http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
09
December, 2010 10:38:00 Staff Reporter
HARARE – This morning The
Zimbabwe Mail has just heard from high-level
sources in the Zimbabwe
security services that President Mugabe is under
pressure from Zanu PF
hardliners to arrest Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
outlaw the MDC and
also expel the United States ambassador.
We can reveal that an emergency
high level meeting is currently under way in
Harare this morning between
Senior Zanu PF leaders and Security Chiefs and
on the agenda is the plan to
seize on the latest highly sensitive material
released by the whistleblower
website WikiLeaks, amid reports that
hardliners in Zanu PF are pushing for
the immediate banning of the Movement
for Democratic Change led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
There are now fears that the country could
slide into a military state as
Zanu PF opportunists try to seize the moment
to outlaw all political
activities in the country.
Last night, the
classified communication documents released by the Guardian
newspaper
revealed a catalogue of attempts by the United States government
to help
nudge President Robert Mugabe out of power.
A senior government and Zanu
PF official whose identity cannot be revealed
described the matter to our
reporter as "very serious" and said they will
leave no stone
unturned.
"Those collaborating with the Western forces to overthrow us
from power must
not cry foul when the rule of law takes its course, we
fought for this
country and we will not fold our hands and let this happen",
he said.
"We will get to the bottom of this and I can assure you we have
legal and
moral grounds to ban the MDC from engaging in any political
activities in
this country.
"Tsvangirai is going to be locked up for
a very long time, mudhara (Mugabe)
is very angry. I spoke to him this
morning and he is breathing fire", the
source said before he rushed to the
meeting.
The sources also said there will be efforts to pursue those
exiled
businessmen who engaged in the conspiracy to unseat Robert
Mugabe.
A bloodless coup was planned to remove Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe's
president
with the help of pressure from the UN secretary general, according
to
classified US documents.A confidential memo from the US embassy in South
Africa is entitled "Secret power sharing plan" and dated 30 January 2007. At
the time Zimbabwe was plunging into an unprecedented economic crisis. The
cable names a group of prominent Zimbabwean businessmen living in South
Africa who were pushing for change but says their leader's identity should
be "strictly protected".
Despite the United States of American and
Zimbabwe having for long had an
uneasy relationship, political commentators
argue that the situation could
get worse following Mugabe’s mention in the
leaked documents. According to
them, Zanu PF has been gifted with a
propaganda coup.
Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi says diplomats
engaged in the "illegal regime change" plot will
have to face the full wrath
of the law.
Mumbengegwi, who also doubles
up as External Affairs official in Zanu PF
says diplomats engaged in the
"illegal regime change" plot will have to face
the full wrath of the
law.
"Now the good thing about all this is that we now have
incontrovertible
evidence that the Western countries and the United States
in particular has
been collaborating with MDC T in this country to
destabilise this country
which is in total violation of the Vienna
Convention," Mumbengegwi said.
Mumbengegwi added," In the Dell report, he
admits that US is funding
political parties in this country. And everybody
knows that this cannot be
Zanu PF. And in our laws this is absolutely
illegal."
He warned that no diplomatic representative was allowed under
international
law to violate any laws of the country to which they are
accredited.
"And now we have this revelation to the effect that the
former American
ambassador was interfering in the internal affairs of
Zimbabwe. And this is
a matter we take extremely seriously," Mumbengegwi
said.
"We intend to enforce the provisions of international law to the
letter.
Zimbabwe will not accept, Zimbabwe will not tolerate any
interference in the
internal politics of Zimbabwe by any of the diplomatic
representatives of
any country no matter how powerful that country
maybe.
"They are bound by international law, they must obey international
law," a
tough-talking Mumbengegwi said.
However, despite
Mumbengegwi’s claims, the United States is by far the
largest donor to
humanitarian agencies in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, the US embassy, based in
the capital, Harare, is getting on with
the robust and confidential business
of diplomacy without getting
sidetracked by the volatile WikiLeaks episode,
which raises questions about
the need to maintain proper protection for the
large body of classified
documents.
US deputy Ambassador David Abell
says views contained in the leaks neither
reflect neither his government’s
position nor policies.
"The American people have high opinion of the
people of Zimbabwe. We want to
continue to have a friendly relationship with
this country".
" We diplomats write reports from time to time and these
reports are then
handed over to policymakers in our country. We do not make
polices as
diplomats"
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
09 December, 2010
Retired officers from the Zimbabwe
National Army (ZNA) have approached two
chiefs in the Buhera area, proposing
to set up what they called a youth
training centre. But it’s reported that
the chiefs refused.
Our Bulawayo correspondent, Lionel Saungweme,
reported that the ZNA officers
wanted to set up youth militia training camps
that would also be used as
torture bases by ZANU PF during the elections
next year. They went to Chief
Gwebu and Chief Makumbe, both traditional
leaders in Buhera district, and
tried to disguise the project as a skills
training centre that would benefit
the area.
But according to
Saungweme, the chiefs refused because ZANU PF has a long
history of
terrorizing the area, especially because Buhera is the home of
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Our correspondent said people in Buhera still
have fresh memories of the
brutal murder of MDC activists Talent Mabika and
Tichaona Chiminya, back in
the year 2000. The two activists were campaigning
for the MDC and were
burned to death by ZANU PF thugs.
Saungweme
explained that the party took the case to court in 2002, claiming
that the
violence had influenced the election results, and won. But the
docket went
‘missing’ and no-one has ever been arrested for the murders.
ZANU PF
targeted Buhera again during the presidential runoff in 2008.
Saungweme said
war vet leader Joseph Chinotimba went around the area
threatening MDC
supporters. The MP for Buhera, Eric Matinenga, was also
arrested at that
time for claiming that the military was involved in the
violence.
Saungweme said it is not clear whether Chief Gwebu and
Chief Makumbe were
offered any bribes or whether they were threatened by the
army officers who
approached them. But the incident is more confirmation
that ZANU PF is
looking to target Buhera again, ahead of the elections in
2011.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Tobias Manyuchi Thursday 09 December
2010
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s government is nationalising all alluvial
diamond
deposits while the state will assume controlling stake in all future
mining
ventures involving other minerals including gold, platinum and
non-alluvial
diamonds, economic indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere
said
Wednesday.
At present, the government holds 50 percent stakes in
each of the companies
that are mining alluvial diamonds in the controversial
Marange fields to the
north of the country.
Addressing journalists in
Harare, Kasukuwere said the ruling coalition of
President Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had unanimously
agreed on the sweeping
changes that although targeting new projects are
certain to leave investors
in established mines wondering about how safe
their investments are in
Zimbabwe.
Kasukuwere said: “At its weekly sitting…cabinet took far
reaching decisions
on the issue of implementation of Indigenisation and
Empowerment Act in
general and the mining sector in particular.
“The
shareholding in the mining sector as it relates to the state shall be
as
follows, 100 percent for alluvial diamonds.”
According to the
regulations, government would establish a ‘Sovereign Wealth
Fund’ to
function as a vehicle through which the state will acquire
controlling stake
in all new mining ventures that do not involve alluvial
diamonds.
Kasukuwere said once the new rules came into force,
communities would now
get 10 percent of gross profit from the exploitation
of their mineral
resources. He said the new rules would become effective
once gazzeted but
did not say when exactly that would be.
“Cabinet
resolved that through a Community Share Ownership
Scheme…communities shall
be entitled to 10 percent of profit before tax,” he
said.
The
minister said the funds would be channeled towards supporting new
health,
education and infrastructural projects in communities.
Government would
soon be announcing new guidelines on how the controversial
Indigenisation
Act would be implemented in other sectors of the economy, he
said.
Meanwhile, Kasukuwere dismissed claims by Minister of Industry
and Commerce
Professor Welshman Ncube that government had suspended
implementation of the
Indigenisation regulations.
“Let me say that
the Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and
Empowerment remains
the sole mouthpiece on issues of indigenisation and
empowerment. We have not
frozen indigenisation,” he said.
Under the empowerment programme,
foreign-owned firms are required to cede
significant stake to local blacks
by 2015 and those failing to comply risk
losing their operating
licenses.
Mugabe, whose then sole ruling ZANU PF party passed the
Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Bill in 2007, had initially wanted
all foreign-owned
firms to cede 51 percent stake to locals.
He backed
down after Tsvangirai opposed the requirement to force all
foreigners to
surrender control of their investments and the coalition
government later
modified the rules to allow varying percentages of
shareholding
foreign-owned companies in various sectors of the economy must
transfer to
local blacks.
The committees appointed to recommend to the government the
various
shareholding thresholds are yet to report back to
Kasukuwere.
Analysts say the empowerment drive is unlikely to succeed as
most local
business people are unable to raise the required funding to buy
shares from
foreign-owned companies.
A similar empowerment drive by
Mugabe in agriculture destroyed the mainstay
sector, leaving once self
sufficient Zimbabwe dependent on food aid after
the 86-year old leader
failed to provide funding, inputs and skills training
to black villagers
resettled on former white-owned commercial farms to
maintain
production.
And critics fear that the economic empowerment is a ploy by
Mugabe to reward
his allies and supporters with thriving businesses in the
same way his top
backers in his ZANU PF party and the military were rewarded
with the best
farms grabbed from whites.
Large multinational
corporations such as cigarette manufacturer BAT
Zimbabwe, which is 80
percent British-owned; UK-controlled financial
institutions Barclays Bank
and Standard Chartered Bank, food group Nestlé
Zimbabwe, mining giants Rio
Tinto and Zimplats, and AON Insurance are some
of the big foreign-owned
firms that will be forced to cede control to
locals. – ZimOnline.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Dec 9, 2010, 10:04
GMT
Harare - The government of Zimbabwe plans to nationalize mining
activities,
taking 100 per cent of alluvial diamond mining and 51 per cent
of other
minerals, a cabinet minister was quoted Thursday as
saying.
Indigenization and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere was
quoted in the
state-owned Herald newspaper as saying that the cabinet of the
country's
coalition government agreed 'unanimously' on Tuesday to the new
measures.
They would take effect as soon as official regulations were
published,
Kasukuwere said. No confirmation from other senior officials was
immediately
available.
He was also quoted as saying that 'all new
projects in the mining sector are
expected to comply with the above
requirements of the law,' which analysts
said perhaps suggested that
existing mines would not be affected.
Mining is Zimbabwe's largest source
of income, dominated by a 1.5
billion-dollar platinum complex owned by South
Africa's Impala Platinum, the
biggest producer in the world.
The
country also has several foreign-owned gold mines as well as ferrochrome
and
diamonds.
The Marange diamonds fields in the east have been plagued by
charges of
human rights abuses and looting by the army and government
officials.
There are currently about eight operators licensed to mine the
60,000-hectare fields, none of them major international
producers.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has frequently complained that
the state
receives only 'peanuts' from Marange.
After eight years of
catastrophic economic decline, Zimbabwe's economy began
growing again last
year following the establishment of a power-sharing
government between
President Robert Mugabe and former opposition leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai, who
is now prime minister.
The mining industry was the fastest growing sector
of the economy this year,
recording 47 per cent growth.
http://www.ft.com/
By Tony Hawkins in
Harare
Published: December 9 2010 15:36 | Last updated: December 9 2010
15:36
Uncertainty surrounds claims that Zimbabwe’s alluvial diamond
fields in the
Marange-Chiadzwya area are to nationalised following a
‘unanimous’ cabinet
decision .
Saviour Kasukuwere, indigenisation
minister, said it had also been agreed
that the state would own 51 per cent
of all other mining operations,
including non-alluvial diamonds.
He
said:“The broad principle that has been set up by government is that the
alluvial diamonds belong to the state and they must benefit the people of
Zimbabwe”.
However, a source from the Movement for Democratic Change,
the party of
Morgan Tsvangirai, prime minister, poured cold water on the
minister’s
claim, saying his understanding was that a report on
indigenisation had been
put forward, but not formally
adopted.
Moreover, Mr Tsvangirai had not been present at Tuesday’s
cabinet meeting
when Mr Kasukuwere said the decisions were “unanimously”
adopted.
If the decision goes ahead, it will affect several mining
companies,
including Rio Tinto which plans to expand operations at its
Murowa
(non-alluvial) diamond mine, Zimbabwe Platinum, controlled by Impala
Platinum of South Africa and Anglo American’s Unki platinum mine which
started production recently.
Mr Kasukuwere said the cabinet also
decided local communities would receive
10 per cent of the pretax profits
from mining activities in their areas, and
that the government would
establish a sovereign wealth fund – an idea first
mooted two years ago in a
United Nations Development Programme report on
economic recovery in
Zimbabwe.
These decisions would take effect as soon as the laws were
gazetted, he
said.
The announcement came just 48 hours after Welshman
Ncube, Zimbabwe’s
industry minister, was reported as saying in an interview
that the cabinet
had agreed to freeze the country’s indigenisation laws,
which stipulate 51
per cent local (black) ownership of all foreign owned
businesses with assets
in excess of $500,000.
It also coincided with
a forecast by Victor Gapare, president of the
Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines,
that Zimbabwe’s gold production would increase
more than fivefold over the
next five years and that gold would surpass
platinum as the industry’s main
generator of foreign exchange.
The conflicting statements highlight the
deep divisions within the coalition
government that took office nearly two
years ago.
Mr Kasukuwere, a hardline member of president Robert Mugabe’s
Zanu-PF, is
attempting to force through the indigenisation legislation
against the
wishes of some ministers from Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC.
A
mining company executive said Mr Kasukuwere had referred to “all new
projects” in his announcement, adding: “Hopefully this means existing
projects will be exempt”.
Economists and political analysts say Mr
Kasukuwere’s insistence that he is
“the sole mouthpiece on issues of
indigenisation and empowerment in
Zimbabwe” can only increase uncertainty
over the future direction of
government policy towards foreign investment.
http://news.yahoo.com
AFP
– 59 mins ago
HARARE
(AFP) – Zimbabwe's deputy prime minister Thokozani Khupe on Thursday
warned
against rushed elections, while a leading lawyer said there would be
a
"bloodbath" if polls are held next year without international
support.
"Yes to elections, but we do not want to hold an election for
the sake of
it," said Khupe, vice president of the ex-opposition Movement
for Democratic
Change, at the launch of a report by human rights lawyers on
the political
situation.
"We want an election which is going to be
credible and legitimate, an
election which will respect the will of the
people," he said.
Human rights lawyer Alec Muchadehama, however, warned
of a repeat of the
violence-tainted general elections in 2008 if new polls
are held next year.
