US pushed for military intervention in Zimbabwe

The United States piled pressure for military intervention in Zimbabwe, one week after the African Union had failed to condemn the election of President Robert Mugabe, arguing that the reasons that were being put forward by two key members, Russia and China, were invalid.

The United States was pushing for a Chapter VII resolution on Zimbabwe by the UN Security Council which allows military intervention.

Russia and China were opposed to the resolution arguing that this would undermine negotiations between Zimbabwe’s political parties that had begun on 9 July.

Both Russia and China had the power for veto any UN Security Council resolution.

The United States argued that there were no such talks and quoted Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai who said there were no negotiations between his party and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.

Tsvangirai, however, confirmed that members of his team were meeting their counterparts from ZANU-PF in Pretoria but said this was merely to present the five conditions under which genuine negotiations could take place.

The MDC leader wrote UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon on 9 July that no meaningful negotiations could take place with ZANU-PF in the current environment and expressed support for the draft UN Security Council resolution and for the appointment of a UN special envoy to assist in finding a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 08STATE74375, URGENT DEMARCHE ON ZIMBABWE NEGOTIATIONS IN SOUTH

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VZCZCXYZ0004

OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #4375 1922254

ZNR UUUUU ZZH

O P 102244Z JUL 08

FM SECSTATE WASHDC

TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000

INFO RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE PRIORITY 0000

UNCLAS STATE 074375

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM ZI XA ZU

SUBJECT: URGENT DEMARCHE ON ZIMBABWE NEGOTIATIONS IN SOUTH

AFRICA

REF: A. STATE 70836

¶B. STATE 73173

¶1. (U) Summary and Action request: On July 8, the U.S.

tabled a draft Security Council resolution on Zimbabwe.

The vote planned for July 9 was postponed for procedural

reasons. While not yet scheduled, the vote is likely on the

morning of July 11. The Russians and the Chinese continue to

oppose the Chapter VII resolution, and allege that that it

will undermine negotiations between the parties that began

July 9 in South Africa. We want to refute these arguments

and make clear to all members of the Council that no

substantive negotiations have begun. Zimbabwe opposition

leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday denied that substantive

negotiations had begun with the ruling ZANU-PF party of

President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai said in a statement that

officials from his Movement for Democratic Change were merely

presenting conditions for negotiations, including the end of

violence against the opposition. Council members must be

reminded that these negotiations are not new (no positive

results despite 15 months of negotiations), and that the

proposed UNSC resolution is intended to support regional and

international mediation efforts by strengthening the

incentives for Mr. Mugabe to engage constructively in any

future negotiations. All action addressees (except Pretoria)

are requested to demarche host governments at the

Ambassadorial level on an urgent basis to confirm or solicit

their support, as appropriate, for the resolution prior to

the July 11 vote. Posts are requested to respond as quickly

as possible by e-mail or cables slugged for IO/UNP-Rebecca

Goldenberg and IO/PSC Jean Clark. End Summary and Action

Request.

¶2. (U) All action addressees (except Pretoria) may draw from

the following talking points:

— Media reports have said that negotiations are taking place

in South Africa between the Movement for Democratic Change

(MDC) and the Government of Zimbabwe.

— MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai today denied these reports.

He has told the media that, “over the past 10

days, I and my party have stated categorically that there are

no negotiations between ourselves and ZANU-PF

currently taking place…This position has not changed.”

— In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on July 9,

Tsvangirai said, &in this environment there can be

no meaningful negotiations and as I write you today there is

no dialogue between my party and ZANU PF.8 He expressed

support for the draft UNSC resolution and for the appointment

of a UN Special Envoy to assist in finding a solution to the

crisis.

— In his statement on July 10, Tsvangirai clarified that the

meeting taking place in Pretoria is &solely to present the

five conditions under which genuine negotiations can take

place.8 These conditions include an end to the violence,

the release of political prisoners, the lifting of

restrictions on humanitarian operations, the swearing in of

the Parliament and Senate, and the inclusion of an African

Union permanent envoy in the mediation team. These

conditions have not yet been met.

— Informal talks between the MDC and ZANU-PF are not new.

They have been going on for fifteen months. The current

meeting is designed to discuss conditions that would have to

be in place to begin meaningful negotiations.

— The situation in Zimbabwe remains dire. The Security

Council must act to tell the Mugabe regime to end the

violence and begin serious negotiations with the opposition

leading to a solution that respects the will of the

Zimbabwean people.

— The draft resolution will empower regional and

international mediators by strengthening the incentives for

Mugabe to negotiate seriously.

— We urge you to instruct your Permanent Representative to

support bringing the draft resolution to an immediate vote

and to vote &yes.8

¶3. (U) Background:

The press is reporting that MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti

and representatives of the Arthur Mutambara MDC faction are

in Pretoria talking to GOZ representatives Nicolas Goche and

Patrick Chinamasa. SADC-facilitated

talks between the GOZ and MDC have been ongoing for 15 months

having produced minimal results. Although press

reports note progress, there is no reliable confirmation of

any positive outcome from this latest round of talks. On

July 9, Tsvangirai sent a letter to SYG Ban in which he

denied that there were meaningful negotiations and expressed

support for the UNSC draft resolution and the appointment of

a UN Special Envoy to assist in finding a solution to the

crisis. On July 10, Tsvangirai issued a statement again

denying that negotiations were underway and outlining the

five conditions necessary for substantive discussions with

the GOZ to begin.

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