The South African government paid Zimbabwe $100 million a month for civil servants salaries to maintain peace in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup according to a cable released by Wikileaks.
This was disclosed by United States assistant secretary Philip Carter who also expressed regret at the lack of leadership that Pretoria was displaying.
Civil servants in Harare started receiving salaries in US dollars after the formation of the inclusive government.
Although the United States and the European Union, which had imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, welcomed the new government they insisted that sanctions should not be lifted until there were positive signs that there was progress.
Roger Moore of the European Union said it would be disastrous for the international community to fall for the “Come and Save Morgan blackmail” but added that the international community should not miss an opportunity to influence “a delicate phase when things could go right” in Zimbabwe.
He said the head of the EU mission in Harare was talking daily to select government ministers at Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s recommendation.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09BRUSSELS318, U.S.-EU TROIKA MEETING ON AFRICA FEBRUARY 27
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO2556
PP RUEHAG RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBS #0318/01 0651818
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061818Z MAR 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 000318
SIPDIS
AF/RSA FOR PBARLERIN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2019
TAGS: PREL MARR EAID ETTC XA EUN CH
SUBJECT: U.S.-EU TROIKA MEETING ON AFRICA FEBRUARY 27
Classified By: Political M-C Christopher Davis for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
¶1. (C) Summary: Acting AF Assistant Secretary Phillip
Carter represented the U.S. at the troika meeting with the EU
on Africa issues, held February 27 in Brussels. The agenda
included the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan),
Zimbabwe, West Africa (Mauritania and Guinea), the Great
Lakes Region, Peace and Security in Africa, and Development
in Africa. Before the meeting closed, Carter raised the
issue of cooperation with China in Africa as well. The
troika provided the context for an exchange of views on a
variety of issues on which both sides generally agree,
although the EU,s willingness to include Mauritanian coup
leader Aziz in negotiations is at odds with our approach.
End Summary.
Somalia
¶2. (C) The European Commission (EC) kicked off the
discussion on Somalia by citing three key issues:
inclusiveness in the government, AMISOM, and the regional
context. The EC supports incorporating all comers into the
government, provided they wish to reconcile. AA/S Carter
agreed that inclusiveness could help the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) deal with the &spoilers,8 but warned that
al Shabab,s hard core, allied with &foreign fighters,8
will likely have to be dealt with in another way, which
President Sheik Sharif understands. On AMISOM, the EC said
the operation was absorbing more and more money. Carter
challenged this characterization of AMISOM saying the
operation was if anything constrained and underfunded, and
needed to be made more robust. He cited poor management by
the African Union, notably available AU funding for AMISOM
which has not been used . The need for better management
does not absolve the donor community of the need to increase
funding to the operation. To the EC,s expressed concern
that all the Horn of Africa conflicts were growing
interrelated and would necessitate a regional solution,
Carter said there are more immediate threats, such as the
security situation in Somalia, that we can deal with
directly. Mentioning Ethiopia and Eritrea, he said
approaching the Horn as a region raises more chronic issues
that we can treat over time and with a different tool kit.
Ethiopia
¶3. (C) Both the EC and U.S. voiced similar concerns about
Ethiopia. The EC said there was currently internal EU debate
over how to support elections next year, given the
restrictive NGO law, among other things. The EC said it was
taking proposals from NGOs to test the Ethiopian
Government,s interpretation of that law. The EC also voiced
concerns about Eritrea, saying a solution to the border issue
would improve the situation there. AA/S Carter agreed that
Ethiopia,s failure to address legitimate opposition and
civil society demands creates the danger of widespread social
unrest, and expressed concern about PM Meles,s steps to
reduce the political space in advance of the 2010 elections.
He welcomed the move to test the NGO law, and encouraged the
EU to press the Government of Ethiopia to allow the
international community to develop capacity-building programs
for local governments, and to establish an international
observer presence in key cities and rural areas at least six
months in advance of national elections. He also cast doubt
on whether resolving the border issue would truly solve the
problem in Eritrea, saying the problem was one of leadership
rather than the border.