"The 2008 is a classic example of how not to do it,"
Muchadehama said. "If
we hold elections next year there could be mayhem and
a bloodbath."
Khupe called on the regional Southern African Development
Community bloc,
the African Union and other international bodies to ensure a
suitable
environment for a free and fair vote.
The report analysed
events in the lead-up to the country's disputed 2008
elections which
President Robert Mugabe won after his MDC rival Morgan
Tsvangirai withdrew,
citing violence against his supporters.
They formed an uneasy
power-sharing government the following year which has
since been torn by
tension and disagreement on the debt-wracked country's
budget, the
appointment of top officials and other policy matters.
Khupe urged the
political parties to "learn from mistakes of 2008" and
called for "critical
electoral reforms."
Mugabe has indicated that the southern African nation
would go for polls
next year, but government officials and diplomats say
credible elections can
only be held either in 2012 or 2013.
In
August, the head of the electoral commission indicated that it did not
have
enough money to clean up the voters' roll, which has been cited as a
tool
used in previous elections to hand victory to Mugabe's ZANU PF party.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
09 December, 2010
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR) took part in a march in Harare
on Thursday to commemorate
International Human Rights Day. The lawyers used
the occasion to deliver a
petition to several government offices, calling
for improved working
conditions for the magistrates in the country. They
also launched a report
on future elections in Zimbabwe.
Kumbirai Mafunda, the ZLHR
communications officer, said the march was
peaceful and the lawyers had a
police escort. The lawyers passed by the High
Court, the Supreme Court and
the Parliament building in order to deliver
their petition, ending the march
at the ‘Human Rights Tree’ which they
planted in the Harare Gardens some
years ago.
Mafunda said the ZLHR also launched a report that compares the
laws and
practices relating to elections as they were before, during and
after the
2008 elections. The goal was to assess what is required to hold
free and
fair elections in the future in Zimbabwe.
Mafunda explained that
the report also looks at the environment that existed
at the time for Human
Rights Defenders, and compares that with the regional
norms and standards
for democratic elections set by institutions such as
SADC.
“The
report concludes that there should be a significant emphasis on
legislative
and institutional reform before any elections are held,” said
Mafunda.
“The report also noted the establishment of the Human Rights
Commission and
its potential role in monitoring human rights violations and
protecting
fundamental rights during future elections,” he added.
He
stressed that there should be key changes in institutions such as the
police, the Zimbabwe Media Commission and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission,
if there was to be any hope of a free and fair election.
Mafunda told
SW Radio Africa that copies of the ZLHR report will soon be
available.
Meanwhile the Institute for Democratic Alternatives South
Africa (Idasa)
also launched a report focusing on the targeted sanctions on
the regime in
Zimbabwe. The report deals with the effects of three possible
options around
these restrictive measures: maintaining the restrictions:
lifting them
completely: a gradual removal based on performance in the unity
government.
The report concludes that just maintaining the restrictive
measures would do
nothing to encourage any concessions from ZANU PF and
would prolong the
current stalemate between the parties. Completely lifting
them would be
premature, because international donors and businesses do not
trust Mugabe
and the situation in Zimbabwe.
The third option is seen
as the one most likely to gain broad support. The
remove of restrictive
measures; based on six benchmarks, which include a
credible voters’ roll, an
independent electoral commission, media freedom,
constitutional reform, a
land audit and reform in the security sector.
Both reports launched this
week recommend significant reforms in Zimbabwe’s
institutions, ahead of
future elections. The pressure on Robert Mugabe and
ZANU PF to make these
changes is mounting ahead of the elections that they
are preparing for in
2011.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
9
December 2010
The regional SADC bloc will carry out an assessment of the
political
environment in Zimbabwe before the three parties in the inclusive
government
can announce the date for elections.
ZANU PF leader Robert
Mugabe has made proclamations that elections will be
held in the middle of
next year. But Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
insists the elections cannot
take place without reforms and a constitutional
review.
But a well
placed source in the Civil Society in Zimbabwe told SW Radio
Africa the
regional bloc told them Mugabe cannot unilaterally call for
elections
without SADC’s involvement or input.
A delegation from the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition held a meeting with Tomaz
Salomao, the SADC executive
secretary, on November 22nd in Gaborone,
Botswana.
The meeting
focused on the bloc’s role in efforts to find a lasting solution
to
Zimbabwe’s political conflict. They also discussed the sub-regional
position
on elections and the lifespan of the coalition government.
‘Apparently
Salomao observed during the meeting that contrary to calls by
Mugabe to hold
elections next year, SADC will sit down with the three
parties in the GPA
and draw up a roadmap that would lead to a new poll.
The executive
secretary insisted ZANU PF cannot dictate terms as far as
elections are
concerned. It has to be a tripartite agreement, with the
concurrence of
SADC,’ a source said.
A SADC Troika summit to decide on the contents of
an election roadmap will
meet in Lusaka, Zambia early next year. Civil
Society Organisations and Non
Governmental Organisations are pushing hard
for SADC and the African Union,
as guarantors of the GPA, to make an
independent assessment of conditions on
the ground prior to that. They want
SADC to deploy monitors to Zimbabwe and
to ensure the full implementation of
the GPA. How SADC would manage to do
that, after two years of fruitless
talks with Robert Mugabe, is not clear.
Tsvangirai told Reuters news
agency this week it was not possible to have
elections in June next year
because a referendum on the constitution was
needed first.
‘I don't
think at the moment you can conduct an election. One of the
fundamental
issues we need to handle is the issue of violence. All elections
so far have
been conducted in a manner that is very violent ... this is
violence that is
state-sponsored, the Prime Minister said.
‘When the police, army,
militia, war veterans are used to intimidate,
coerce, and cause torture and
death to the people, that is the kind of
violence we need to contain,’ he
added.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
9 December
2010
A Bill to amend the draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA),
passed
its first hurdle on Wednesday when it sailed through the House of
Assembly.
‘One hurdle has been overcome and we will wait to see how ZANU
PF reacts to
the Bill when it goes to the Senate,’ MDC-T chief whip and
Mutare Central MP
Innocent Gonese said on Thursday.
It also marked
the first time in the country’s parliamentary history that a
private
member’s Bill sailed through the legislature.
Gonese introduced the
motion to amend POSA through a private member’s Bill
in October last year.
Proposed amendments to the Act, which has curtailed
basic freedoms, were
passed in their entirety after the third reading.
‘The Bill has now been
transmitted to the Senate and we just hope the same
spirit that prevailed
during the third reading in the House of Assembly may
prevail in the
Senate,’ Gonese said. The MDC holds a slight majority in the
Lower House,
while ZANU PF has a huge majority in the Upper House which it
uses to block
legislation.
Early this week, the former ruling ZANU PF party withdrew
its support for
changes to POSA but the MDC managed to squeeze it past the
Lower House
because of its majority. POSA was made a much more restrictive
law by a ZANU
PF dominated parliament in 2002.
The draconian
legislation gives untold powers to the police and the Ministry
of Home
Affairs and the police are responsible for the administration of the
Act.
It’s reported ZANU PF legislators withdrew support for the
amendments after
they received a tongue lashing, from Vice-President Joice
Mujuru at a party
caucus meeting on November 18th for supporting the
proposed changes.
‘We understand the securocrats have put some spanners
into the works by
influencing members to oppose the amendment Bill, but we
will cross that
bridge when we come to it,’ Gonese said.
The MDC-T
party applauded its legislators for pushing through the amendments
in the
Lowe House, but the Bill has a good chance of being blocked in the
Upper
House. If it does pass through the Senate, it will still need the
signature
of Robert Mugabe to be signed into law.
‘The passing of the Bill comes at
a time when the people expected a new
political dispensation to take root
and propel the country into a new era.
‘With its sweeping provisions, all
pointing poisoned arrows at people’s
freedoms, POSA caused untold suffering
to several generations of Zimbabweans
who sought to exercise their
fundamental right to freedom of expression and
assembly,’ the MDC
said.
The party added that it was encouraging the inclusive government to
review
all retrogressive laws that curtail people’s freedoms across the
board, to
bring meaning to the exercise of democracy and citizens’
rights.
‘In particular, all media laws—AIPPA, the Broadcasting Services
Act, and the
Censorship and Entertainment Act—must be repealed as a matter
of urgency,’
the statement said.
http://www.radiovop.com
09/12/2010 11:47:00
Masvingo, 09 December, 2010 - The
Movement for Democratic Change led by
Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) here has
expressed concern over the continued
increase in death of their members who
succumbed to injuries sustained
during the violent June 2008 Presidential
election run-off and this year’s
post constitution outreach
violence.
Speaking during the burial of a couple that succumbed to
injuries sustained
in political violence in 2008 and this year at
Nyazvidzi
village in Gutu north, local legislator, Edmore Maramwidze
Hamandishe said
they were worried with the ever increasing number of
their
members who are losing their lives as a result of torture and
harassment by
members of the rival Zanu pf.
Crispen Gurajena and his
wife, Raina were buried last Friday after they died
of severe internal
injuries they sustained after they were
beaten in 2008 for spearheading MDCT
campaign in their constituency before
they were also attacked last month by
youth militias who
accused them of defying Zanu pf orders in contributing
views during the just
ended constitution making out-reach
programme.
Hamandishe said the couple that held the post of district
secretary and
information and publicity was taken to hospital last week
after
they started complaining of internal pains in their bodies. They were
admitted at Gutu Mission hospital where the wife passed away first
before
the husband followed two days later.
“We are not pleased at all to watch
our members perish from injuries they
sustained during acts of political
violence. As a party we are
growing impatient with the failure by government
to take action against
those who are responsible for the murders of our
colleagues,
we know them and they are walking freely in the villages,” said
Hamandishe.
Hamandishe said his party in the province was growing edgy by
the National
healing organ he described as useless and a toothless
bulldog
that has done nothing to heal the souls of political victims and
their
relatives.
“When we set up this organ in the Inclusive
government we thought that it
was going to do its job of healing the wounds
of political
violence from our people but two years on it has done nothing
and our people
continue to bear the pain of seeing perpetrators of
violence
walking free when they killed their relatives,” he added.
He
added that the organ should be disbanded and government bring the
perpetrators to book and face trial for the atrocities they
committed.
Hamandishe said this year alone in Gutu, his party has buried
over 30
activists who succumbed to injuries sustained in the infamous
2008
elections run-off were MDC claim that it lost over 200 members to
political
violence.
http://www.radiovop.com
09/12/2010 08:44:00
Harare,
December 09, 2010 - Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe has
apologised for
Operation Murambatsvina (Clean-up) carried out in 2005 and
resulted in the
demolition of thousands of poor people's homes .
She said the government
was guilty of treating people inhumanely.
Addressing scores of Hopley
Farm residents on the outskirts of Harare on
Wednesday, Khupe said the clean
up operation had given the government bitter
lessons for the
future.
“I would like to apologise for the way you were resettled here,
next time we
will make ensure that there is adequate infrastructure before
resettling
them,” she said.
About 5 000 people were resettled at the
farm in the aftermath of Operation
Murambatsvina, which saw more than 750
000 rendered homeless, while others
lost their livelihoods.
Khupe
said the government will be proactive in future and ensure that
infrastructure is built for residents of Hopley and other resettlement
areas.
She said the government would start by building clinics and
schools in
Hopley Farm for the residents, whom she said were suffering two
fold, first
they were evicted and then they now they lacked basic
necessities.
Khupe’s visit to the farm follows a report by Amnesty
International that
revealed 21 newly born babies had died in the squatter
camp.
“No woman should die while giving birth, so maternity fees here in
Hopley
have been waived so that every woman can receive basic health care,”
she
said.
The Amnesty International report urged the government to
step in immediately
to investigate the deaths.
Michelle Kagari, the
organisation’s deputy director for Africa, said the
government had neglected
Hopley Farm after resettling people there in the
aftermath of Operation
Murambatsvina.
http://www.radiovop.com
09/12/2010 08:42:00
Harare, December 09, 2010
- A Zimbabwe election watchdog has called on the
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) to monitor all party jingles and
advertisements before
allowing them to be broadcast to the public before the
elections next
year.
Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold an election next year but analysts
are saying
the playing field is not yet level for the main political parties
that could
contest because the voter's role is currently in "shambles" and
ZEC is
"incapacitated".
"The ZEC must enforce advertising ethics -
Code of Conduct - for the
political parties and the public broadcaster
(content and structure of
adverts and political messages)," read a statement
by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Support Network (ZESN) made available to Radio
VOP.
"The ZEC must give voters information and updates using the public
media on
time. The ZEC must also have an independent agency to monitor and
regulate
adverts, party jingles and music, and politically insensitive
music."
This has been a very sensitive subject because Zanu (PF) is
already running
adverts on ZBC TV showing President Robert Mugabe, Deputy
Presidents, John
Nkomo and Joyce Mujuru, playing soccer as a
"Team".
Zanu (PF) music is played while the "Team" adverts are broadcast
almost
daily in Zimbabwe on ZBC TV which is the only national television
station.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has already refused to
remove the
Zanu (PF) jingles saying they are not political.
It has,
however, refused to broadcast jingles belonging to Prime Minister,
Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC-T.
ZESN said the monitoring of adverts and jingles was
among several conditions
that needed to be fulfilled for free and fair
elections in Zimbabwe next
year.
"This is promoting democratic
elections in Zimbabwe," ZESN said in the
statement. "These are some of the
minimum conditions for free and fair
elections."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Thelma Chikwanha
Thursday, 09
December 2010 17:24
HARARE - Only 24 Members of Parliament out of
210 in the Lower House have
declared their assets to the Speaker of
Parliament as required under section
19 of the standing rules and orders of
the house in commemoration of the
UN International Anti Corruption
Day.
Speaking after a march organised by African Parliamentarians
Network Against
Corruption (APNAC), the organisation’s chairperson and MP
for Kambuzuma,
Willias Madzimure said those who declared their assets had
done so
voluntarily.
Madzimure also said that declaring assets would
go a long way in curbing
corruption which he said hindered social and
economic development and
increased poverty by diverting domestic and foreign
investment from the
people.
“We are taking stock as a country, on the
progress we made, on what we are
doing and we are prepared to be scrutinised
by the public. We also want to
move for the adoption of section 19 of the
standing rules and orders which
requires MP’s to declare their assets to the
Speaker of Parliament,” he
said.
The APNAC chairperson also called
upon members of the public to be very
observant and speak out against
corruption which erodes education and health
systems thereby depriving
people of their basic and fundamental rights.
