Mugabe does not listen to anyone who is not a black African

President Robert Mugabe does not listen to anyone who is not a black African according to former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Aboul Gheit told a visiting United States congressional delegation that Egypt had advised Mugabe to take urgent action to deal with the crisis in the country but Mugabe would not listen.

Asked why Mugabe would not listen to the advice of respected neighbours such as Egypt, Aboul Gheit said, “because of our skin colour”.

Aboul Gheit said Mugabe simply would not listen to anyone “who is not a black African”, including other non sub-Saharan members of the African Union like Egypt.

He said that despite the Mugabe government’s unwillingness to listen to Egyptian advice, Egypt had sent ten doctors and eight pharmacists to help with the worsening public health situation in Zimbabwe.

Egypt sent a C-130 military cargo airplane full of supplies to Harare every two weeks, including “100,000 injections” for cholera.

Asked if President Hosni Mubarak ever spoke directly with Mugabe, Aboul Gheit said, Yes, “they used to be good friends… ..but Mugabe won’t listen to anyone any more”.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 08CAIRO2581, FOREIGN MINISTER DESCRIBES EGYPTIAN HUMANITARIAN

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VZCZCXRO7079

PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO

DE RUEHEG #2581 3651357

ZNY CCCCC ZZH

P 301357Z DEC 08

FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1245

INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002581

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/S

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2018

TAGS: EAID PREL PGOV EG ZM

SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER DESCRIBES EGYPTIAN HUMANITARIAN

AID TO ZIMBABWE

REF: CAIRO 1794

Classified By: Ambassador Margaret Scobey for

reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

¶1. (C) Just prior to CODEL Dorgan’s meeting with President

Mubarak on December 14 (septel), Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul

Gheit, in response to a question from Senator Dorgan, said

that the situation in Zimbabwe was dire, especially with the

outbreak of cholera there, and that Egypt was sending

emergency humanitarian supplies on a regular basis to Harare.

The latest shipment, he said, was an electricity generator

to provide power to a water treatment plant, since parts of

Zimbabwe are dangerously low on safe water.

¶2. (C) Aboul Gheit said that Egypt, as a friendly African

neighbor, had advised the Mugabe government to “take urgent

action” to deal with the country’s crisis, including opening

up a dialogue with the political opposition. Unfortunately,

“Mugabe will not listen.” When Senator Dorgan asked why

President Mugabe would not listen to the advice of respected

neighbors such as Egypt, Aboul Gheit said, “because of our

skin color.” According to Aboul Gheit, Mugabe simply will

not listen to anyone “who is not a black African,” including

other non sub-Saharan members of the AU, like Egypt.

¶3. (C) Aboul Gheit said that despite the Mugabe government’s

unwillingness to listen to Egyptian advice, Egypt had sent

ten doctors and eight pharmacists to help with the worsening

public health situation in Zimbabwe. Aboul Gheit said that

he controls a special “African development fund” (Note: This

is probably a reference to the Egyptian Fund for Technical

Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA) (reftel)) that he uses to

assist in humanitarian and development projects throughout

Africa, lamenting that recently the lion’s share of the fund

was being devoted to Zimbabwe. He added that Egypt sends a

C-130 military cargo airplane full of supplies to Harare

every two weeks, including “100,000 injections” for cholera.

He said that Egypt had contemplated sending even more cholera

medicine to Zimbabwe, but had decided against it as it would

have drawn down Egypt’s own strategic reserves of the

medicine.

¶4. (C) Another hindrance to increased Egyptian aid to

Zimbabwe, Aboul Gheit explained, is the huge amount of

government corruption there. “We know that most of the

supplies we send they (the Mugabe government) keep for

themselves.” Senator Dorgan asked if President Mubarak ever

spoke directly with president Mugabe. Yes, said Aboul Gheit,

“they used to be good friends.” Mubarak has advised Mugabe

to be “more flexible” in dealing with the political

opposition in Zimbabwe, Aboul Gheit said, “but Mugabe won’t

listen to anyone any more.” Perhaps the best answer to

Zimbabwe’s ills, Aboul Gheit opined, would be for Robert

Mugabe to “retire to another country.” However, he stressed,

“there is no sign he would be willing to do that, yet.”

¶5. (C) Comment: While Egypt will probably continue to supply

Zimbabwe with small amounts of humanitarian aid, it will

likely defer to South Africa, the AU, and other countries in

Southern Africa to devise a political solution to the crisis

in Zimbabwe.

SCOBEY

(67 VIEWS)