United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheik Gadio that she thought President Robert Mugabe was reneging on the Global Political Agreement that he had entered into with the two leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change.
She said that according to the pre-agreement understanding, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the larger faction of the MDC, understood that his party would have control over the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Home Affairs.
There was, however, now a deadlock and she feared that Mugabe was rolling back on his commitments.
Gadio said he was going to meet someone from Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Finance and would inquire on the status of the allocation of ministries.
Mugabe was not in good books with Frazer and at one time said she was trotting around the world like a prostitute urging world leaders not to accept him as leader of Zimbabwe.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08STATE105880, A/S JENDAYI E. FRAZER,S SEPTEMBER 25 MEETING WITH
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO7960
OO RUEHDE RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN
DE RUEHC #5880/01 2771341
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 031337Z OCT 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR IMMEDIATE 1262
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA IMMEDIATE 1078
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE IMMEDIATE 3077
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM IMMEDIATE 6456
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 0015
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 1183
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI IMMEDIATE 8017
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 105880
SIPDIS
DUBAI FOR IRPO
LONDON FOR IRAN WATCHER
PARIS FOR IRAN WATCHER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2018
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL IR SF SG SU ZI
SUBJECT: A/S JENDAYI E. FRAZER,S SEPTEMBER 25 MEETING WITH
SENEGALESE FM CHEIKH GADIO
Classified By: Jendayi E. Frazer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: A/S Jendayi E. Frazer met with Senegalese
Foreign Minister Cheikh Gadio September 25 on the margins of
UNGA. They discussed South African President Mbeki,s
resignation, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Senegal,s relationship with
Iran, and the state of Senegal,s democratic institutions.
END SUMMARY.
————
South Africa
————
¶2. (SBU) A/S Frazer sought Gadio,s view of the causes and
implications of President Mbeki,s resignation. Gadio stated
his belief that outrage amongst hardliners within the ANC
over continued probing of the Zuma case forced Mbeki,s
resignation. Gadio also noted that despite the possibly
negative implications for the power sharing agreement in
Zimbabwe, Mbeki,s renunciation of power could serve as a
powerful example for other African leaders.
——–
Zimbabwe
——–
¶3. (SBU) On the situation in Zimbabwe, Gadio noted that
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade had hoped Mbeki would
take a stronger stance towards Mugabe but expressed concern
over what Mbeki,s departure would mean for the recently
brokered power sharing agreement. A/S Frazer added that
according to the pre-agreement understanding, Morgan
Tsvangirai understood that the MDC would have control over
the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank, and Home Affairs
and expressed concern that the deadlock in the allocation of
ministries may mean that Mugabe is rolling back on his
commitments. Gadio told Frazer he would be meeting with a
representative of Zimbabwe,s Finance Ministry later in the
day and would inquire on the status of the allocation of
ministries.
—–
Sudan
—–
¶4. (SBU) Frazer and Gadio discussed the situation in Sudan
with a specific emphasis on the ICC indictment of President
al-Bashir. Gadio mentioned that President Wade has asked the
ICC to suspend the case for one year but stressed that the
pressure the indictments have put on Sudanese leaders
presents an opportunity to push Sudan to make concrete
commitments. Frazer emphasized that the United States has
not ratified the ICC and is not behind the indictment but
will veto any movement to defer the case short of
quantifiable improvements on the ground, including deployment
of an additional 3,000-4,000 peacekeepers by end of 2008.
—-
Iran
—-
¶5. (C) A/S Frazer sought Gadio,s views of Senegal,s
relationship with Iran. Gadio stressed that Senegal cannot
take an entirely &common approach8 on the Iranian problem
since it chairs the OIC and added that Senegal,s position
has allowed it to serve as a mediator between Iran and
Western powers (Note: In an earlier meeting with DRL A/S
David Kramer Gadio asserted that Iran believes Senegal is an
“honest broker”, end note). Gadio also made reference to
certain commercial interests. He noted, for example, that
Iran has promised to open a car factory and that it has not
yet delivered on a longstanding promise to build an oil
refinery.
——————-
Senegal,s Democracy
——————-
STATE 00105880 002 OF 002
¶6. (SBU) When Frazer sought the Foreign Minister,s view of
the current political climate in Senegal, Gadio asserted that
the recent constitutional amendment extending the
president,s term from five to seven years does not apply to
President Wade,s term. Gadio stressed that President Wade
is open to dialogue, noting that recent restrictions on press
freedom are in part the result of untrained journalists
making unsubstantiated accusations about President Wade.
RICE
(18 VIEWS)
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