“A lot of people are dying
because they cannot afford to pay for
Antiretroviral Treatment yet the
Government is offering them for free. It is
wrong for people to pay a
headmaster to secure a learning place for your
child.
The headmaster
should give your child a place at school without you paying
him anything,”
he said.
APNAC’s initiative comes at a time when Harare residents have
called for a
probe into allegations of corruption by the MP for Zvimba
North, Ignatius
Chombo who is also the Minister for Local Government, Urban
and Rural
Development.
Residents want the Minister investigated on
his acquisition of 100 stands
and houses from various local authorities
countrywide.
Loveness Nzungu,a member of the public who also attended the
march said the
move by parliamentarians was admirable but the number of MP’s
who declared
their assets was insignificant.
“We would have
appreciated it if prominent MP’s like Ignatius Chombo, Nelson
Chamisa,
Tendai Biti, Nicholas Goche and Bright Matonga had also declared
their
assets,” she said.
Willias Madimure (Kambuzuma), Blessing Chebundo
(Kwekwe Central), Ransome
Makamure(Gutu East), Jani Varandeni(Bikita South),
Maina Mandava*, Lynette
Karenyi(Chimanimani West), Margaret Zinyemba(Mazowe
South), Hamandishe
Maramwidze(Gutu North), Tall Chambati(Hurungwe West),
Editor Matamisa
(Kadoma Central), Piniel Denga(Mbare), Jeffryson
Chitando(Masvingo Central),
Betty Chikava(Mount Darwin East), Metrine
Mudau(Beitbridge West), Steward
Garadhi(Chinhoyi) Ward Nezi(Murehwa West),
David Anthony Chimhini(Mutasa
North), Gabriel Ndebele(Matobo South), Felix
Magalela Sibanda(Magwegwe),
Dorothy Mhangami(Gokwe), were among the MP’s who
declared their assets.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
09 December 2010
South Africa’s Office of the Public Protector
has this week been called on
to intervene on behalf of tens of thousands of
Zimbabweans, trying to
regularise their stay before the end of the
year.
The December 31st deadline for Zim nationals to get proper permits
to remain
in South Africa is fast approaching, and fears are high that there
will be a
return to mass deportations in the New Year. But despite clear
signs and
warnings that the documentation process is doomed to fail, South
Africa’s
department of Home Affairs has adamantly refused to extend the
deadline past
December.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) and a group of
18 other civil society
organisations have now submitted an official
complaint to the Public
Protector, over this refusal to extend the deadline.
LHR’s head of the group’s
refugee and migrants rights programme, Kaajal
Ramjathan-Keogh, told SW Radio
Africa on Thursday that Home Affairs is
putting thousands of people at risk
of deportation.
“We all hoped
that that the Minister of Home Affairs would understand the
difficulties and
challenges associated with the implementation of the
documentation project,
and allow people to collect the documents necessary
in order to apply for
the permits. But it appears that the Minister has
decided not to exercise
discretion or reasonableness in the exercise of her
public power in order to
obtain a successful outcome of this project,”
Ramjathan-Keogh
said.
LHR has been calling on Home Affairs to extend the deadline since
it was
first announced earlier this year, calls that have been echoed by
various
rights groups in recent weeks. Hundreds of thousands of Zim
nationals have
been queuing, sometimes for days at a time, to get their
paper work in
order. But to date there has only been an estimated 40 000
successful
applications, even though well over a million people are said to
need
documents.
“It has become obvious that the deadline will not
allow a success of the
project, because there are a number of difficulties
that means a large
number of undocumented people will be left vulnerable,”
Ramjathan-Keogh
said.
The civil society groups are calling on the
Public Protector to intervene
with Home Affairs and departmental officials
“to ensure that this project is
in fact capable of achieving its stated aims
and objectives.” The groups
want the Public Protector discuss a number of
issues with Home Affairs,
including reviewing the deadline and considering
the current political
situation in Zimbabwe, before deportations
resume.
Ramjathan-Keogh explained that a return to mass deportations is a
huge
concern, because “such deportations not only result in widespread
violation
of rights, but are a massive waste of public money and resources.”
She also
expressed more concern that a newly built detention facility in the
Musina
border town is about to become operational, calling the timing
“worryingly
convenient.”
LHR will address a press conference about
the Zimbabwe documentation project
on Friday, which will mark International
Human Rights Day.
“We continue to call on government to reconsider this
matter and abide by
its obligations under international law and the
Constitution,” LHR said.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
09 December, 2010 07:45:00
By
Harare - Political analyst and Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) founder
member, Dr Lovemore Madhuku has revealed that he is harbouring
political
ambitions.
Madhuku, who is the current chairperson of the
National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) told Radio VOP in an exclusive
interview that he will soon
turn to politics.
“Yes definitely I am
going into politics, my contract at NCA is expiring at
the end of next year
and besides I am already into politics,” said Madhuku.
Asked whether he
will be forming a political party, Madhuku said, “I will
not be forming a
political party but I will just be campaigning for a
particular political
position.”
“I am a leader of a movement which is advancing a cause which
is political
and that makes me a political player,” said Madhuku."
“I
am a leader of a movement which is advancing a cause which is political
and
that makes me a political player”Pressed to indicate when exactly he
might
make his grand entry into the muddy Zimbabwean political arena,
Madhuku
said, “The outcome of the referendum will determine the next
move.”
Zimbabwe is due to hold a referendum next year to endorse or
reject the new
constitution that is being put together following a process
to gather views
from the public spearheaded by a Parliamentary Committee.
The process was
however marred by political intimidation and violence in
most parts of the
country.
Previously Madhuku who is blessed with
incisive political thought and
judgement has been courted by senior members
of the MDC party to join them
but he has turned them down.
Often
times he has predicted how political events in this country will turn
out.
Recently he predicted a chaotic constitution making process and his
prophetic warnings are today a reality after an MDC supporter was killed for
giving out his views while hundreds others were assaulted and arrested for
participating.
Meanwhile a committee of parliament (COPAC) tasked
with coming up with the
country’s new constitution is struggling to complete
the exercise.
The NCA is mounting a campaign to encourage Zimbabweans to
vote against the
outcome of the process.
The COPAC process has been
facing a plethora of problems ranging from
political interference to lack of
cash to roll to its programmes.
The NCA which in 2000 successfully
campaigned for a “No Vote” in the
constitutional referendum is pushing for a
similar outcome of the exercise
to COPAC process.
The group argues
that the whole exercise is “undemocratic” and suffers from
political
interference.
It has launched a grassroots based campaign which aims to
persuade
Zimbabweans to reject the outcome of the process in a referendum
whose date
is not certain due to chaotic programming.
The campaign is
being mounted under the theme “Take Charge.” “The campaign
is calling people
to take charge of the constitution making process,” said
Madhuku who himself
is a constitutional law expert and seasoned campaigner
for the country’s new
constitution.
The campaign is structured around small community meetings
of about 40 to
100 people in every ward of the country’s
districts.
“We are going to the real grassroots to explain why they
should Vote No,”
said Madhuku.
Madhuku argued that Zimbabwean
citizens must reject the outcome of the
on-going constitution making process
because they did not contribute to the
process in a democratic
manner.
In 2000 when citizens rejected the proposed constitution
President Robert
Mugabe’s government simply continued using 1979 Lancaster
House
Constitution. The constitution has been amended 19 times since
independence
in 1980 and is blamed for Zimbabwe’s bad human rights
record.
Asked if the rejection of the proposed constitution will not
worsen
Zimbabwe's political situation, Madhuku said, “We are between a rock
and a
hard place but the only way to get a better constitution is to have a
good
start and that comes with the rejection of the draft that shall come
out of
this process.”
In addition he said the response from
Zimbabweans for his campaign been
“overwhelming.”
“There is a false
notion that Zimbabweans will listen to their political
parties, there are a
few political activists in both Zanu (PF) and MDC, many
Zimbabweans who will
vote in the referendum are just ordinary people who can
vote either way,”
said Madhuku.
Madhuku said the draft that is going to be produced by the
COPAC process
will largely reflect the views of Zanu (PF) and a few elements
from MDC but
it will also ultimately reflect the “balance of power in the
Government of
National Unity,” which is heavily tilted towards President
Mugabe and his
Zanu (PF) party.
Madhuku said the adoption of a new
constitution for the country will not
mean the death of the NCA.
“It
will be naive for us to say immediately after the adoption of a new
constitution that we want a democratic constitution, we will accept the
result and revert back to some of our organisational mandate that is to
provide civic education on constitutional matters,” said Madhuku.
The
constitutional process is critical to the future of the country because
any
future elections are to be held based on it as agreed in the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) signed by Mugabe and the two MDC leaders, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara.
The agreement also sets a benchmark for future elections based
on security
sector reform, establishment of an independent Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission
(ZEC) and the eradication of political
violence.
However the process is lagging behind by months. Mugabe said he
is reluctant
to extend the lifespan of the GPA, thus he wanted fresh
elections by next
June.
Meanwhile the COPAC process is now on the
drafting stage, thereafter a draft
will be taken to Parliament before is put
to a referendum. - Radio VOP
http://www.iol.co.za/
December 9 2010 at 11:40am
Harare -
The cost of living for an average urban Zimbabwean family of six
rose by $8
to $498,53 in November reflecting a 0,01 percent increase on the
previous
month, Zimbabwe's Herald Online reported on Thursday.
The change was
driven by rising food prices, the Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe (CCZ)
said.
CCZ said the cost of the food basket increased by 0,04 from $136,76
in
October to $142,77 last month. The cost of the food and detergents basket
increased from $147 in October to $154,53
in
November.
Generally, CCZ said, most of the products in the urban family
of six
consumer basket increased and these included margarine, tea leaves,
fresh
milk, bread, flour, onions, cabbages, white sugar, cooking oil, salt
and
meat.
While retailers cite the strengthening Rand against the
greenback for rising
prices, since Zimbabwe imports most basic products from
South Africa, CCZ
attributes this to the traditional behaviour of retailers
towards the
festive season.
“For some time now the rand has been very
strong against the US dollar, but
CCZ is concerned that the increase in the
food basket may be attributed to
the traditional behaviour of supermarket
towards the festive season,” CCZ
executive director Rosemary Siyachitema
said. - Sapa
http://conservativehome.blogs.com
By Paul
Goodman
LATHAM PAULINE Pauline Latham, the MP for Mid-Derbyshire, made a
very
thorough speech in yesterday's debate on Zimbabwe, setting the scene
-
"Since 2000 we have seen the breadbasket of Africa turn into the basket
case
of Africa. The commercial farming sector and the economy have
collapsed,
even though Zimbabwe used to export produce all over the world,
and to
neighbouring countries, as well as feed all its people. It is a
tragedy that
that situation is not returning at the moment. The lack of food
resulted in
the spread of chronic poverty, with about 2 million Zimbabweans
depending on
food aid. At poverty's highest point, more than 80% of the
Zimbabwean
population were living on less than $1 a day. With cholera,
malaria and
HIV/AIDS at the worst level of any country in Africa and on the
rise, and
with Zimbabwe's infrastructure on a sharp decline, the country
fell into
dictatorial despair."
- Looking at trends in the delivery
of aid -
"It is not how much money we spend, but how it is spent, that
will make a
difference. The Secretary of State has said that a lot since
taking office.
Between 2004-05 and 2008-09 the balance of DFID bilateral aid
to Zimbabwe
shifted. At the beginning of the period, most aid was delivered
by NGOs, but
at the end, most was delivered via multilaterals...Although I
recognise the
importance of the co-ordination that multilaterals such as the
UN offer, I
agree with critics who cite inefficiencies at ground level. I
hope that as
NGOs move back into Zimbabwe, we will see the role of
multilaterals change
from humanitarian to crisis management to overall
strategic country growth.
It is not often that I agree with the TUC, but I
concede that as Zimbabwe's
economy grows and the need for humanitarian
relief declines, DFID should
look to move away from humanitarian relief and
towards core
development-oriented interventions."
- And pointing to
the indispensability of land reform and political change -
"One of the
two most important ways in which DFID can help with the
redevelopment of
Zimbabwe is helping to fund the land audit. The GNU Finance
Minister has
allocated $30 million for a future audit, but previous Zimbabwe
Government
land audit findings have not been released, and I am sceptical
that without
the international community's involvement, the findings will be
unfair. It
is not for me to suggest what conditions the international
community should
impose on funding for the land audit, but as the DFID
Minister at the time
of the International Development Committee report
stated, a land audit would
be the first step towards reform, but it cannot
be carried with the current
President and his cronies blocking international
efforts.
Finally,
DFID has a role in developing the political system. I understand
the view
that the inclusive Zimbabwe Government is not yet the partner that
we
require to sustain a full development relationship. The global political
agreement and the resulting GNU are steps in the right direction, but
unfortunately, as Tsvangirai pointed out, things have not radically altered,
and Mugabe continues to act without consulting other GNU members. As a
result, I believe that DFID's strategy on providing technical assistance and
policy support will strengthen the political process in Zimbabwe. I hope
that the desired outcome of political change will take place, but if the
recent Act concerning white-owned businesses is anything to go by, we have
some way to go, as we heard from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield
and my right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon."
Posted on Thursday,
December 09, 2010 at 06:25
NEW YORK FOREIGN
PRESS CENTER BRIEFING WITH ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
PHILIP J. CROWLEY
TOPIC: WIKILEAKS
AND OTHER GLOBAL EVENTS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER
7, 2010, 4:00 P.M., EST
NEW YORK FOREIGN
PRESS CENTER, 150 E. 52ND STREET, 5TH
FLOOR
MR. CROWLEY:
Good afternoon.
Happy to be here. Happy to be back in New York. I think this is very unusual,
we did a briefing earlier this morning in Washington and now this is the second
half of what we call the double-header this morning, but happy to be here. And
I thought the topic I would start with involves putting WikiLeaks in
perspective, although I’m sure that you have other subjects on your mind which I
will be happy to talk about.
Obviously, the fact
that Julian Assange has been arrested in Britain is a matter between Britain and
Sweden. The United States does not take a position on the merits of that
particular warrant from Interpol for his arrest. We have and continue to
condemn what Julian Assange and WikiLeaks has done. In our view, he has done
substantial damage to the interests of the United States and the interests of
other countries around the world. We clearly recognize that for a period of
time, the conduct of diplomacy around the world will be more difficult.
What concerns us
more significantly is that in the release of 250,000 cables, Mr. Assange has put
real lives and real interests at risk. There are people every day in every
country around the world with which we have diplomatic relations who engage
diplomats of the United States. These are government officials. These are
members of civil society. They help provide perspective on activities and
events in those countries. In turn, our diplomats report this information back
to Washington, which informs our policies and our actions.
