President Robert Mugabe agreed to a government of national unity shortly after winning the 2002 presidential elections so long as Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai was not included in it.
This was disclosed to United States embassy officials by Tsvangirai’s special advisor Gandi Mudzingwa but he did not say why Mugabe did not want Tsvangirai in the government.
Tsvangirai was being accused of plotting to assassinate Mugabe at the time but had not yet been formally charged.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and South African President Thabo Mbeki met Mugabe and Tsvangirai separately on 18 March, one week after the presidential elections, to urge them to talk and both agreed to.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 02HARARE721, PRESIDENTS MBEKI, OBASANJO PROPOSE STRUCTURED DIALOGUE
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
191539Z Mar 02
CONFIDENTIAL PTO0118
PAGE 01 HARARE 00721 191600Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 CIAE-00 USNW-00 DODE-00 SRPP-00 EUR-00 VC-00
H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 L-00 AC-01 NSAE-00
OMB-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SP-00
SSO-00 SS-00 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DRL-02
G-00 SAS-00 /005W
——————7778E4 191600Z /45
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1268
INFO NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY ABUJA IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY PRETORIA IMMEDIATE
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000721
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/12
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTS MBEKI, OBASANJO PROPOSE STRUCTURED DIALOGUE
BETWEEN ZANU-PF AND THE MDC
CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MATT HARRINGTON. REASONS:
1.5 (B) AND (D).
¶1. (C) PRESIDENTS MBEKI AND OBASANJO MET SEPARATELY ON MARCH 18
WITH PRESIDENT MUGABE AND MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE (MDC)
LEADER MORGAN TSVANGIRAI. ACCORDING TO TSVANGIRAI’S SPECIAL
ADVISOR, GANDI MUDZINGWA, THE SOUTH AFRICAN AND NIGERIAN LEADERS
DID NOT PRESS FOR FORMATION OF A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY IN
THE MEETING WITH TSVANGIRAI. RATHER, THEY PROPOSED
ESTABLISHMENT OF A STRUCTURED DIALOGUE BETWEEN ZANU-PF AND THE MDC,
UNDER WHICH SOUTH AFRICAN AND NIGERIAN FACILITATORS WOULD
COORDINATE A PROCESS BY WHICH THE TWO PARTIES COULD JOINTLY PLAN
THE WAY FORWARD. TSVANGIRAI AGREED TO NAME KEY PARTY MEMBERS TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE DIALOGUE. ACCORDING TO MUDZINGWA, THE MDC HEARD
FROM OTHER SOURCES THAT MUGABE HAD AGREED TO THE PROPOSAL FOR
INTER-PARTY DIALOGUE, AND EVEN FORMATION OF A NATIONAL UNITY
GOVERNMENT, SO LONG AS TSVANGIRAI WAS NOT INCLUDED IN IT.
¶2. (C) MUDZINGWA WAS IN HIGH SPIRITS AND DESCRIBED THE MEETING AS
“VERY POSITIVE.” MBEKI AND OBASANJO, HE SAID, HAD ACKNOWLEDGED
THAT THERE IS A POLITICAL CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE WHICH THE ELECTION DID
NOT RESOLVE, AND THEY RECOGNIZED THE MDC AS A MAJOR POLITICAL FORCE
THAT OUGHT TO BE INVOLVED IN HELPING PLAN THE COUNTRY’S NEXT STEPS.
¶3. (C) IN A SEPARATE CONVERSATION, NIGERIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER
WILBERFORCE JUTA TOLD US THAT MBEKI AND OBASANJO HAD MET ALONE WITH
MUGABE. HE PROFESSED IGNORANCE OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THEIR
DISCUSSION BUT SAID MUGABE SEEMED PLEASED AFTER EMERGING. JUTA,
HOWEVER, DID PARTICIPATE IN MOST OF THE TSVANGIRAI MEETING, AND HE
CONFIRMED MUCH OF MUDZINGWA’S READOUT. HE REPORTED THAT MBEKI AND
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 00721 191600Z
OBASANJO HAD PRESSED THE MDC TO ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE WITH ZANU-PF.
TSVANGIRAI HAD REPLIED THAT HIS PARTY HAD ALWAYS BEEN OPEN TO
SIPDIS
PARTICIPATING IN A GENUINE DIALOGUE, BUT ZANU-PF HAD NEVER BEEN
SERIOUS ABOUT THIS. MBEKI AND OBASANJO REPORTED THAT MUGABE HAD
AGREED TO SUCH A DIALOGUE. ASKED FOR HELP IN DEVISING AN AGENDA
FOR THE INTER-PARTY TALKS, MBEKI AND OBASANJO SAID IT WAS UP TO THE
TWO SIDES TO DETERMINE THE AGENDA, BUT THEY OFFERED TO FACILITATE
DISCUSSIONS. IT WAS AGREED THAT CHIEF SHONEKAN AND ANC SECRETARY
KGALEMA MONTLANTHE (JUTA’S SPELLING) WOULD SERVE AS FACILITATORS
FOR THE TALKS, WHICH WERE SET TO BEGIN ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20.
THE TALKS WILL APPARENTLY BE OPEN-ENDED, WITH NO END DATE SET AND A
SECRETARIAT OFFICE TO BE ESTABLISHED. TSVANGIRAI UNDERTOOK TO MEET
SIPDIS
WITH HIS NATIONAL EXECUTIVE AND TO HAVE SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEMS READY
FOR DISCUSSION BY MARCH 20.
COMMENT
——-
¶4. (C) DESPITE EARLIER SOUTH AFRICAN FOCUS ON A NATIONAL UNITY
GOVERNMENT AS THE WAY FORWARD, MBEKI AND OBASANJO MUST HAVE COME TO
THE REALIZATION THAT SIMPLY GETTING THE TWO PARTIES TO TALK TO EACH
OTHER WAS AN ESSENTIAL FIRST STEP IN STANCHING FURTHER POLITICAL
DETERIORATION HERE. ALTHOUGH THE TWO PRESIDENTS LIKELY HAVE THEIR
OWN PREFERENCES OF WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE DIALOGUE LEAD,
THEY DID NOT PRESS FOR AGREEMENT TO PARTICULAR OUTCOMES.
TSVANGIRAI HAS SAID PUBLICLY IN RECENT DAYS THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO
SIPDIS
SEE A NEW ELECTION RUN UNDER INTERNATIONAL SUPERVISION, AN OPTION
UNLIKELY TO HOLD ANY ATTRACTION FOR MUGABE. WE WILL KNOW SOON
ENOUGH WHETHER MUGABE AND HIS REPRESENTATIVES PARTICIPATE GENUINELY
IN THIS PROCESS OR WHETHER THEY WILL USE IT MERELY AS A DELAYING
TACTIC TO GET THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OFF THEIR BACKS IN THE
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 00721 191600Z
SHORT-TERM. SINCE THE GOZ NEEDS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S
HELP, HOWEVER, THERE WILL BE CONTINUING PRESSURE ON THE ZIMBABWEAN
GOVERNMENT TO MAKE THIS WORK AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MDC TO HAVE
ITS GRIEVANCES ADDRESSED WITH NIGERIAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN WITNESSES.
SULLIVAN
CONFIDENTIAL
>
(17 VIEWS)
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