Paper says US and Britain plan to oust Mugabe

The Bulawayo daily, Chronicle, said the United States and Britain were planning a military offensive to oust President Robert Mugabe if he won the 2002 presidential elections which were then just two days away.

The paper said London and Washington were planning to deploy a paramilitary group codenamed CIRA in Matabeleland to test the waters.

The report said when the government moved in to crush the insurgency, the West would then intervene and topple Mugabe.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 02HARARE615, MEDIA REACTION ZIMBABWE DECIDES; HARARE

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

081041Z Mar 02

UNCLASSIFIED     PTO5775

PAGE 01       HARARE 00615 082349Z

ACTION INR-00

INFO LOG-00   AF-00   AID-00   CIAE-00 DODE-00 SRPP-00 EB-00

EUR-00   UTED-00 VC-00   H-01     TEDE-00 IO-00   L-00

AC-01   NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02   OMB-01   PA-00   PM-00

PRS-00   ACE-00   P-00     SP-00   SS-00   STR-00   TEST-00

TRSE-00 T-00     USIE-00 PMB-00   PRM-00   DRL-02   G-00

SAS-00     /007W

——————71C7FF 082349Z /30

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1132

INFO NSC WASHDC

AMEMBASSY PRETORIA

AMEMBASSY LUSAKA

AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK

AMEMBASSY GABORONE

AMEMBASSY LILONGWE

AMEMBASSY LONDON

UNCLAS HARARE 000615

SIPDIS

AF/PD FOR COX AND ROBERTSON, AF/S FOR KRAFT AND

SCHLACHTER, AF/RA FOR SWANN, INR/R/MR, NSC FOR JENDAYI

FRAZER

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ZIMBABWE DECIDES; HARARE

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 02       HARARE 00615 082349Z

¶1.   THE BULAWAYO-BASED GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED DAILY

“CHRONICLE” HAS CARRIED AN ARTICLE, BASED ON

ANONYMOUS “HIGHLY PLACED SOURCES,” ACCUSING THE

UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN OF PLANNING A “MAJOR

MILITARY OFFENSIVE” TO OUST THE MUGABE

ADMINISTRATION IF IT STAYS IN POWER AFTER THE MARCH

9 AND 10 PRESIDENTIAL POLL. ACCORDING TO THE LEAD

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE MARCH 6 EDITION OF THE

“CHRONICLE,” UNDER HEADLINE “MAJOR MILITARY

OFFENSIVE PLANNED,” A U. S. AND BRITISH-LED

INSURGENCY IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE IN

MATABELELAND SOON AFTER THIS WEEKEND’S ELECTION.

EXCERPTS OF THIS LENGTHY PIECE FOLLOW:

¶2.   “THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS ARE

ALLEGEDLY SETTING THE STAGE FOR A MAJOR MILITARY

OFFENSIVE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE

SPONSORING OF AN INSURGENCY INTO MATABELELAND

AFTER THIS WEEKEND’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WHICH

PRESIDENT MUGABE IS HEAVILY TIPPED TO WIN, ‘CHRONICLE’

LEARNT THIS WEEK. HIGHLY PLACED SOURCES IN LONDON AND

WASHINGTON SAID THE DEPLOYMENT OF A PARAMILITARY

GROUP CODE NAMED CIRA (CAMPAIGN IN RURAL AREAS) BY

THE OPPOSITION MDC IN RURAL MATABELELAND WAS AIMED

AT ‘TESTING THE WATERS’ AHEAD OF THE FULL

DEPLOYMENT OF ARMED UNITS IN THE REGION TO FIGHT

THE ‘MUGABE REGIME’ AFTER THE ELECTIONS. . .

ACCORDING TO SOURCES, BRITAIN AND THE U.S. PLAN TO

SPONSOR AN INSURGENCY USING MDC’S STRONGHOLD OF

MATABELELAND AND LATER JUSTIFY MILITARY

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 03       HARARE 00615 082349Z

INTERVENTION AND THE TOPPLING OF PRESIDENT MUGABE.

‘THE PEOPLE OF MATABELELAND WILL ONCE AGAIN BE USED

AS SACRIFICIAL LAMBS IN A POWER GAME BY THE WEST

WHICH IS INTENT ON INSTALLING A PUPPET REGIME IN

ZIMBABWE. THE PLAN WILL TAKE SHAPE AFTER THE

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. AN INSURGENCY WILL START

IN RURAL MATABELELAND. THESE PEOPLE WILL

SUPPOSEDLY BE FIGHTING THE OUTCOME OF THE POLLS.

WHEN THE GOVERNMENT MOVES IN TO CRUSH THE

INSURGENCY, THE WEST WILL THEN INTERVENE AND TOPPLE

PRESIDENT MUGABE,’ SAID A HIGHLY PLACED SOURCE

PRIVY TO THE PLAN. BRITAIN AND AMERICA WILL

JUSTIFY THEIR INTERVENTION BY PROFFERING THE

ARGUMENT THAT THEY WILL HAVE PREVENTED MASS

GENOCIDE OF THE NDEBELE PEOPLE. . . .”

SULLIVAN

UNCLASSIFIED

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