I should emphasize
that on any given day diplomats provide their best perspective to policymakers
in Washington about world events, but policy is made in Washington, D.C., not
out in our posts around the world. But in – certainly in many authoritarian
societies by engaging diplomats in the United States, individuals can put
themselves at risk. They risk their careers. They risk their lives in some
cases, and this is what is irresponsible through the actions of Mr.
Assange.
In anticipation of
the revelations of these cables, we have reached out to sources around the
world. We have expressed our concern about their well-being, and in certain
cases, we have offered, if they fear – if they feel threatened, to help them, if
necessary, move to a safer location. I can’t say that at this point any of that
action has been necessary, but that is something that we will continue to watch
as we go forward.
That said, we are
very proud of our diplomats. Our diplomats, every day, are out in countries
serving the national interest of the United States, which is what they’re paid
to do. And we believe that they engage in other countries and work with
friends, allies, other partners to help solve global issues around the world.
And they’re doing what diplomats for other countries are doing in a place like
here in New York, as well as in other locations in our country. This is what
diplomats do. And we’re not going to change what we do because of what has
happened here.
You can see today,
for example, in Geneva, we had Under Secretary Bill Burns engage with other
members of what we call the P-5+1 for the first conversation, direct
conversation, with an Iranian delegation in more than a year, trying to answer
questions that just not the United States, but the international community has
about the nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
Today, in Cancun,
we have diplomats who are engaged in a difficult, complex effort working with
other countries constructively to try to advance the cause of reduction of
greenhouse gases. We have, in Morocco, diplomats who are working on a North
African partnership, an extension of the entrepreneurial summit last April and
the pledge that the President made in his Cairo speech to work to promote
entrepreneurs around the world, particularly in Muslim-majority countries. We
have a diplomat in Europe today following up on the Secretary of State’s
announcement here in New York back in September about cook stoves. You have two
diplomats in Ukraine today working cooperatively with Ukraine to combat the
challenge of human trafficking around the world.
This is what
American diplomats do, day in and day out. There have been those that suggest
that there’s a grand conspiracy here. That’s nonsense. The – you see, without
talking about any particular cable, what you see in some of the revelations that
have come forward is diplomats pursuing in private what we absolutely say every
day in public.
There has been
suggestions that the United States is responsible for or promoted the release of
these documents – again, nonsense. The United States Government condemns what
WikiLeaks has done. We had no – well, let me pause – we do recognize that what
is a crime started inside the United States Government, where one individual who
has pledged to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States violated
that pledge and downloaded these documents and released them to someone who is
not authorized to have them. The United States Government beyond that played no
role in the release of these documents.
There have been
suggestions that our diplomats are spies – again, nonsense. Our diplomats do –
they are diplomats. They are not spies. What they do every day is seek
information, information that helps guide our policies and our actions. We
expect that our diplomats, just as the diplomats of other countries, give candid
reporting to policymakers about what they see happening in their particular
engagements with countries all around the world.
And that is what
they’re going to continue to do. We’re very proud of them. And the Secretary
of State has been very clear in communicating to our diplomats that we value
their work and we hope that their efforts will continue to pursue peace,
prosperity, security, which is in our interest, the interest of our people, as
well as the interest of the people in other parts of the
world.
With that as a
brief introduction, I’d be happy to take questions on this or other
subjects.
Wait for the
microphone, I think.
QUESTION: Hi. My name is
Mercedes Gallego. I work with the newspaper El Correo from Spain. My question
is actually very simple: Are the American diplomats at the UN ordered to
collect information from their colleagues on credit cards and any other personal
information?
MR.
CROWLEY: Again, it’s very
difficult to answer that question without getting into the contents of cables.
I will say that the intelligence community provides information throughout the
government as to what its priorities are and what its needs are, but that is not
a direct tasking to diplomats. Here in New York and anywhere else, our
diplomats are guided by U.S. law, and our diplomats do not break U.S. law. Or
if they do, for one reason or another, they are subject to appropriate
punishment.
So it one thing to
say that the intelligence community will tell U.S. Government employees what it
would like to have; that doesn’t change the role of our diplomats. As I think
Ambassador Rice said very clearly here in New York a couple of weeks ago, our
diplomats are just that – they’re diplomats.
QUESTION: My name is
Olivier O’Mahony with Paris Match magazine. I wanted to ask you, is there any
way to – or to pursue Julian Assange on a legal basis for the damage – damages
he’s done to the United States?
MR.
CROWLEY: We are pursuing
an investigation. And as I acknowledged, first and foremost, we’re pursuing an
investigation of what happened inside the United States Government that resulted
in the leak of these classified documents. But we have pledged that we will
investigate this aggressively and we will pursue anyone that we feel has
violated U.S. law and will be held to account. So I can’t predict where that
investigation will lead at this point.
QUESTION: This morning in
your – sorry, Federico Rampini, La Republica, Italy. This morning in your
previous conference in Washington, if I understood well, you said that one of
the consequences of the WikiLeaks would have been to make it more difficult to
prevent terrorist attacks like the one that were prevented through international
cooperation with other governments on the cargo planes recently.
If that is correct,
could you elaborate on how that kind of cooperation in antiterrorism would be
more difficult? And would that be one of the crimes that Mr. Assange would be
charged of?
MR.
CROWLEY: I don’t remember
that coming up in this morning’s briefing, but I’ll address the question. The
United States Government – the United States and the American people clearly
benefit from cooperation with other countries in a variety of ways. For
example, if you look, on the one hand, we will not solve the global financial
crisis without effective action by the United States as well as other countries
around the world.
Likewise, when you
think about the scourge of terrorism, it is a threat to the United States and to
the American people. It is a threat to other countries as well, including in
Europe and including in other parts of the country – other parts of the world.
You see clearly in a recent instance where crucial information provided by
foreign governments enabled the United States and other governments to interdict
a terrorist plot against the United States involving the movement of cargo on –
passenger and cargo aircraft from the Middle East and Europe headed to the
United States. That is precisely the kind of effective cooperation and
coordination that allows us to protect our respective populations who all share
this risk.
One of the
potential impacts of what’s happened here is that country by country, perhaps
candor will be – diplomats will be less candid, the flow of information will be
interrupted. If that happens, then unfortunately, there could be a rise in
terrorism risk to the United States, to the American people, and to others.
We’d hate to see that happen. We understand that through these revelations,
there has been a breach of trust. We regret what’s happened. We condemn what
WikiLeaks has done and we’re going to work as hard as we can to rebuild that
trust.
QUESTION: Razi Canikligil,
Hurriyet newspaper of Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, he said he will
take legal action against the U.S. envoys and – because they made false state –
false reports against his government. And he also accused them – making gossip
diplomacy.
MR.
CROWLEY: I’m
sorry?
QUESTION: The gossip
diplomacy.
MR.
CROWLEY: Gossip
diplomacy?
QUESTION: Yeah. What do
you – what is your response?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, our –
again, without getting into any particular cable, our diplomats provide frank,
candid assessments of what’s happening in countries around the world. It is
useful and important that our diplomats continue to do that. We take it on
faith that the diplomats of other countries do the very same thing here in the
United States, reporting back to capitals in countries all around the world.
In fact, when
Secretary Clinton, who has done a number of calls and had a number of meetings
in her trip last week to Kazakhstan and Bahrain – she was talking to one foreign
minister and he said, “Don’t worry about it. You should see what we report
about you.” This is what diplomats do. They provide their best
perspective.
Now, that
perspective may be what they see or what they sense at a particular time, and
those judgments evolve as events evolve. So what you see frequently in cables
is just a snapshot in time based on – in some cases, it may not be based on what
a diplomat himself or herself feels. It might be based on what they were told
by somebody else. So – but this is the nature of diplomacy. This is what we
ask our diplomats to do, to give their best judgment, their best assessment to
inform policymaking back here in Washington.
That said, we have
a close, effective relationship between the United States and Turkey. It
benefits the United States, it benefits Turkey, it benefits the region as well.
We are NATO allies. We are close friends. The next meeting of the P-5+1 will
occur in Istanbul and we will be very grateful for Turkey’s willingness to host
this second meeting of what is a crucial dialogue to the future of the region
with which Turkey sits and with which Turkey has a relationship with Iran.
The Secretary met
last week with Foreign Minister Davutoglu. It was a very constructive meeting.
And we’re going to continue to cooperate on a broad series of issues with which
the United States and Turkey share mutual interests.
MODERATOR: We have a
question from Washington.
QUESTION: Hello, my name is
Wolfgang Geier from ORF. The assessment that was made (inaudible), to put it
mildly. Any reactions from Austria (inaudible)? In your view, (inaudible)?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, again, I’ll
leave the second question aside in terms of whether we stand by the
assessments. These were classified documents and private assessments by our
diplomats to our policymakers. And we will keep them private.
We understand that
this has created turmoil. It’s one of the reasons why, in the days before the
beginning of the release of documents – and our estimate now is roughly 1,400
documents have been released publicly – we reached out to diplomats around the
world to warn them about what was coming, and to the extent that we had had some
time since the first revelation of the leak back in the spring, we’ve been able
to do a damage assessment. We have a sense of what is in this tranche of
250,000 cables. And we’ve had frank, honest discussions with governments since
these cables have been released publicly. We’re going to continue to do
that.
Our ambassadors, on
a case-by-case basis, have reached out and communicated to local populations to
try to put this in context. In brief, our relations with other countries are
based on mutual interests and mutual respect, and that has not changed by what
has happened here. We believe that there will be difficult moments ahead in the
short term, but we think that over the longer term, the larger interest and the
compelling interest that we have in Europe and elsewhere will once again rise to
the fore.
So we’re prepared
to work as hard as we can for as long as it takes to rebuild the trust that we
know has been strained by what has happened.
QUESTION: Frank Van Vliet
of Die Telegraaf from the Netherlands. There are suggestions that the recent
problems of WikiLeaks are sort of organized by the United – of – by the U.S. –
the access to the web, Visa card, MasterCard, not dealing with them anymore.
Can you – are you trying to shut them down like that or can you say with hand on
your heart that you’re not behind all these accusations?
MR.
CROWLEY: Just to clarify,
I’m not exactly sure what you’re talking about.
QUESTION: I’m talking
about, at the moment, WikiLeaks doesn’t have access anymore to their Visa and
MasterCard accounts. They have problem getting into own website, et cetera. So
the suggestion was that you or the U.S. Government is behind those things and
trying to close them down this way.
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, you’re
talking about private businesses. I can’t explain why they’re having that kind
of difficulty. I just don’t know of any involvement by the United States
Government on this.
QUESTION: Alexei Osipov of
Novosty Nedeli. Russian President Medvedev (inaudible) reacted to WikiLeaks.
And he says that WikiLeaks confirm that American policy is very cynic. Will you
respond for this?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well,
absolutely. The President has had a number of meetings with President Medvedev
and I would expect there will be more of those in the future. Likewise,
Secretary Clinton talks on a regular basis with Foreign Minister Lavrov. And
we’re going to continue doing what we do. Russia plays a central role in some
of the issues that we’ve outlined here, from the P-5+1 to our efforts to try to
convince North Korea to pursue a different path.
So Russia has a
keen interest in how Iran advances. Russia has the same concerns as the United
States regarding Iran’s nuclear programs. Russia played a constructive role in
that context in declining to forward the S-300 missiles to Iran, as one example
in the aftermath of UN Security Council Resolution 1929. So we will continue to
cooperate with Russia. We’ll continue the so-called reset with Russia. And
that – our relationship with Russia will not change by what’s been revealed
here.
QUESTION: I’ve actually got
the mike right down here. David Common with Canadian
television.
MR.
CROWLEY: Hello,
David.
QUESTION: Just in relation
to the investigation on Assange, he’s threatened to release more documents that
originated with State, some of them top secret, if in fact he’s charged by the
U.S. What role does that play in the broader investigation and the
consideration whether to charge?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, the fact is
he’s already released the documents to some news organizations, and so that was
the basis of an exchange between Mr. Assange’s lawyer and the legal advisor of
the State Department a few days ago. We called on him to return stolen property
to the United States Government and he declined. I can’t predict where the
investigation is going to go. Our Justice Department will investigate this
fully. They’re working hand-in-glove with the Department of Defense and
others. And we will hold those who have committed crimes against U.S. law fully
accountable.
QUESTION: I am – my name is
Hassim Al Adaf. I am a reporter of BBC Urdu and I have a very – two quick
questions. Secretary – that – by – from WikiLeaks reports, it has been revealed
purportedly that United States had been (inaudible) for getting amnesty to the
military dictator like General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan, and who did a lot
of human rights violations, including he dismissed judges and put them in jail,
and journalists. So do you think it’s good for the image here in the eyes of
people of Pakistan?
And my second
question: Don’t you think this is heart (ph) of tsunami to American diplomacy,
the WikiLeaks? And if so, how much damage has been done?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, we think in
the immediate term, damage has been done. You can look yesterday at the release
of very sensitive information in terms of infrastructure that affects the United
States and what supports our economy and our society and the – and those of
other countries.
Information is
classified for a very good reason. In some cases, it’s sensitive information
that is crucial to the conduct of diplomacy or our economy. In other cases,
it’s the sensitivity of sources, whether human sources or their technological
sources. Every government has secrets. Every company has secrets. In Mr.
Assange’s world, this – Google would give up its algorithm. In Mr. Assange’s
world, Coca-Cola would give up its secret formula.
The fact is that
everyone has proprietary information and you need protected information for any
entity to be able to properly function. So we recognize that this is damaging.
We’re going to do everything in our power to apply lessons that we’ve learned.
We’ve already taken some steps to try to make sure that this cannot happen
again. In a way, this is a 21st century challenge that you have
information that is attached to global networks and you – in the race of
technology, not only the United States, but others will have to work ever harder
to try to protect that information, whether it’s from a leaker on the one hand
or from a hacker on the other hand. This is a – this would be a profound
challenge for companies and countries going forward.
In my view, judge
the United States by its actions. And Pakistan is a perfect example –
somebody’s got a phone on – perfect example of where the United States has
worked to help Pakistan restore civilian government, from what amounted to a
military dictatorship. And we are moving forward with a strategic partnership
not only to continue to help Pakistan improve its military capability to
confront an insurgency which is a threat to Pakistan as well as other
countries. And most importantly, to build up the capacity of the Pakistani
Government to be able to serve the legitimate needs of the Pakistani
people.