Sudan (and Chad)
¶4. (C) Bronislava Tomasova, Africa Director in the Czech
MFA, led off the discussion of Sudan for the Czech Presidency
by saying that the EU is considering how the likely ICC
arrest warrant for Bashir would impact the country and is
contemplating how the EU as a whole should react. She said
the Council had agreed to keep the EU reaction low profile in
order not to derail the peace process; the EU will simply
release a declaration. The Council is also discussing how
the EU should conduct business with the Sudanese Government
if Bashir stays in power. Tomasova said the EU and Member
States would continue to engage the government to keep the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) dialogue going, but
contact with Bashir himself would be restricted. AA/S Carter
said the U.S. would have a muted response to the indictment
and was encouraging others to follow suit. He informed the
EU that Sudanese Government officials intend for there to be
a restrained response in Sudan, and do not anticipate hostile
acts against foreigners or UNAMID. AA/S Carter said the ICC
has to follow its course and address impunity. He said that
the U.S. would continue high-level engagement with the
Government of Sudan on a range of issues, including
counterterrorism and the CPA, but would not look for
BRUSSELS 00000318 002 OF 004
opportunities to &grip and grin8 with Bashir. He also
warned that CPA implementation is the linchpin keeping Sudan
from collapsing into widespread conflict again. He added
that the EU was uniquely placed to help resolve a range of
issues in Chad, and thanked the EU for its EUFOR operation in
eastern Chad.
¶5. (C) Czech Director Tomasova and Carter exchanged views
on the challenges facing credible elections in 2009 and their
sequencing with a referendum in Southern Sudan, Carter saying
the latter should not be held without the former. If a
referendum were held today, he added, Southern Sudan would
separate. But how would the Southern Sudanese survive,
Carter asked rhetorically, noting a disconcerting split among
the Dinka themselves. .
¶6. (SBU) Closing the Horn of Africa discussions, the Czech
Presidency said the Member States were in the midst of
developing a strategy toward the Horn, and that the U.S.
perspective would be important. AA/S Carter urged more
coordination than normal as both the EU and the U.S. conduct
policy reviews.
Zimbabwe
¶7. (C) Tomasova said Zimbabwe is a difficult issue for the
European Union, which is in a wait-and-see mode at the
moment. The EU Member States see the value in a unity
government that includes Morgan Tsvangirai, but only if that
government is effective. The EU is willing to provide
financial assistance to the Government of Zimbabwe, but only
if it responds to the will of the eople and improves its
human rights practices. The Member States agree on
maintaining inormal contacts with members of the ZimbabweanGovernment, watching for signals that the humanrights and
political conditions are improving. Noting that Robert
Mugabe called for an end of sanctions, but offered no
reforms, AA/S Carter stressed that there should be no new
development assistance and no easing of sanctions, absent,
for example, the release of 30 political prisoners, which he
termed a precondition. Carter reassured our EU interlocutors
that U.S. sanctions are targeted against specific individuals
and institutions, and that it is his hope that we can
overcome problems delivering humanitarian assistance.
¶8. (C) While the international community needs to be firm
on conditions for reengagement, we should not get blamed for
a unity government,s collapse, Carter said, noting that
Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC party were now under duress in
having to deliver the IC . The Commission,s Roger Moore
said it would indeed be &disastrous8 for the international
community to fall for &Come-and-save-Morgan! blackmail.8
Still, Moore said the IC should not miss this opportunity to
influence &a delicate phase when things could go right8
and when South Africa is desperate to solve the Zimbabwe
crisis. Accordingly, he said, the EC,s Head of Mission in
Harare is talking daily to select government ministers, at
Morgan Tsvangirai,s recommendation. AA/S Carter responded
that our Ambassador in Harare is also engaging all elements.
Carter noted South Africa,s regrettable lack of leadership,
however; it instead pays 100 million dollars a month for
salaries in Zimbabwe as a down payment for tranquillity for
the World Cup South Africa will host in 2010. Carter said
the Department will host a meeting on Zimbabwe in Washington
of like-minded8 donors, o/a March 20, to which the Czech EU
presidency would be invited.
