02       HARARE 01730 300946Z

CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE D’AFFAIRES EARL M. IRVING FOR

REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D).

¶1. (C) IN A MAY 22 MEETING WITH VISITING INR POLITICAL-

MILITARY AFFAIRS SPECIALIST STEVE WEIGERT, SPEAKER OF

PARLIAMENT AND ZANU-PF SECRETARY OF ADMINISTRATION

EMMERSON MNANGAGWA EXPOUNDED ON RECENT EVENTS IN THE

DRC, AND TOUCHED ON LAND REFORM ISSUES, WAR VETERANS,

AND PROSPECTS FOR THE MDC. POLOFF ACCOMPANIED WEIGERT,

AND MNANGAGWA WAS JOINED BY HIS DEPUTY SECRETARY OF

ADMINISTRATION, WITNESS MANGWENDE, AND ADMINISTRATION

DIRECTOR FRED SHAVA IN HIS ZANU-PF HEADQUARTERS OFFICE.

¶2. (C) MNANGAGWA, WHO OVERSEES ZANU-PF’S SUBSTANTIAL

BUSINESS INTERESTS IN THE DRC, SAID ZIMBABWE’S

WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS FROM THAT COUNTRY WAS CONTINUING.

HE WAS SATISFIED WITH MONUC’S DEPLOYMENT OF OBSERVERS

AND PREDICTED THAT THERE WOULD BE A COMPLETE RETURN TO

PEACE BY NEXT YEAR. THE SPEAKER NOTED AMUSEDLY THAT IN

RWANDAN PRESIDENT KAGAME’S MAY 7 VISIT TO HARARE

(REFTEL), THE LATTER APPEARED TO BE TRYING TO BUILD A

BRIDGE TO ZIMBABWE, SUGGESTING A RWANDAN INTEREST IN

JOINING SADC. MNANGAGWA CLAIMED KAGAME WAS MAKING

CONTINGENCY PLANS IN THE EVENT THAT UGANDA/RWANDA

RELATIONS DETERIORATED FURTHER AND UGANDA INVADED

RWANDA. SADC MEMBERSHIP WOULD PRESUMABLY PERMIT KIGALI

TO CALL FOR REGIONAL MILITARY SUPPORT. ON THE ISSUE OF

POSSIBLE ZIMBABWE/ANGOLA DIFFERENCES IN THE DRC,

MNANGAGWA STATED THAT ANGOLA’S INTERESTS IN THE DRC WERE

SPECIAL AND COMPLICATED AND CLAIMED THAT UNITA BASES IN

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PAGE 03       HARARE 01730 300946Z

THE DRC WERE A REMAINING CONCERN, EVEN THOUGH THE UNITA

ISSUE WAS NOT A PART OF THE LUSAKA AGREEMENT. MNANGAGWA

ALSO MADE A PASSING REFERENCE TO THE LIKELIHOOD OF PEACE

TALKS AND EVENTUAL ELECTIONS IN ANGOLA, ALTHOUGH HE

SUGGESTED THIS WAS NOT A NEAR-TERM DEVELOPMENT.

¶3. (C) ON THE LAND REFORM ISSUE, MNANGAGWA DELVED INTO

THE TIRED HISTRIONICS OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN ZIMBABWE,

ESPOUSING THE GOVERNMENT POSITION VERBATIM. ON THE

QUESTION OF WAR VETERANS, THE SPEAKER EXPLAINED WITH

SOME TESTINESS THAT MANY EMPLOYEES HAD ASKED THEM TO

RESOLVE LONG-OUTSTANDING DISPUTES THAT THE ZCTU HAD

NEGLECTED, BUT A FEW ROGUE ELEMENTS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF

THE SITUATION BY INTIMIDATING AND KIDNAPPING PEOPLE, AND

THEY HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO BOOK. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE

MDC’S PROSPECTS, MNANGAGWA ACKNOWLEDGED, WITHOUT RANCOR,

THAT THE MDC WOULD CONTINUE TO DO WELL IN URBAN

ELECTIONS, AND INTIMATED THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO BE A

FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

¶4. (C) COMMENT: MNANGAGWA WAS CORDIAL AND, FOR THE MOST

PART, REASONED IN HIS RESPONSES. HE APPEARS TO BE ON A

CHARM OFFENSIVE WITH THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS IN AN ATTEMPT

TO SOFTEN HIS GOVERNMENT’S, AND HIS OWN, IMAGE. HE

CONVENED THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS LAST WEEK TO CALL

ATTENTION TO PARLIAMENTARY REFORMS. IN A MEETING

BETWEEN SHAVA AND POLOFF ON MAY 18, SHAVA OFFERED TO

ARRANGE THE MEETING WITH MNANGAGWA, AND THE SPEAKER

AGREED. THIS CORE ZANU-PF CADRE APPEARED GENUINELY

PLEASED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO AMERICANS, AND

REFRAINED FROM THE INVECTIVE THAT HAS CHARACTERIZED OUR

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PAGE 04       HARARE 01730 300946Z

RECENT MEETINGS WITH GOZ OFFICIALS. END COMMENT.

IRVING

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