We have put a
significant amount of money forward. We have made a long-term commitment to
Pakistan. We recognize that the Pakistani people are skeptical. We understand
that. We’re going to work hard in a sustained effort over time to try to
convince Pakistan that this is a relationship that we believe will be enduring
and will serve the interests of the Pakistani people, the American people, and
other people in the region and around the world.
MODERATOR: We’re going to
take one more question from Washington.
QUESTION: Christophe
Schmidt from AFP.
MR.
CROWLEY: Hey,
Christophe.
QUESTION: My question is on
the Middle East. So we are just on the – is the United States (inaudible) try
any more to get extension of the settlement freeze in the West Bank? So I
understand your goals remain the same, that is, (inaudible). But could you
elaborate on the change in strategy and the reasons for
it?
And also, there is
a report saying that Secretary Clinton will make a statement tomorrow. So is
that true?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, Christophe,
I’ve been on an airplane since I saw you last, so I – the Secretary will have
more to say later in this week, but I’m not – I just have not been informed
about a particular statement tomorrow at this point.
Let me work – I
would say in response to your question, there’s not a change in strategy; there
may well be a change in tactics. Let’s work from back to front. The United
States remains committed to end the conflict in the Middle East. And we
continue to pursue comprehensive peace in the Middle East, and that is in the
context of the Israeli-Palestinian challenge, in the context of the
Israeli-Syrian challenge, and in the context of the Israeli-Lebanese challenge.
Nothing has changed.
We continue to
pursue a framework agreement where we can reach a basic understanding on all of
the core issues within this effort. They’re all well known, from borders and
security to refugees and the status of Jerusalem. We have been pursuing a
moratorium as a means to create conditions for a return to meaningful and
sustained negotiations. After a considerable effort, we have concluded that
this does not create a firm basis to work towards our shared goal of a framework
agreement. And so we will be, in the coming days, inviting Palestinian and
Israeli representatives to come to Washington to review how to best move the
process forward and continue to make progress on the core issues.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr.
Crowley. Sylviane Zehil, L’Orient du Jour. WikiLeaks says that in the cable,
that there are proof that the U.S. controls Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Do
you have any reaction on that?
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, I’ll be
happy to answer that question while sitting here in New York across the street
from the United Nations. No nation controls the Special Tribunal on Lebanon.
It is an international body that is independent, and it is seeking justice and
an end to impunity in Lebanon. It is supported by the United States, it is
supported by the international community, but it is independent. And we reject
all efforts to try to politicize the work of the tribunal. We will continue to
support the tribunal and we look forward to whatever judgments and actions it
recommends.
MODERATOR: Right over
here.
QUESTION: Janine Harper,
Fuji TV.
MR.
CROWLEY:
Hi.
QUESTION: Can you just
describe your feeling upon hearing the news that Julian Assange was arrested
today?
MR.
CROWLEY: We – I’ve already
answered that question. This is an issue between Britain and Sweden.
QUESTION: Hi, Robert
Poredos, Slovenian Press Agency. I was wondering, was there any kind of
embarrassment about the revelations in the State Department? Would they change
in any way how you guys conduct your business or communicate in the
cables?
MR. CROWLEY:
We
don’t plan to change what we’re doing as a result of these
revelations.
QUESTION:
Thank you, sir. My
name is Kahraman Haliscelik with Turkish Radio and Television. One of my
colleagues asked probably the same question. But with all due respect, some of
the revelations were accusatory, like prime minister had bank accounts in
Switzerland, or this had this, or those were accusations that normally within
the country, people would pursue in courts. I mean, to – if somebody said that
in politics, the prime minister sue them.
In the same
context, did you speak with anybody about those things in Turkey? Did somebody
speak with the prime minister of Turkey, or did any of these accusations – were
spoken between the Secretary of State and Mr. Davutoglu?
MR. CROWLEY:
The Secretary and
the prime – and the foreign minister did have a meeting last week. Included in
that meeting was a 30-minute one-on-one meeting where the Secretary and the
foreign minister discussed WikiLeaks, and they emerged from their private
meeting and recommitted themselves to continue to work to strengthen our
relationship and to continue to cooperate on crucial issues of importance to
Turkey and the United States. Beyond that, I won’t comment on any other – on
the contents of any cable.
MODERATOR:
Right here, Mr.
Crowley.
MR. CROWLEY:
All
right.
QUESTION:
Okay. Zdenek
Fucik, Czech News Agency. In your view, where do you see the distinction
between WikiLeaks and the traditional media, which has published cables as
well? Do you think they could be affected by the DOJ investigation as
well?
MR. CROWLEY:
Well, earlier
today, we announced that we proudly will host UNESCO’s 2011 World Press Freedom
Day. And that is – that’s something that’s enshrined in our Constitution. It’s
something that we promote day in and day out all around the world. We
understand and appreciate and support the vital role that journalists have in
creating a civil society around the world in holding governments to account. It
is essential to the advance of good governance and, country by country, the
advance of democracy. And we understand that you and your colleagues in various
parts of the world are subject to intimidation and legal action and in some
cases assassination every single day. So we appreciate and without hesitation
continue to support the role of journalists in your daily pursuits. In our
view, Mr. Assange is not a journalist.
MODERATOR:
Yeah, go
ahead.
QUESTION:
Yes, Neeme Raude,
Estonian television.
MR. CROWLEY:
I’ll let you guys
do the selections.
QUESTION:
Okay, sorry. The
main thing, as you said and other experts said, is to rebuild the trust. How
the United States is doing that? What actions do you plan for
that?
MR. CROWLEY:
Well, we have done
extensive outreach and we’re going to continue to do outreach with governments
and with civil society. Our ambassadors and other diplomats have been engaging
in daily conversations over the past couple of weeks and will continue to do
that. But again, I would just say judge the United States by what we are doing
day in and day out to advance our national interests but also to advance
interests of other countries and other regions. There was no grand conspiracy
through any of these that I have seen. We are continuing to cooperate and
collaborate with other countries because it is in our mutual interest to do so.
Our diplomats haven’t changed their pursuit of this cooperation, and we are –
continue – encourage them to continue to do what they do.
And as I said at
the outset, that’s what we’re doing country by country. It’s why the Secretary
hosted the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea yesterday, because we
still face these compelling challenges. And none of these challenges can be
resolved without broad cooperation. None of these challenges can be resolved
without a role of the United States. So we can’t let Julian Assange undercut
the system of close cooperation among governments which is symbolized by the
United Nations here in New York, but also by other partnerships or formal
alliances or regional organizations with which the United States and other
countries cooperate for the good of the people of the
world.
QUESTION:
Following up on the
question of –
MODERATOR:
State your name and
organization.
QUESTION:
Kristin Saloomey
from Al Jazeera English. Excuse my voice. A follow-up to the question on the
Middle East peace process: How will the Administration bring the Palestinians
back to the table, given the settlement issue was a red line for them? They
said they won’t come back to the table. Is supporting a Palestinian declaration
of statehood at the United Nations, or at least not opposing a declaration, an
option that the U.S. would consider?
MR. CROWLEY:
Well, taking that
last point, we believe earnestly that final status issues should be negotiated
between the parties. And we think at this stage, bringing these issues to the
United Nations will just distract us from the important business at hand of
charting a way forward and tackling the core issues in discussions between the
Palestinians and the Israelis. It will take a complex environment and make it
even more complicated. So –
QUESTION:
(Inaudible) the
negotiations aren’t going anywhere?
MR. CROWLEY:
Well, we’re going –
recall what I made clear: We haven’t changed our ultimate objective of ending
the conflict. We still believe that in order to make progress on these issues,
some kind of direct negotiation will be necessary. All that we’ve changed here
is the path by which we will pursue progress on the core issues and, once again,
try to create conditions that enable the process to move forward.
We thought for a
period of time that the moratorium and then a resumption of the moratorium might
be the best mechanism to advance a meaningful and sustained dialogue between the
parties. We’ve come to the conclusion that that is not the best basis to move
forward. We will have further conversations on the substance with the parties
and will continue to try to find ways to create the kind of confidence that will
eventually, we hope, allow them to engage directly.
QUESTION:
Yes, my name is
Kyung Min Jung, a correspondent for Korean newspaper. With regard to collecting
information of United Nations high-profile people, including Secretary General,
can you explain why do you need the personal information such as credit card
number and internet password? I think that caused a kind of a suspicion of U.S.
diplomats’ role.
And second, I know
that Secretary Clinton met Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently, so what she
explained about this issue? Can you brief it?
MR. CROWLEY:
I’m – they did have
a meeting and it was a constructive conversation. I will leave it between the
Secretary and the Secretary General. She has reached out to a number of leaders
in person and by phone and will continue to do that.
Regarding your
first question, all I can tell you is that our diplomats are governed by U.S.
law. And nothing in a, what I would call, intelligence community wish list
changed the fundamental role of any of our diplomats.
QUESTION:
Hello. My name is
Louise With. I’m with Daily Newspaper Information in Denmark. Coming back to
legal action, I’m wondering, first, what steps are you taking to protect this
information better, given that we’ve heard that millions had access to it, that
it was on lots of computers? And secondly –
MR. CROWLEY:
Millions is not
right.
QUESTION:
Hundreds – how
many? I’m wondering about that, too, actually.
MR. CROWLEY:
A
large number.
QUESTION:
And secondly, which
laws could be relevant here, which U.S. laws? Or would Congress have to
consider new legislation to take legal action against WikiLeaks? Thank
you.
MR. CROWLEY:
I’m not a lawyer,
so I will leave the second question to our fine lawyers at the Department of
Justice.
Your first question
is a very good one, and it’s appropriate to address that question here in New
York. If you – in the pre-9/11 environment, information was siloed agency by
agency and then very selectively offered across walls across the United States
Government. In a vernacular, that meant that the proper dots were not connected
to allow everyone across the government to fully understand what was transpiring
with respect to this terrorism plot.
In the aftermath,
rightly, there was a shift from need-to-know to the concept of need-to-share.
It is the right concept, and through a variety of new legislation and reforms,
we reformed our intelligence community and reformed the way in which agencies
shared information. And this is vitally important in today’s operating
environment. You look at a place like Afghanistan, for example, where you have
soldiers standing side-by-side with diplomats, standing side-by-side with
agricultural experts, standing side-by-side with legal experts, who are trying
in different ways to help stabilize and strengthen Afghan institutions so that
the Afghans can effectively govern themselves. And the Afghan Government at the
state and – local and provincial level can serve the needs of the Afghan
people. In order to work constructively in a whole-of-government effort, you
need to share information so everyone is on the same page. So that is what we
do. And it was in that context that we had a shared database where State
Department information was available to others, including personnel within the
Department of Defense.
In light of what
has happened here, we have already taken and made certain adjustments. In the
short term, we have narrowed the number of people who have access to the State
Department database where these cables reside. And we are reviewing our
procedures, and it may well be that we have to re-balance the need to share with
the need to protect information. So that is something that is being actively
pursued, led by a task force at the White House, of which the State Department
is a full participant.
QUESTION:
My
name is Moviz Saddiqi, and I’m from AAJ TV from Pakistan. I have two quick
questions. Number one, some part of the world, including Mister President of
Iran, consider this leak is by design, from America, number one. Number two
question –
MR. CROWLEY:
Can I answer that
question first?
MODERATOR:
We’re just going to
– we’ll take his one question and then we have time for one
more.
MR. CROWLEY:
No, I’m fine. I’m
fine.
QUESTION:
Second question is
–
MR. CROWLEY:
The first answer is
no. As I’ve already answered this question a couple of times, no one within the
United States Government with a brain wanted to see this happen. I can
guarantee you this is not part of any grand conspiracy on behalf of the United
States. The last thing that we wanted to see is what has actually
happened.
QUESTION:
My
second question is about this WikiLeaks. Secretary Clinton says (inaudible)
about the Saudi rulers. This is – they announced there was no (inaudible) real
threat in the Middle East. But he’s – as you know, he’s a dictator. And 80
percent of population – with the news, anyway – says that 80 percent of
population of Arab, the threat – they consider Israel is a real threat.
Seventy-seven percent of Arabs, the threat America, 77 percent – America is real
threat. So why she consider a dictator’s word, not the people
words?
MR. CROWLEY:
That’s a very
difficult question to answer. All I can tell you, once again, is to judge the
United States by what we do. What we are doing today is continuing to pursue
comprehensive peace in the Middle East. We are continuing to work
collaboratively and constructively with the international community in places
like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen. As we mentioned earlier, we continue to
support the special tribunal in Lebanon, obviously one of the most challenging
and tense situations within an already volatile region. We are supporting these
efforts and others, and I would also mention what we’re doing today in – with
respect to Cote d’Ivoire and some meetings that happened across the street at
the United Nations today to promote democracy and to demonstrate that we are
committed to respect the will of the Ivoirian people.
This is what the
United States does day in and day out, serving what we believe and trying to
help solve challenges which affect our people and reflect – and affect people
around the world. We are interested in peace, prosperity, security. We
understand that people have some very strong views about the United States. We
are committed to engage not just governments around the world, we’re engaging
people around the world. The President has led an effort to try to change the
context of the conversation. In a place like Geneva today, we understood that
the tension that has existed between Iran and the United States would not be
resolved in one meeting, but we are gratified that there is now a commitment to
a second meeting, and we hope that that will lead to a process through which the
international community and Iran can resolve questions that do exist about the
nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
We hosted a very
important meeting yesterday with respect to our treaty allies in the Pacific
region, Japan and Korea. We continue to engage China and others to try to
reduce tensions along the Korean Peninsula. As the Secretary announced
yesterday, there will be a high-level delegation from the United States led by
the Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg go out – will be going to the region
next week, again, in the pursuit of peace and the pursuit of our agenda of
avoiding the proliferation of dangerous materials that poses a risk not just to
the United States but to other countries around the world. This is what we do.
And we hope that over time people will respect what we do. We’re not out to
capture territory. We’re not out to dominate people. We’re out to solve shared
challenges. And that’s – we hope is how people around the world will judge
us.
MODERATOR: Okay, I think we
have time for one more question.
MR.
CROWLEY: We’ll take two.
QUESTION: Thank you. My
name is Natalia Slavina, ITAR-TASS Russia. The year is going past. Could you
name the main crucial achievements of State Department foreign policy as well as
in this view of the relationships between Russia and USA? Thank you.
MR.
CROWLEY: An achievement
this year –
QUESTION:
Achievements.
MR.
CROWLEY: Between the
United States and Russia?
QUESTION:
As
well as just in foreign policy in general and with Russia.