Mauritania and Guinea
¶9. (C) AA/S Carter emphasized that the U.S. and EU need to
take a strong position against extra-constitutional changes
of government in general, and coups in particular, especially
given troubling signs of regression in democracy,
particularly in West Africa. He argued that the EU,s
worries about illegal immigration will not be solved by
acquiescing to a military coup. He said that the
international community needs to hold Guinean coup leader
Dadis Camara to his commitments to lift the ban on political
party and union activity and to commit to a specific
timetable for elections, as well as to stand by his pledge
not to run for office himself. Carter urged the EU to
maintain firm opposition to the Mauritanian coup by cutting
off all but humanitarian assistance and announcing the
consideration of targeted sanctions against the junta.
¶10. (C) Tomasova and Manuel Lopez-Blanco of the Commission
said that the EU,s reaction to the Mauritanian coup included
a freezing of non-humanitarian assistance, but not an
imposition of new restrictive measures, which presently
lacked a required EU-27 consensus . While the EU called for
the restoration of Abdallahi,s presidency when he was
overthrown, said Tomasova, &We now see that Abdallahi may
not have had necessary democratic support;8 therefore, the
EU now favors a process of internal political dialogue by all
parties. If there were consensual agreement &to discuss a
return to the path of democracy,8 Lopez-Blanco said, then
BRUSSELS 00000318 003 OF 004
that would be a sign of progress which could trigger
unfreezing some assistance. He said the Commission, in fact,
was proposing to the Council a plan to restart development
assistance incrementally as certain conditions are met. He
added that such step-by-step reengagement would create
incentives for further reform. Lopez-Blanco went on to say
that the solution should be an African one, adding that the
EU and U.S. should stand behind the AU and ECOWAS and not
lecture them. On Guinea, the EC said it was trying to keep
ECOWAS and the AU out front, while maintaining the conditions
stipulated by the Cotonou agreement.
¶11. (C) AA/S Carter responded that the U.S. does not share
this gradual, incremental view, but rather viewed the
restoration of democracy as a prerequisite. He said that
Aziz should not have a seat at the negotiating table and the
EU,s approach takes the pressure off him. Carter said the
AU is urging us to keep the pressure on; it is not a question
of imposing outside standards. The same is the case for
Guinea, where ECOWAS leaders have been shocked at the
behavior of junta leader Camara.
Great Lakes
¶12. (C) AA/S Carter said the key issue for the Great Lakes
region is the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He said
that the humiliation of the FARDC and the erosion of his
political base in the east led Kabila to propose that Kagame
cooperate against the CNDP of Laurent Nkunda and the FDLR, in
a real &game changer.8 Carter said DRC collaboration with
Uganda and Southern Sudan against the Lord,s Resistance Army
had provided a model for DRC-Rwandan cooperation against the
CNDP and FDLR. Responding to questions, he said Kagame,s
interest in cooperating with Kabila stems from the desire to
attract investors to Rwanda by increasing security in the
neighborhood. Carter noted that this was a &marriage of
convenience,8 but suggested it could be a long marriage.
Responding to further questions, he said Rwanda sees its
involvement in eastern Congo against the FDLR as an
intelligence operation, and that troops could come back into
the area for targeted operations as necessary. While the
focus is now on North Kivu, South Kivu, where the FDLR is
well entrenched, is a longer-term problem, which Rwanda would
like to help solve without violence. Carter said the USG has
a military team in the east working to promote the message of
a peaceful solution to the long-standing problem of the FDLR,
many of whose current members are too young to have been
involved in the Rwandan genocide. He said MONUC needs to be
enlarged with combat-capable forces, and called for greater
international coordination on security sector reform, voicing
support for the EU,s EUSEC and EUPOL missions.
Peace and Security
¶13. (U) Sebastien Bergeron, of the Council Secretariat’s
Office for African Peacekeeping Capabilities, provided a
review of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy, emphasizing the peace
and security pillar of that strategy. He said the main
challenge is in building up the African Union,s Peace and
Security architecture and described EU efforts to build the
African Standby Force and to coordinate with the UN, NATO,
and other actors. Given the EU,s involvement, he said a
meeting with AFRICOM might be useful.
