In a scathing attack of Archbishop Pius Ncube’s visit to Washington where he met Secretary of State Colin Powell, The Herald, likened the catholic cleric to Judas Iscariot accusing him of reporting to Americans instead of his master, God.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 03HARARE1028, MORE NEGATIVE COMMENTARY IN GOVERNMENT MEDIA
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UNCLAS HARARE 001028
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR NEARY
E.O. 12958: N/A
SUBJECT: MORE NEGATIVE COMMENTARY IN GOVERNMENT MEDIA
TO POWELL-NCUBE MEETING
¶1. Under the headline “Archbishop Ncube shameless” the
government-controlled daily “Herald’s” May 24 editorial
criticized Archbishop Pius Ncube for meeting with
Secretary Powell. Excerpts follow:
SIPDIS
¶2. “Like the proverbial Judas Iscariot, Roman Catholic
Archbishop Pius Ncube was in Washington on Tuesday to
sacrifice his country to the altar of the mighty U.S.
and to be thanked by the Americans for being in tune
with their grand plans on Zimbabwe. . . Instead of
reporting to God, who is his Master, he now reports to
the American Government. He shamelessly scurries to
the imperial master for advice and guidance on how to
deal with the Zimbabwean government. Archbishop Ncube
knows that Colin Powell wields enough power to order
the overthrow of a government as the Americans have
already done in Afghanistan and Iraq. . . Instead of
seeking God’s intervention for whatever he believes
needs to be solved in Zimbabwe, Archbishop Ncube has
gone to the U.S. for them to do to Zimbabwe what Pilate
and Herod did to Jesus Christ. The Archbishop knows
very well that the American Government has no higher
moral ground than anyone else on human rights or the
rule of law as its track record in Iraq, Afghanistan or
the U.S. is atrocious. . . It would have been
understandable if the Archbishop was called to the
Vatican to be thanked by the Pope for standing up to
what he believes to be right. He has lost the dignity
and sanctity of the cloth he wears. . .”
SULLIVAN
Viewing cable 03HARARE1029, GOVERNMENT PAPER COVERS POWELL-NCUBE MEETING
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UNCLAS HARARE 001029
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: N/A
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT PAPER COVERS POWELL-NCUBE MEETING
¶1. The meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell and Bulawayo Archbishop Pius Ncube provided the
lead story in the May 22 edition of the government-
controlled daily “Chronicle.” The article distorted
the purpose and substance of the may 20 meeting
Washington, DC. The article accused the United States
for exploiting the meeting with Ncube to advance its
desire to “overthrow” the government of Robert Mugabe.
change of government in Zimbabwe.” Excerpts of Under
the headline “U.S. praises Pius Ncube: Archbishop
thanked for anti-govt stance,” the article says in
part:
¶2. “The United States Government has lauded the head
of the Roman Catholic Church in Matabeleland,
Archbishop Pius Ncube, for assisting it in its bid to
effect a change of Government in Zimbabwe. U.S.
Secretary of States Mr. Colin Powell met Archbishop
Ncube, a controversial cleric who dabbles in politics,
in Washington on Tuesday and `thanked’ him for his
anti-Government stance. . . Diplomatic sources said
Archbishop Ncube was being rewarded for helping the
U.S. and Britain in their quest to topple President
Mugabe. . . .”
SULLIVAN
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
03HARARE1031 | 2003-05-28 05:06 | 2011-08-30 01:44 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Harare |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. 280506Z May 03
UNCLAS HARARE 001031 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT MEDIA CRITICIZE ARCHBISHOP NCUBE FO MEETING WITH SECRETARY POWELL ¶1. Under headline "Pius Ncube must make his intentions clear" the government-controlled daily "Chronicle's" May 22 editorial was critical of Bulawayo Archbishop Pius Ncube for having met with Secretary of State Colin Powell during a recent visit to Washington. Excerpts follow. ¶2. ". . .Instead of us being told that the Archbishop was welcomed by and held talks with fellow Catholics in the U.S., we are told that he met General Colin Powell, the U.S. Secretary of State and a host of secret agents. General Powell is a military man who got his ego inflated to unimaginable proportions following his escapades in Iraq. . . Since Gen. Powell insinuated that they (Powell and Ncube) seemed to agree on the main issues, seeing that his (Ncube's) stance was `principled,' this would seem to point to a consensus over the removal of the government of Zimbabwe that was elected in 2002. Some American Kainsteiner has made it no secret that the U.S. seeks to remove the democratically elected government of Zimbabwe. It becomes cause for concern if men of the cloth start giving political speeches from the pulpit. . . ." SULLIVAN
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