MR.
CROWLEY: Boy, what an
opening. Well, we hope, we hope, that before the year is out the United States
Senate will provide its advice and consent regarding a New START Treaty which
was negotiated beginning late last year and into the first part of this year in
good faith between Russia and the United States. That treaty is absolutely in
the United States’s interest, in Russia’s interest, and in the world’s
interests. The two leading nuclear superpowers should, in fact, cooperate to
reduce our reliance – to reduce our stocks and reduce our reliance on nuclear
weapons. This is an example of where Russia and the United States can lead by
example, and we hope that the respective legislatures of both countries will
recognize that and affirm this treaty as soon as possible. We hope that this
will happen in the United States before the end of the
year.
I think that if you
think about Africa, for example, while we continue to work with the
international community to convince the current government in Cote d’Ivoire to
work towards a – to respect the will of their people and work towards a peaceful
transition, we also recognize that we just had a significant achievement in
Guinea Conakry, where, for the first time in decades, there is a new democratic
government that the United States, together with France and others in the
region, were able to help engineer from a very tragic circumstance where a
number of people were killed in a stadium. But that led the way to a
fundamental change in Guinea Conakry.
But we recognize
that that’s one example. There are many, many others. I would say what the
Secretary has done this year, among other things, in terms of continuing to
bring attention to the challenge confronted by women around the world and the
importance that if you were going to solve local, regional, international
challenges, women will have to play a more significant role. Women will have to
have the same rights as their male colleagues. Where 70 percent of women around
the world – or 70 percent of agricultural workers are women, you have to advance
the status of women in these societies, give them the ability to own property,
to accumulate wealth. And that has – that can have a profound effect in helping
to transform different countries, different regions, and the world as a whole.
So these are just some examples of what we’re very, very proud of in terms of
what we’ve accomplished this year. That’s not an exclusive list. There are
many others.
QUESTION: Thanks a lot.
Matthew Lee, Inner City Press. I wanted to ask about Yemen. You were asked, I
think back on December 15th, if the U.S. was involved in any military
operations in Yemen. And you said no. And obviously, the cables have sort of
confirmed air strikes at least as early as December 17th. I
understand maybe you’re going to say that you – the question was only about the
Houthis. Can you just say – I guess is it –
MR.
CROWLEY: Well, in fact,
the question was about the Houthis.
QUESTION: Does that –
MR.
CROWLEY: I went back. I
was asked about this earlier, and I went back to the transcript of last year.
And the question started with the Houthis claiming that the United States had
bombed them, and the answer to that question was no. Remember, in Yemen, there
are multiple conflicts, and thankfully, at least for the moment, the conflict
between the Yemeni Government and the Houthis has been resolved – or not
resolved, but it has been arrested. But there is a conflict between the Yemeni
Government and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. If you go back to a number of
cases where we have been asked about particular issues, we have given a
different answer that the United States supports Yemen’s counterterrorism
efforts without being specific. So I understand that there is some confusion
over how I answered that question, but I answered that question in the context
of whether the United States was involved in the Yemeni action against the
Houthis, and the answer to that was and remains no.
QUESTION: And also on
Sudan, I wanted to ask you – there’s some who are saying that the government
started bombing – has been bombing in Darfur for some weeks and has actually now
twice bombed South Sudan. So some people are wondering why the U.S. –
obviously, the focus is on the CPA and the referendum, but is the U.S. thinking
of naming an envoy, as some of the activists and NGO groups have said? What is
the U.S. view of – are things going – what’s this bombing mean? Does it mean
that the government is trying to stop the referendum? And what does – during
your Security Council presidency?
MR.
CROWLEY: I’m delighted
that you brought up Sudan, and I think probably working off of the question of
accomplishments in 2010, we can look to probably what might well be the most
significant story that we face in 2011. We are now 30 days away from a
referendum about the future of Sudan. We are encouraged by the voter
registration that has been ongoing in preparation for that referendum. And we
have made it clear to the parties that their future relationship with the United
States depends on working cooperatively towards a successful and credible
referendum on January 9th.
And secondly,
depending on the outcome of that referendum and the will of the people of South
Sudan, who through the CPA have earned the right to have a voice in their
future, we have made it clear to leaders in Khartoum and Juba that they must
cooperate in the post-referendum phase. And should the people of South Sudan
vote for independence, it’ll be incumbent upon them to work effectively and
cooperatively leading to the creation of a new nation of South Sudan next
July.
This is arguably
the most compelling – one of the most – if not the most compelling story that
the world will face in the first half of 2011. And we understand the risks
quite compellingly that if this goes well, it has the ability to transform and
have a very positive effect on many challenges around the region, not the least
of which is the situation in Darfur. And if it goes badly, we understand that
there is a significant risk of a return to civil war. We are doing everything
in our power, working, again, cooperatively with the international community, to
try to make sure that the referendum on South Sudan moves ahead constructively.
We continue to
press the parties with respect to the situation on Abyei. I think we have a
recognition that that referendum will not go forward on January 9th,
but we continue to encourage the parties to work on a solution to Abyei. Our
Special Envoy Scott Gration has just – is returning to the region today and will
be engaged over the next several days in Khartoum, in Juba, in Darfur. He will
also be in Doha where the Qataris have led a very effective process to garner
international support for this effort. So this is something that we have been
committed to since the Obama Administration came into office, following up on
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that was negotiated during the last American
administration, and we are committed to do everything in our power to see this
referendum come off peacefully and credibly.
Okay, one
more.
QUESTION: Thank you. I am
Hyun Sik Lee of SBS Korea. Is there still a possibility of the United States
and the allies discussing the matter of Yeonpyeong
Island’s shelling at
the Security Council of the UN? Thank you.
MR.
CROWLEY: I’ll probably
defer to my colleagues here at the UN on that. We did discuss the way forward
yesterday in – with the Secretary in her discussions with the foreign ministers
of Korea and Japan, and we will be consulting, as we said, next week with our
partners in the Six-Party process. So I don’t want to rule out that – any
particular action, but this is something that is under
discussion.
Thank you very,
very much.
MODERATOR:
Thank
you.
http://www.guardian.co.uk
Bloodless coup
plotted by exiles involved president sharing power with a
prime minister –
as eventually happened
* David Smith in Johannesburg
*
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 December 2010 21.30 GMT
Robert Mugabe,
right, swears in Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister Robert
Mugabe, right,
swears in Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister during the
February 2009
installation of their power-sharing administration.
Photograph: Alexander
Joe/AFP/Getty Images
A bloodless coup was planned to remove Robert Mugabe
as Zimbabwe's president
with the help of pressure from the UN secretary
general, according to
classified US documents.
A group of exiled
Zimbabwean businessman proposed in 2007 that Mugabe could
be persuaded to
hand over executive power to a prime minister before leaving
office
completely three years later. American officials welcomed the idea,
noting
that it was "increasingly in circulation" in the capital, Harare, and
"may
not require outside intervention".
The plot came to nothing, although it
does bear similarities to the power
sharing deal that saw Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan
Tsvangirai become prime minister after
violent elections in 2008.
A confidential memo from the US embassy in
South Africa is entitled "Secret
power sharing plan" and dated 30 January
2007. At the time Zimbabwe was
plunging into an unprecedented economic
crisis. The cable names a group of
prominent Zimbabwean businessmen living
in South Africa who were pushing for
change but says their leader's identity
should be "strictly protected".
Executive power was to be shifted from
Mugabe to a "technocratic" prime
minister. "To get Mugabe to accept the
deal, Mugabe would remain president
until 2010 with some power over the
security apparatus, but the prime
minister would run the economy and get the
country back on its feet," the
dispatch says.
"All parties would work
together to draft a new constitution. [The
businessman] was open to ideas on
who best to sell the plan, but suggested
new UN secretary general Ban
Ki-moon, working through an envoy like former
Malaysian PM Mahathir, as
possible mediators."
Mugabe would have retained the power to appoint the
ministers of defence,
home affairs and national security. The prime minister
would have appointed
other cabinet members, particularly in the economic
arena. Deployment of
troops would have required the approval of both the PM
and president.
In return for various reforms the international community
was to agree on a
phased lifting of sanctions, the "acceptance" of the
extension of Mugabe's
term to 2010 and economic assistance to help
rehabilitate the Zimbabwean
economy.
The prime minister would have
needed the backing of 85% of parliament and
therefore the support of the
opposition MDC.
The US embassy said it could not comment on the merits of
the plan but found
it "encouraging" that senior Zimbabwean businessmen
abroad were discussing
solutions to the country's political and economic
malaise.
"The four businessmen agreed that there is a 'window of
opportunity' to
bring positive change to Zimbabwe, opened by the
deteriorating economic
situation and Mugabe's advancing age and declining
health."
Little detail was given on how Mugabe, a hero of the liberation
struggle who
came to power in 1980, could be persuaded to stand
aside.
Moeletsi Mbeki, a South African businessman and brother of its
then
president, Thabo Mbeki, recommended against South Africa playing the
mediation role, arguing instead for a combination such as Ban and
Mahathir.
An additional note from the US embassy in Harare suggests the
MDC endorsed
the concept. It says Tsvangirai told embassy officials that
"this is
Mugabe's Plan B as he runs into growing resistance" and that the
prime
minister would be Simba Makoni, a former Mugabe ally turned
rival.
"Significant outside intervention, therefore, may not be
necessary; however,
gentle encouragement from Pretoria is unlikely to be
amiss. UN SYG
[secretary general] Ban may not wish to engage on this issue
at the
beginning of his tenure, especially in view of the way Mugabe treated
former
UN SYG [Kofi] Annan.
"He fears for his future if he steps down
– citing the Charles Taylor
example [the former Liberian president now on
trial for war crimes] – and
perhaps even more importantly fears for the
future of his wife and young
children."
Another memo from the US
embassy in Harare – with subheadings that include
"How to get Mugabe out" –
shows that a decade ago the MDC considered a "mass
action" intended to force
the president from office.
It details a breakfast meeting on 16 November
2000 between Tsvangirai and
Susan Rice, then-president Bill Clinton's
assistant secretary for African
affairs.
"Mass action would be
intended to pressure president Mugabe to resign," it
says. "The MDC
understands the serious risks associated with mass action,
Tsvangirai
professed, and recognises that it is in the country's best
interest to avoid
bloodshed."
Mass action would most likely have taken the form of a
general strike that
December, it adds. But brutal government retaliation was
a genuine fear:
"Tsvangirai believed the army wouldn't hesitate to shoot a
lot of people.
"Tsvangirai was frank, confident and relaxed. However he
did not convince us
that the MDC has a clear or well thought out plan for
mass action or what it
would accomplish.
"Everyone is focused on
seeing Mugabe go but it will probably take a
convergence of opposition from
Zanu-PF, the military and regional leaders to
force him out."
The MDC
leader was seeking foreign assistance with little success.
"Tsvangirai
mentioned that on his last visit to South Africa he met with
former
president [Nelson] Mandela – who still exerts great influence in
South
Africa, he stated – and urged the leader to intervene in Zimbabwe. He
did
not receive a firm commitment from Mandela, however, and did not see
[Thabo]
Mbeki.
"Tsvangirai said that when he was in the UK recently he told the
British to
refrain from making public statements on land reform in Zimbabwe
and to use
their influence behind the scenes to resolve the
problem."
Even in 2000 Tsvangirai said that ideally the MDC would like to
see a
"transitional arrangement" over two years where Mugabe's Zanu-PF
remained in
power but brought in MDC ministers to arrest economic decline.
Another eight
years, with much bloodshed and hardship, were to pass before
this became
reality.
http://www.guardian.co.uk
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 December 2010 11.50
GMT
Wednesday, 10 February 2010, 13:00
C O N F I D E N T I A L
SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000093
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR BRIAN WALCH
NSC FOR
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN
ADDIS FOR USAU
EO 12958 DECL:
2020/02/10
TAGS PREL, PGOV, ZI
SUBJECT: XXXXXXXXXXXX's observations on the
political landscape and
U.S.-Zimbabwe relations
REF: HARARE 87; HARARE
36
CLASSIFIED BY: Charles A. Ray, Ambassador, STATE, EXEC; REASON: 1.4(B),
(D)
1. (SBU) Pol/econ chief met February 9 with XXXXXXXXXXXX offered his
observations on various topics including the state of ZANU-PF,
indigenization, and elections.
2. (C) ZANU-PF. XXXXXXXXXXXX described
the party as badly fractured. It was
like a stick of TNT, susceptible to
ignition and disintegration. ZANU-PF was
holding together because of the
threat of MDC-T and foreign pressure. He
likened ZANU-PF to a troop of
baboons incessantly fighting among themselves,
but coming together to face
an external threat. New leadership was essential
and would emerge as some of
the old timers, including Robert Mugabe, left
the scene. XXXXXXXXXXXX opined
that Vice President Joice Mujuru or S.K. Moyo
(former ambassador to South
African and now party chair) were possibilities,
although Mujuru's fear of
Mugabe was affecting her ability to lead.
3. (C) MDC-T. According to
XXXXXXXXXXXX, MDC-T is alienating supporters
because of corruption. He
pointed to the Harare suburb of Chitungwiza where
MDC-T is investigating its
councilors for being on the take. Residents of
Chitungwiza blame the party.
XXXXXXXXXXXX commented that part of the problem
was that many MDC-T local
councilors and parliamentarians elected in 2008
had no independent income.
Unable to survive on their US$200/month salaries,
they were now turning to
graft. He also noted that the national party was
not enabling
parliamentarians to demonstrate, e.g. by bringing home pork,
that they were
working for their constituents.
4. (C) Elections. XXXXXXXXXXXX believed
elections would take place in 2012
or 2013. Parliamentarians from all
parties, particularly those who had no
income before coming into office, had
no interest in running again before
necessary. They would try to stall the
constitutional process.
5. (C) Global Political Agreement (GPA).
XXXXXXXXXXXX thought there would be
slow progress. In his opinion, the most
important achievement of the GPA was
the sidelining of Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono.
6. (C) Indigenization. Taking an opposite
view to Minister of Youth and
Indigenization Saviour Kasukuwere (Ref A),
XXXXXXXXXXXX said the
government's indigenization program benefitted nobody
accept those who were
already wealthy. It did nothing for his constituents,
who couldn't afford to
buy into companies and were living
hand-to-mouth.