¶14. (SBU) AA/S Carter said the primary gaps in African
capacity are adequacy of funding for operations and
equipment, standardized doctrine, strategic lift, logistics
and sustainment, and mission leadership. He underscored the
need to focus donor assistance on filling gaps to meet peace
support operation requirements, increasing the quantity and
quality of police, and augmenting civilian peacebuilding
resources. He acknowledged the important role of the EU,s
Peace Support Facility, noted the EU,s counter-piracy
operation, and underlined the need to focus the AU more on
maritime safety and security and to support capacity building
efforts. Responding to the proposal for an AFRICOM meeting,
he said policy-level EU interaction with AFRICOM should be
conducted via the Department of State, or through U.S.
missions in the field. U.S. diplomatic missions or the
Bureau of African Affairs could then put the EU in touch with
the appropriate people in AFRICOM for military coordination.
Development in Africa
¶15. (SBU) AA/S Carter noted that the USG is undertaking a
review of assistance towards sub-Saharan Africa, but that the
overall commitment is unlikely to change. He said that
programs to fight HIV/AIDS, in particular, enjoy widespread
support in the U.S. He noted that the June 2007 OECD
Development Assistance Peer Review of the European Commission
recommended that the EC emphasize results in its development
agenda. Adopting more coherent operational strategies would
ensure that poverty eradication, the Millennium Development
Goals, and cross-cutting issues such as gender, the
environment, and HIV/AIDS are addressed. He said that we
enjoy good cooperation with the EC in the field and would
BRUSSELS 00000318 004 OF 004
like to advance that cooperation further, focused on
country-led strategies. He noted that the February 20
U.S.-EU dialogue on a common agenda for regional economic
integration in sub-Saharan Africa was a promising first step
in moving collaboration forward.
¶16. (SBU) The EC responded by noting that the U.S. has
taken its &distance8 from multilateral development fora,
something AA/S Carter suggested may change with the new
administration. The EC also expressed its intent to engage
with the U.S. on practical ways to work together.
China
¶17. (C) Before the meeting concluded, AA/S Carter said we
have a unique opportunity to engage China in Africa. He said
the U.S. welcomes economic competition with China,
particularly as the Chinese engage international standards of
accountability and transparency. He noted China,s openness
to working with us on development and praised our ongoing
dialogue with the Chinese on Africa. He also noted that
China is starting to recognize that Africa,s governance
problems can impact Chinese economic interests, so it is not
enough only to seek profit. Tomasova said the EU Member
States are reflecting on China,s role in Africa and
considering the possibility of &trilateral8 cooperation
with China in Africa. The Council Secretariat cautioned that
China maintains that Africans must first accept the concept,
and the Africans are, so far, reticent.
¶18. (U) Participants:
Phillip Carter, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for
African Affairs
Christopher Davis, Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs,
USEU
Robert Blackstone, Political-Military Officer, USEU
Bronislava Tomasova, Africa Director, Czech MFA
Amb. Petr Kopriva, Czech Permanent Representation, Chair of
the EU,s Africa Working Group
Zdenek Beranek, Horn of Africa Desk, Czech MFA
Petra Postlerova, Czech Permanent Representation, National
Delegate to Africa Working Group
Johan Ndisi, Swedish Permanent Representation, National
Delegate to Africa Working Group
Sandra Thorsson, Swedish Permanent Representation, National
Delegate to Africa Working Group
Roger Moore, Director ACP III, European Commission
Manuel Lopez-Blanco, Director ACP II, European Commission
Henriette Geiger, Deputy Head of Unit, Horn of Africa,
Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean, European Commission
Thomas Peyker, Relations with the EU and ACP Institutions
Unit, European Commission
Axel Pougin Maisonneuve, Relations with the EU and ACP
Institutions Unit, European Commission
Marie-Louise Lindorfer, DG External Relations Africa Unit, EU
Council Secretariat
Sebastien Bergeron, SG/HR Office for African Peacekeeping
Capabilitie.
MURRAY
(27 VIEWS)
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