ZIDERA not as harsh as sanctions on Smith!

The Daily News said that the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act which the United States was using to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe would not be as draconian as the sanctions imposed on the Ian Smith regime but its overall effect would be the further economic isolation of Zimbabwe.

Apparently this was an understatement as the sanctions were being sold as measures targetted at individuals within President Robert Mugabe’s government when they were in fact targetted at the country itself.

But the Daily News was right to point out that the United States government would treat Zimbabwe like a leper.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 01HARARE2334, MEDIA REACTION ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY BILL; HARARE

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.

UNCLASSIFIED     PTQ3269

PAGE 01       HARARE 02334 061224Z

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   H-01     TEDE-00 LAB-01

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

NFAT-00 SAS-00     /004W

——————0E577E 061225Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9417

INFO NSC WASHDC

AMEMBASSY PRETORIA

AMEMBASSY LUSAKA

AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK

AMEMBASSY GABORONE

AMEMBASSY LILONGWE

AMEMBASSY LONDON

UNCLAS HARARE 002334

SIPDIS

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

NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY BILL; HARARE

¶1.   EDITORIALS IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA FOCUS ON THE

ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY BILL 2001.

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 02       HARARE 02334 061224Z

EXCERPTS FOLLOW:

¶2.   UNDER HEADLINE “THE ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY BILL: WHAT IT

COULD MEAN,” THE AUGUST 6 EDITION OF THE INDEPENDENT DAILY

‘THE DAILY NEWS’ COMMENTS:

“IT WOULD BE UNDERSTANDABLE FOR MANY ZANU PF

POLITICIANS AND THE GOVERNMENT TO DISMISS THE UNITED

STATES’ SENATE APPROVAL OF THE ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND

(ECONOMIC) RECOVERY BILL LAST WEEK. THIS IS EVEN MORE

SO IF ANY OF THEM BELIEVE THE OFFHAND DISMISSAL OF THE

BILL BY THE ZIMBABWEAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U. S., SIMBI

MUBAKO. . .WHATEVER THE ATTITUDE OF THE POLITICIANS AND

DIPLOMATS OF MUBAKO’S COMPLACENCY, THE FACT REMAINS

THAT IF THE BILL IS PASSED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES NEXT MONTH AND IS SUBSEQUENTLY SIGNED

INTO LAW BY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH,

ZIMBABWE WILL BE WALKING AN EVEN TIGHTER ECONOMIC ROPE

THAN BEFORE. . .ZIMBABWE WILL BE TREATED BY THE U. S.

GOVERNMENT LIKE THE ECONOMIC LEPER THAT THE ILLEGAL

REGIME OF IAN SMITH WAS DURING THE 15 YEARS OF

UDI. . .THE SANCTIONS WON’T BE AS DRACONIAN AS THOSE

IMPOSED ON THE SMITH REGIME, BUT THEIR OVERALL EFFECT

WILL BE THE FURTHER ECONOMIC ISOLATION OF

ZIMBABWE. . . .”

¶3.   UNDER HEADLINE “RESILIENT ZIMBABWE WILL BREAK U. S.

STRANGLEHOLD,” THE AUGUST 5 EDITION OF THE

GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED WEEKLY ‘THE SUNDAY MAIL’

COMMENTS:

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 03       HARARE 02334 061224Z

“SO, AS EXPECTED THE U. S. SENATE HAS JUST PASSED THE

CONTROVERSIAL ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY

BILL WHICH SEEKS TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON

ZIMBABWE. . .WHATEVER MIGHT BE SAID WE KNOW THE REASON

FOR THIS BILL IS A DESPERATE BUT FUTILE ATTEMPT TO

THWART THE THIRD CHIMURENGA, WHICH WANTS TO DEAL WITH

THE LAND DISTRIBUTION ANOMALIES ONCE AND FOR ALL. THE

CHRISTENING OF THE BILL ‘DEMOCRACY’ IS RATHER

ABSURD. . .ONE THEN ASKS WHY THERE IS THIS RELENTLESS

PRESSURE BY THE RIGHT-WING ELEMENT IN THE U. S. TO

DESTABILIZE THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED ZIMBABWE

GOVERNMENT WHILE NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT THE MILITARY

GOVERNMENT OF BURUNDI AND RWANDA. INDEED WHEN IT COMES

TO THE PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY INTERNATIONALLY THE U. S.

IS AS GUILTY AS SIN. . .ZIMBABWEANS HAVE BEEN TRIED AND

TESTED BEFORE AS THE FIRST AND SECOND CHIMURENGA CAN

TESTIFY. SANCTIONS WILL, IN FACT, INVOKE THAT SPIRIT

OF NATIONALISM AND UNITE THE COUNTRY IN THEIR BID TO

PRESERVE THEIR HARD-WON INDEPENDENCE. WE ARE IN THE

MIDDLE OF THE THIRD CHIMURENGA AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH

JESSE HELMS AND THE U. S. SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS

COMMITTEE MIGHT TRY TO DERAIL THIS COURSE, THEY ARE

DOOMED TO FAIL. FOR THEM AND THEIR BLACK PROXIES IN

ZIMBABWE TO POSTULATE THE USHERING IN OF A PUPPET

REGIME THROUGH SANCTIONS IS A MONUMENTAL

MISCALCULATION. . .

(26 VIEWS)