7. (C) Economic Recovery. XXXXXXXXXXXX said a primary
focus should be
communal lands where 80 percent of Zimbabweans live. Before
the economy
collapsed, he said the communal areas produced 80 percent of
farm output
consumed in the country. (NOTE: These numbers are indicative but
not
accurate. More than 30 percent of Zimbabweans live in urban areas, so
somewhat less than 80 percent live on communal lands. But communal lands
have long been the main source of Zimbabwe's domestic food supply. END
NOTE.) Production dramatically decreased with the collapse of the economy as
small farmers were no longer able to access inputs. Another factor was the
Grain Marketing Board's requirement that crops be sold to it. It then failed
to pay farmers. XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that international assistance would be
necessary to resuscitate the economy. But
HARARE 00000093 002 OF
002
lesser steps were important. He volunteered that the Ambassador's
Self Help
Program had once been present in communal areas. It was a powerful
indication of U.S. interest in helping Zimbabweans, and was of tremendous
assistance to those who benefitted from projects.
8. (C) Sanctions
and ZDERA. XXXXXXXXXXXX said sanctions on individuals
should remain if
justified by the behavior of these individuals. Sanctions
on parastatals
that were contributing or could contribute to the economy
should be lifted.
With regard to ZDERA, XXXXXXXXXXXX acknowledged that the
IMF and World Bank
had ceased activities in Zimbabwe before ZDERA was
enacted. The economy was
already on a downhill trajectory because of
misguided economic policies and
the disastrous land reform policy. But the
passage of ZDERA was like
slashing an already deflating tire. Many
Zimbabweans viewed ZDERA as an
attempt to hurt them when they were already
suffering. As such, said
XXXXXXXXXXXX, ZDERA has a large symbolic value and
should be
repealed.
9. (C)
XXXXXXXXXXXX
-------------
COMMENT
-------------
10.
(C) XXXXXXXXXXXX's comments on ZANU-PF are representative of a large
part of
the party. There is little doubt that if a secret party election
were held,
Mugabe and his inner circle would lose their positions. But
Mugabe, aided by
the securocrats and through fear, still has control. On
sanctions and ZDERA,
most ZANU-PF members, even moderates, tell us they
believe sanctions,
especially on parastatals, and ZDERA have hurt the
economy (though they
cannot cite evidence for this claim). XXXXXXXXXXXX's
view is more nuanced
than most. XXXXXXXXXXXX's view on ZDERA is what many in
the MDC-T have been
telling us: It is serving no real purpose other than to
provide a convenient
whipping boy for ZANU-PF. END COMMENT RAY
http://www.reuters.com/
Thu Dec 9, 2010 5:56am
EST
* Mugabe's wife implicated in trade
* Central bank printed
currency to buy stones
* Military gained money from
diamonds
By Jon Herskovitz
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The
illicit diamond trade in Zimbabwe has
led to the murder of thousands,
enriched those close to President Robert
Mugabe and been financed in part by
the central bank, according to U.S.
documents on WikiLeaks.
"In a
country filled with corrupt schemes, the diamond business in Zimbabwe
is one
of the dirtiest," according to a classified document dated in
November 2008
from the U.S. embassy in the country, released this week on
WikiLeaks.
Mugabe was forced into a unity government with long-time
rivals nearly two
years ago and the state has been trying to boost the
economy by winning
approval for diamond sales through the Kimberly Process,
a world monitor of
the diamond trade.
In the classified documents
that date from before the unity government came
to power, U.S. diplomats
cite a well established British mining executive as
saying those close to
Mugabe, including his wife, "have been extracting
tremendous profits" from
the Chiadzwa mine in the eastern part of the
country.
"The diamonds
that are sold to regime members and elites are sold for
freshly printed
Zimbabwean notes issued by the RBZ (Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe)," one document
from late 2008 cited British mining executive
Andrew Cranswick as
saying.
The stones dubbed "blood diamonds" because of the human rights
abuses
associated with their extraction, were then resold to foreign buyers,
earning each of the members of the powerful group hundreds of thousands of
dollars a month, it said.
Rights groups have accused Zimbabwe's
military of widespread atrocities in
the diamond fields in 2008 as Mugabe's
previous government moved to stop
thousands of illegal miners on the poorly
secured fields in the east of the
country.
Mugabe has accused Western
countries of working to stop Zimbabwe from
benefiting from its mineral
resources.
Ministry of Mines secretary Thankful Musukutwa told a
parliamentary
committee earlier this year the government was complying with
demands from
diamond trade regulator Kimberly Process.
A separate
document from January 2009 said that as the local currency became
essentially worthless, the Zimbabwe military stepped more deeply into the
diamonds trade, using hard cash from abroad to finance
operations.
"This has not deterred the continued brisk diamond trade
involving foreign
buyers, including most prominently the Lebanese," said a
document from
January 2009 citing a classified report from an unnamed U.S.
political
officer.
Just before the power sharing government was
installed, the military
intensified its control over the diamond fields,
aiming to gain as much
money as possible, it said.
The government
deployed soldiers at the diamond fields in Marange in 2008 to
seal off the
area and clamp down on illegal mining, but rights activists say
this
resulted in serious rights abuses by the army. [ID:nLJ308759]
Villagers
were uprooted and murders increased, the classified U.S. documents
said.
A classified document cited a village chief as saying the
government had
relocated as many as 25,000 villagers in an attempt to secure
more money.
Zimbabwe is now struggling to sell its Marange diamonds after
the Kimberley
Process barred its members from dealing in the stones, saying
their
certification by global regulators did not guarantee they were free
from
human rights abuses.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
08
December, 2010 10:30:00 -
Wednesday, 29 November 2000, 13:59
C
O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 006677
SIPDIS
NSC FOR
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH
LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY
PARIS
FOR BISA WILLIAMS
EO 12958 DECL: 11/29/10
TAGS PGOV, PREL, ECON,
PINR, ZI, SA
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY MEETS WITH
ZIMBABWE
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 06677 01 OF 03 291400Z
OPPOSITION LEADER
REFTEL: HARARE 6584
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR TOM
MCDONALD FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D).
1. (C) SUMMARY: ASSISTANT SECRETARY
SUSAN E. RICE MET MOVEMENT FOR
DEMOCRATIC CHANGE (MDC) PRESIDENT MORGAN
TSVANGIRAI ON NOVEMBER 16.
TSVANGIRAI OFFERED FOUR SIPDIS SCENARIOS UNDER
WHICH THE CURRENT POLITICAL
CRISIS COULD UNFOLD.
HE BELIEVES A
TRANSITIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT IS THE BEST WAY OUT OF THE
CRISIS PITTING THE
PEOPLE AGAINST THEIR UNPOPULAR LEADER. MASS ACTION WILL
BE CONSIDERED
INITIALLY AT THE MDC'S NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 24.
MASS ACTION
WOULD BE INTENDED TO PRESSURE PRESIDENT MUGABE TO RESIGN. THE
MDC
UNDERSTANDS THE SERIOUS RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH MASS ACTION, TSVANGIRAI
PROFESSED, AND RECOGNIZES THAT IT IS IN THE COUNTRY'S BEST INTEREST TO AVOID
BLOODSHED. EVERYONE IS FOCUSED ON SEEING MUGABE GO, BUT IT WILL PROBABLY
TAKE A CONVERGENCE OF OPPOSITION FROM ZANU-PF, THE MILITARY, AND REGIONAL
LEADERS TO FORCE HIM OUT. END SUMMARY.
2. (C) ON NOVEMBER 16,
ASSISTANT SECRETARY SUSAN E. RICE, HER DELEGATION,
AMBASSADOR MCDONALD, DCM,
AND POLOFF (NOTETAKER) HAD A BREAKFAST MEETING
WITH MDC PRESIDENT MORGAN
TSVANGIRAI. TSVANGIRAI WAS ACCOMPANIED BY MDC
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN ISAAC
MATONGO.
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 06677 01 OF 03
291400Z
--------------------------------------
TSVANGIRAI LOOKS
INTO THE CRYSTAL
BALL
SIPDIS
--------------------------------------
3. (C)
TSVANGIRAI BEGAN BY SAYING THAT HE SEES THREE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN
ZIMBABWE: LAWLESSNESS, THE LAND QUESTION, AND THE ECONOMY, AND EMPHASIZED
THAT THE ECONOMY IS THE MOST DIRE PROBLEM. HE ALSO STATED THAT THE
GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE (GOZ) IS TRYING TO POLARIZE THE POLITICAL PLAYERS IN
THE COUNTRY.
THE MDC LEADER SEES FOUR POTENTIAL SCENARIOS EMERGING
FROM THE CURRENT
POLITICAL CRISIS: 1) THE PEOPLE WAIT 18 MONTHS TO VOTE
MUGABE OUT--THIS IS
THE MOST CONSTITUTIONAL, BUT LEAST LIKELY SCENARIO. 2)
THERE IS AN
ACCELERATED, BUT STILL CONSTITUTIONAL, PROCESS WHEREBY MUGABE
RESIGNS OR IS
EASED OUT AT THE DECEMBER ZANU-PF CONGRESS. THIS IS NOT VERY
LIKELY EITHER
SINCE MUGABE HAS OUSTED THE PROVINCIAL PARTY EXECUTIVES THAT
MIGHT CHALLENGE
HIS INTENTION TO RUN AGAIN IN 2002. 3) MASS ACTION IS
UNDERTAKEN, FORCING
MUGABE TO LEAVE THE SCENE EARLY. TSVANGIRAI STATED THAT
THIS OPTION MUST BE
CAREFULLY SIPDIS CONSIDERED, AND HE ASKED RHETORICALLY:
DO WE WANT TO PUSH
OUT AN ELECTED PRESIDENT BEFORE HIS TERM IS UP? 4) AN
ARMY COUP THAT REMOVES
MUGABE, POSSIBLY WITH A GREAT DEAL OF BLOODSHED, FROM
WHICH IT WOULD BE VERY
DIFFICULT FOR ZIMBABWE TO RECOVER.
4. (C)
IDEALLY, TSVANGIRAI CONTINUED, THE MDC WOULD LIKE TO SEE A
TRANSITIONAL
ARRANGEMENT FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS WHERE ZANU-PF REMAINED IN
CONTROL OF THE
GOVERNMENT BUT BROUGHT IN MDC MINISTERS--ESSENTIALLY, A
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 06677 01 OF 03 291400Z COALITION
GOVERNMENT. THE GOAL OF A
TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT WOULD BE TO ARREST THE
ECONOMIC DECLINE, RESTORE
INTERNATIONAL CONFIDENCE IN ZIMBABWE, AND
ESTABLISH THE CONSTITUTIONAL
PROCESS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. WHEN ASKED
ABOUT AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION FIRST TO MAKE A COALITION GOVERNMENT MORE
FEASIBLE, TSVANGIRAI
STATED THAT A CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
PROCESS
SIPDIS SHOULD BE BROAD-BASED AND WELL-CONSIDERED. UNFORTUNATELY,
THERE IS
NOT ENOUGH TIME TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS NOW. HE SAID THE ECONOMY
IS THE
PRIORITY ISSUE BECAUSE CONFIDENCE MUST BE RESTORED IN IT BEFORE THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN 2002. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO TALK ABOUT THE
CONSTITUTION WHILE THE PEOPLE ARE
SUFFERING.
---------------------------
MASS ACTION IS ON THE
TABLE
---------------------------
5. (C) THE OPPOSITION LEADER
WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE COUNTRY CANNOT CONTINUE
AS IT HAS FOR ANOTHER SIX
MONTHS. WE KNOW THAT ZIMBABWE IS NOT LIKE
YUGOSLAVIA, BUT THE PEOPLE ARE
DEMANDING CHANGE BEFORE THE SITUATION GETS
WORSE, HE PROFESSED. UNDER NORMAL
CIRCUMSTANCES, THE MDC WOULD WAIT UNTIL
2002 FOR CHANGE, BUT THE ECONOMIC
DECLINE IS SO STEEP THAT IF IT WAITS THAT
LONG,
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PTQ1865
PAGE 01 HARARE
06677 02 OF 03 291401Z ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 ACQ-00
CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DINT-00
DODE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00
EUR-00 EXIM-01 E-00 FAAE-00 FBIE-00
VC-00 FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00
IO">IO">IO-00 ITC-01 LAB-01 L-00 VCE-00
AC-01 NSAE-00 OMB-01 OPIC-01
PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00
SP">SP">SP">SP">SP-00 SSO-00
STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-02
DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00
SWCI-00 /012W ------------------A54E56 291401Z
/38 O 291359Z NOV 00 FM
AMEMBASSY HARARE TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7739
INFO NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AMEMBASSY
NAIROBI
C O N F I D
E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 03 HARARE 006677
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR
AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH
LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY
PARIS FOR
BISA WILLIAMS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/10 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, PINR,
ZI, SA SUBJECT:
ASSISTANT SECRETARY MEETS WITH ZIMBABWE
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 06677 02 OF 03 291401Z OPPOSITION
LEADER
THERE WILL BE "NOTHING TO VOTE FOR" BY THE TIME THE ELECTION
ARRIVES. THE
MDC'S NATIONAL COUNCIL , AT LEAST INITIALLY, WILL MEET NOVEMBER
24 TO
CONSIDER MASS ACTION. IF THE EXECUTIVE DECIDES TO CONDUCT A MASS
ACTION, IT
WILL MOST LIKELY BE IN THE FORM OF GENERAL STRIKE TO BEGIN IN
MID-DECEMBER
WHEN CHILDREN ARE HOME FROM SCHOOL AND BUSINESSES BEGIN TO
CLOSE ANYWAY FOR
THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY. THIS WOULD MINIMIZE THE ECONOMIC
IMPACT ON THE
POPULATION, TSVANGIRAI BELIEVES. (NOTE: THE MDC'S NATIONAL
COUNCIL CANCELLED
PLANS FOR MASS ACTION AT ITS NOVEMBER 24 MEETING. SEE
REFTEL. END NOTE.) HE
SAID THE MDC UNDERSTANDS THE MAGNITUDE AND SERIOUSNESS
OF MASS ACTION, AND
IT HAS TRIED TO POSTPONE IT FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, BUT
THE POPULAR
SENTIMENT IS TO DO IT. A GENERAL STAY-AWAY IS PREFERABLE TO
CONFRONTATION
SINCE IT IS NOT IN THE COUNTRY'S BEST INTEREST TO HAVE
VIOLENCE OR
BLOODSHED.
