Paper asks why monitor Mugabe and not Bush?

The Bulawayo daily, Chronicle, said the European Union had abandoned sovereignty for gangsterism after it gave Zimbabwe an ultimatum on the issue of seconding election monitors to the country’s 2002 presidential elections.

“This suggests that the EU has already concluded that the elections will be rigged. It leaves us more than convinced that the EU has already come up with its own ‘president’ for the country and that it wants to send its agents to manipulate the elections to suit its agenda.

“The sad thing is that the perception (that) presidential elections will be rigged is a creation of the Western media and their agents in Harare. Why did the EU not ‘monitor’ elections in Florida, a state that the world knows swung the vote for President George Bush, yet it was Mr. Bush’s kith who was presiding over them? When losing candidate Al Gore made noise, the EU maintained a deafening silence.”

Full cable:

Viewing cable 01HARARE3236, MEDIA REPORT – COMMONWEALTH AND EU PRESSURES ON

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

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

291246Z Oct 01

UNCLASSIFIED     PTO0671

PAGE 01       HARARE 03236 291318Z

ACTION INR-00

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   AF-00   A-00     ACQ-00   CIAE-00 DODE-00

DS-00   EUR-00   UTED-00 VC-00   TEDE-00 LAB-01   VCE-00

NSAE-00 TEST-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 IIP-00   DSCC-00 DRL-02

NFAT-00 SAS-00     /003W

——————36C1F1 291319Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0139

INFO NSC WASHDC

AMEMBASSY PRETORIA

AMEMBASSY LUSAKA

AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK

AMEMBASSY GABORONE

AMEMBASSY LILONGWE

AMEMBASSY LONDON

UNCLAS HARARE 003236

SIPDIS

AF/PD FOR COX, ROBERTSON, AF/S, AF/P, INR/R/MR, NSC FOR

JENDAYI FRAZER

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM OCII

SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT – COMMONWEALTH AND EU PRESSURES ON

HARARE

¶1.   EDITORIALS IN THE OCTOBER 25 EDITIONS OF THE

INDEPENDENT WEEKLY “THE FINANCIAL GAZETTE,” AND THE TWO

GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED DAILIES “THE HERALD” AND THE

“CHRONICLE,” FOCUS ON ZIMBABWE’S RELATIONS WITH THE

EUROPEAN UNION AND THE COMMONWEALTH. EXCERPTS FOLLOW:

¶2.   UNDER HEADLINE “NO MORE GAMES,” THE “FINANCIAL

GAZETTE” PUBLISHED THE FOLLOWING EDITORIAL COMMENT ON

PAGE ONE:

“THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) WAS THIS WEEK FORCED TO ISSUE

AN ULTIMATUM TO PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE’S GOVERNMENT TO

ALLOW EU OBSERVERS TO CHECK ON THE VALIDITY OF

ZIMBABWE’S IMPENDING PRESIDENTIAL BALLOT OR THE EU WILL

TAKE DRASTIC ACTION. AFTER MUCH DITHERING BY THE 15-

NATION EU IN THE FAINT HOPE THAT MUGABE COULD SEE COMMON

SENSE, THE WORLD’S LARGEST TRADING BLOC IS FINALLY

MAKING THE POINT THAT THE TIME FOR POLITICAL THEATRICS

AND SHEER MADNESS BY ZIMBABWE’S LEADERS IS OVER. . .

AS THE EU, THE COMMONWEALTH FOREIGN MINISTERS WHO ARE

GATHERING IN ZIMBABWE THIS WEEK MUST FORCEFULLY TELL

MUGABE THAT THE TIME FOR HIS DANGEROUS GAMES WITH THE

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND ZIMBABWEANS IS UP.

. . .THUS THE VISITING COMMONWEALTH TEAM AND THE ENTIRE

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY BEAR THE GRAVEST MORAL AND LEGAL

RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY ARE THESE ACTS OF

MADNESS STOPPED WITHOUT DELAY BUT THAT ZIMBABWEANS DO

HAVE MINIMUM CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A FREE AND FAIR

BALLOT CAN BE STAGED. ANYTHING ELSE WILL NOT DO. . .”

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 03       HARARE 03236 291318Z

¶3.   UNDER HEADLINE “EU’S DOUBLE STANDARDS ABOMINABLE,”

THE “HERALD” COMMENTS:

“THE DEMANDS AND ULTIMATUMS ISSUED THIS WEEK BY THE EU

ON ZIMBABWE TO DECIDE WHETHER TO ALLOW EU OBSERVERS IN

THE COUNTRY DURING NEXT YEARS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, IS

A FIRST AND DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT, WHICH THREATENS THE

AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC-EU PARTNERSHIP. THE

GOVERNMENT DID THE RIGHT THING IN REJECTING THE

ULTIMATUM, AND FORTHRIGHTLY TELLING THE EU THAT ZIMBABWE

IS A SOVEREIGN STATE.

…THE EU SHOULD KNOW THAT WE ARE NOT IN RHODESIA. WE

ARE IN ZIMBABWE – A FREE AND DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY THAT

WILL NEVER BECOME A COLONY AGAIN. IT IS ABSURD FOR THE

EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS TO THINK THAT THEY CAN SAVE WHAT

THEY PERCEIVE AS A DETERIORATING POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

SITUATION IN THIS COUNTRY BY SLAPPING SANCTIONS. WE

NEED TO REMIND THE EU OF A DANGER THAT DEMANDS AND

ULTIMATUMS CAN EASILY TURN THE PARTNERSHIP INTO A THIRD

WORLD VERSUS EUROPE AFFAIR. IF THAT HAPPENS, THERE WILL

BE NO PARTNERSHIP TO TALK ABOUT. . . .”

¶4.   UNDER HEADLINE “HANDS OFF ZIMBABWE,” THE

“CHRONICLE”

COMMENTS:

“. . . RECENT EVENTS WHERE THE CONCEPT OF SOVEREIGNTY

SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ABANDONED FOR A GANGSTER APPROACH TO

RELATIONS BETWEEN NATIONS ARE NOT ONLY DUMBFOUNDING BUT

EXPOSE THE HYPOCRISY OF SOME PEOPLE WITHIN THE SO-CALLED

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 04       HARARE 03236 291318Z

GLOBAL VILLAGE. WE REFER HERE TO THE BEHAVIOR OF THE EU

MEMBERS WHO HAVE GIVEN ZIMBABWE AN ULTIMATUM ON THE

ISSUE OF ELECTION MONITORS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT THE EU

HAS ALREADY CONCLUDED THAT THE ELECTIONS WILL BE RIGGED.

IT LEAVES US MORE THAN CONVINCED THAT THE EU HAS ALREADY

COME UP WITH ITS OWN ‘PRESIDENT’ FOR THE COUNTRY AND

THAT IT WANTS TO SEND ITS AGENTS TO MANIPULATE THE

ELECTIONS TO SUIT ITS AGENDA…

THE SAD THING IS THAT THE PERCEPTION PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTIONS WILL BE RIGGED IS A CREATION OF THE WESTERN

MEDIA AND THEIR AGENTS IN HARARE. WHY DID THE EU NOT

‘MONITOR’ ELECTIONS IN FLORIDA, A STATE THAT THE WORLD

KNOWS SWUNG THE VOTE FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH, YET IT

WAS MR. BUSH’S KITH WHO WAS PRESIDING OVER THEM? WHEN

LOSING CANDIDATE AL GORE MADE NOISE, THE EU MAINTAINED A

DEAFENING SILENCE. . .

SULLIVAN

UNCLASSIFIED

>

(36 VIEWS)