6. (C) ON THE GOZ'S REACTION TO A MASS
DEMONSTRATION IN HARARE, TSVANGIRAI
BELIEVED THE ARMY WOULDN'T HESITATE TO
SHOOT A LOT OF PEOPLE. HE THOUGHT ITS
REACTION WOULD BE LESS SEVERE IN OTHER
CITIES LIKE BULAWAYO AND MUTARE,
WHERE THE NUMBER OF TROOPS IS MUCH FEWER
AND THEIR LOYALTY TO MUGABE MORE
QUESTIONABLE. ON THE OTHER HAND, HE SEES
THE MILITARY AS DIVIDED. MUGABE HAS
APPROPRIATED THE TOP BRASS FOR HIS OWN
ENDS, AND THEY ARE LOYAL TO HIM.
HOWEVER, THE BULK OF THE MILITARY'S LOWER
RANKS DO NOT SUPPORT THE
PRESIDENT, TSVANGIRAI CLAIMED.
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 06677 02 OF 03
291401Z
---------------------
HOW TO GET MUGABE
OUT
---------------------
7. (C) THE MILITARY IS ONE OF THE THREE
MAJOR INFLUENCES ON MUGABE,
TSVANGIRAI CONTINUED. THE OTHER TWO ARE ZANU-PF
AND REGIONAL LEADERS. IF
MUGABE IS TO BE PRESSURED TO LEAVE THE SCENE, ALL
THREE MUST TURN AGAINST
HIM, THE OPPOSITION LEADER DECLARED. WHEN ASKED WHAT
ELSE MIGHT INDUCE
MUGABE TO STEP DOWN, TSVANGIRAI SAID THE PRESIDENT WILL DO
SO ONLY AFTER HE
HAS HAD HIS REVENGE AGAINST THE WHITES AND ONLY AFTER HE
HAS REIGNED IN
ZANU-PF DISSIDENTS AND UNIFIED HIS PARTY. MUGABE IS A
VINDICTIVE PERSON,
TSVANGIRAI PROFESSED. FOR ITS PART, THE MDC RECOGNIZES
MUGABE AS THE
NATION'S FIRST LEADER AND A VERY IMPORTANT ONE IN ITS HISTORY.
THE MDC WON'T
ENGAGE IN RETRIBUTION AGAINST MUGABE AND HIS SUPPORTERS,
TSVANGIRAI HINTED,
BECAUSE "WE CAN'T FOCUS ON THE PAST IF WE ARE TO MOVE
FORWARD." WHILE MUGABE
IS PRESIDENT, THE MDC LEADERSHIP WON'T MAKE PERSONAL
COMMENTS ABOUT HIM, AS
THAT WOULD JUST INFLAME THE
SITUATION.
------------------------
ROLE OF REGIONAL
LEADERS
------------------------
8. (C) THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
ASKED THE MDC LEADER ABOUT THE ROLE REGIONAL
LEADERS COULD PLAY IN RESOLVING
THE SITUATION. TSVANGIRAI STATED THAT AFTER
INITIALLY
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 06677 02 OF 03 291401Z SHOWING AMBIVALENCE
TOWARD ZIMBABWE,
SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT MBEKI HAS RECENTLY STARTED TO TALK
MORE FIRMLY AND
IS SHOWING SIGNS HE WILL NO LONGER TOLERATE THE SITUATION IN
ZIMBABWE.
TSVANGIRAI MENTIONED THAT ON HIS LAST VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA, HE
MET WITH
FORMER PRESIDENT MANDELA--WHO STILL EXERTS GREAT INFLUENCE IN SOUTH
AFRICA,
HE STATED--AND URGED THE LEADER TO INTERVENE IN ZIMBABWE. HE DID NOT
RECEIVE
A FIRM COMMITMENT FROM MANDELA, HOWEVER, AND DID NOT SEE MBEKI.
ZAMBIAN
PRESIDENT CHILUBA HAS BEEN DISTANT WITH THE
MDC..
------------------------
MDC'S VIEW ON LAND
ISSUE
------------------------
9. (C) ON THE LAND ISSUE,
TSVANGIRAI ACKNOWLEDGED THAT LAND REFORM WAS
"UNFINISHED" BUSINESS AND MUST
BE ADDRESSED SERIOUSLY BY ANY GOVERNMENT OF
ZIMBABWE. HOWEVER, EQUITY,
LEGALITY AND ECONOMIC VIABILITY MUST BE KEYSTONES
TO ANY SUCCESSFUL LAND
REFORM PROGRAM. THE MDC SUPPORTS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
A LAND COMMISSION TO
OVERSEE THE REDISTRIBUTION OF LAND. THE MDC ALSO SEES
THE 1998 DONORS
CONFERENCE AS THE STARTING POINT FOR LAND REFORM, AND IT
WOULD SUPPORT THE
UNDP LAND INITIATIVE, THE OPPOSITION LEADER STATED.
TSVANGIRAI SAID THAT
WHEN HE WAS IN THE UK RECENTLY, HE TOLD
THE
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PTQ1866
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03 OF 03 291401Z ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 ACQ-00 CEA-01
CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DINT-00
DODE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00
EXIM-01 E-00 FAAE-00 FBIE-00
VC-00 FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00
IO">IO">IO-00 ITC-01 LAB-01 L-00 VCE-00
AC-01 NSAE-00 OMB-01 OPIC-01
PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00
SP">SP">SP">SP">SP-00 SSO-00
STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-02
DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00
SWCI-00 /012W ------------------A54E5D 291401Z
/38 O 291359Z NOV 00 FM
AMEMBASSY HARARE TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7740
INFO NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AMEMBASSY
NAIROBI
C O N F I D
E N T I A L SECTION 03 OF 03 HARARE 006677
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR
AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH
LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY
PARIS FOR
BISA WILLIAMS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/10 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, PINR,
ZI, SA SUBJECT:
ASSISTANT SECRETARY MEETS WITH ZIMBABWE
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 06677 03 OF 03 291401Z OPPOSITION
LEADER
BRITISH TO REFRAIN FROM MAKING PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON LAND REFORM IN
ZIMBABWE
AND TO USE ITS INFLUENCE BEHIND THE SCENES TO RESOLVE THE
PROBLEM.
------------------------------------
ZIMBABWE NEEDS A
PEACEFUL TRANSITION
------------------------------------
10. (C)
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF A PEACEFUL
POLITICAL
TRANSITION TO THE OPPOSITION LEADER. THE USG SEES HUGE RISKS--WITH
FEW, IF
ANY, UPSIDES--TO MASS ACTION, AND URGED THE MDC TO MANAGE THE
POLITICAL
TRANSITION CAREFULLY. WE HAVE URGED THE GOZ NOT TO USE LETHAL
FORCE ON
DEMONSTRATORS, AND WE URGE THE OPPOSITION NOT TO GET IN A SITUATION
WHERE
LETHAL FORCE MIGHT BE USED, THE SECRETARY SAID. THE USG ALSO WANTS TO
ENCOURAGE THE MDC TO ENGAGE IN A DIALOGUE WITH MODERATES IN ZANU-PF, EVEN IF
PRIVATELY. A/S RICE AFFIRMED THE USG'S WILLINGNESS TO FACILITATE SUCH
CONTACTS, IF DESIRED. SHE ALSO PUSHED THE MDC TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
GOVERNANCE OF THE COUNTRY THROUGH ITS SUBSTANTIAL PRESENCE IN PARLIAMENT,
AND LAMENTED THE MDC FAILURE TO ENGAGE IN THE PREPARATION OF THE BUDGET,
DESPITE THE FINANCE MINISTER'S SOLICITATION OF MDC INPUT. SUCH ENGAGEMENT,
RICE ARGUED, WOULD SHOW THAT THE MDC IS A SERIOUS AND CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE
TO ZANU- PF. TSVANGIRAI, WHEN PRESSED, RELUCTANTLY TOOK THIS POINT ON
BOARD.
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 06677 03 OF 03 291401Z 11. (C)
COMMENT: TSVANGIRAI WAS FRANK,
CONFIDENT AND RELAXED. HOWEVER, HE DID NOT
CONVINCE US THAT THE MDC HAS A
CLEAR OR WELL-THOUGHT-OUT PLAN FOR MASS
ACTION OR WHAT IT WOULD ACCOMPLISH.
HIS COMMENTS SUGGESTED THE MDC IS
PINNING HOPE ON INTERNAL ZANU-PF
MACHINATIONS TO FORCE MUGABE FROM POWER.
HIS PUBLIC APPROVAL OF FINANCE
MINISTER MAKONI'S BUDGET, AS REPORTED IN THE
NOVEMBER 17 "THE DAILY NEWS,"
MAY BE AN INDICATION OF HIS UNDERSTANDING OF
THE NEED TO DEMONSTRATE
CREDIBLE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP. TSVANGIRAI IS CLEARLY
UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE
PUBLIC TO LEAD A CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT. OTHER
INTERLOCUTORS HAVE TOLD US THAT
IF HE DOES NOT DO SO SOON, HE HIMSELF MAY BE
FORCED FROM THE PARTY
LEADERSHIP. NOW THAT THE QUESTION OF MASS ACTION IS
MOOT FOR THE TIME-BEING,
IT WILL BE UP TO TSVANGIRAI TO CHANNEL THE
PEOPLE'S, AND HIS OWN PARTY
MEMBERS', FRUSTRATION INTO CONSTRUCTIVE CHANGE.
IF TSVANGIRAI CAN DO THAT,
HIS POSITION WILL BE STRENGTHENED IMMEASURABLY,
BOTH HERE AND ABROAD. END
COMMENT.
12. (U) A/S RICE HAS CLEARED THIS
MESSAGE.
MCDONALD
CONFIDENTIAL
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
08 December, 2010
09:43:00 The Guardian (UK)
US embassy cables: Zimbabwe Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai tells US Mugabe
is increasingly 'old, tired and
poorly briefed'
Thursday, 24 December 2009, 08:26
C O N F I D E N
T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001004
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR ASSISTANT
SECRETARY CARSON, DAS PAGE, AND AF/S
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE
GAVIN
EO 12958 DECL: 12/24/2019
TAGS PREL, PGOV, PHUM, ASEC,
ZI
SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI ASKS THE WEST FOR HELP ON CHANGING
THE
STATUS QUO
REF: HARARE 987
Classified By: AMBASSADOR
CHARLES A. RAY FOR REASONS 1.4 B,D
1. (SBU) This cable includes an ACTION
REQUEST, please see paragraph 8.
2. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said that while there was
tremendous progress in 2009 as compared
to 2008, Zimbabwe and its coalition
government still faces challenges.
Reforms must be implemented quickly, and
there has been some progress,
though none that affects the ZANU-PF power
structure. Implementation of the
Global Political Agreement (GPA) has been
slow and Mugabe has been using
delay to maintain control.
In 2010 there must be some progress to show
the people, but it will require
actions by all parties, including the
Western powers, to change the status
quo. He expects the recently announced
commissions to be installed in early
2010, and is satisfied with their
makeup. ZANU-PF has implemented a strategy
of reciprocity in the
negotiations, using Western sanctions as a cudgel
against MDC. He would like
to see some quiet moves, provided there are
acceptable benchmarks, to 'give'
some modest reward for modest progress.
3. (C) Ambassadors of the U.S.,
UK, French, and the Netherlands, and a
representative of the EU were called
to PM Tsvangirai's residence at 0730 on
December 24 for an update briefing
on the current discussions among the
principals in the coalition government
and a request from him for some
flexibility on the part of the West on the
issue of sanctions.
He said that there has been tremendous progress in
restoring confidence of
the people in government in 2009 as compared to
2008. The people generally
endorse the government, but the future holds both
opportunities and
challenges. The principal challenge is how to quickly
embark on reforms.
There has been a little progress on that front, but not
what was expected.
Implementation of the GPA has been too slow, and he is
not satisfied with
it. ZANU-PF has been using delay on the GPA to maintain
control.
The negotiators have held 11 meetings up until the end of the
year. On the
issues of media, land, and corruption, there has been some
progress, but
none of it touches on the power structure. On the three
stickiest issues,
Gono, Tomana, and Bennett, there has been no progress. He
is hopeful,
however, that if some progress can be made on other issues,
these too will
be settled.
4. (C) ZANU-PF seems to have introduced a
new tactic in its agenda -
reciprocity. What this means, he said, is that
Mugabe is asking, "What's in
this for us?" If MDC gets governorships, Mugabe
asks, why can't the
sanctions against ZANU-PF be lifted? Tsvangirai said
that it seems that
Mugabe plans to use the governors as a trade-off against
sanctions. He said
he has repeatedly told Mugabe that MDC has no control
over sanctions. But,
he added, lack of any flexibility on the issue of
sanctions poses a problem
for him and his party. In this he assured us that
Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Q In this he assured us that Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara
is in full agreement with him. He also
acknowledged that his public
statements calling for easing of sanctions
versus his private conversations
saying they must be kept in place have
caused problems.
5. (C) Tsvangirai said the challenges for 2010
are:
- Get the reforms moving on the constitutional process. - Open media
space,
national healing, and anti-corruption. - Prepare for elections in
2011. -
Move from economic stability to growth. - Deal with human rights
violations.
He said the coalition government must expedite action in all
these areas
because, not only are Western governments watching, but the
people of
Zimbabwe will expect improvement. He said Security Sector Reform
will take
center stage in
HARARE 00001004 002 OF 002
2010,
using a multilateral approach involving all parties here and SADC. In
early
2010, Tsvangirai and Mutambara will take the diplomatic lead on the
sanctions issue. The question before us, Tsvangirai said, is how to start
moving on rewarding progress without giving the impression we are rewarding
lack of progress or bad behavior. We need to establish acceptable benchmarks
of progress, and determine what each involved party needs to do to change
the status quo. If necessary, he said, he and Mutambara can quietly meet
with Western leadership to develop a plan on the issue of sanctions. He said
that he and Mutambara have decided to take this issue out of the hands of
the negotiators and handle it personally. What is needed is some kind of
concrete roadmap that all can agree on, linking easing of sanctions with
identifiable and quantifiable progress.
6. (C) Tsvangirai wants to go
to Mugabe after the negotiators deliver their
final report on January 15,
2010, with some idea of what the Western
position is on sanctions. He said
that in order to change the status quo,
all parties might have to take some
risks, because maintaining the status
quo only guarantees continued
stalemate in the reform process. Economic
recovery and democratic reform are
the essential requirements in Zimbabwe
right now. The 2011 elections are a
critical goal as well. Winning the
election, he said, is not the problem,
but a peaceful transfer of power is.
The recently announced commissions
will be installed early in 2010, he said,
and he is satisfied with their
makeup. The heads of the Media and Electoral
Commissions are honest men who
he believes will put the interests of the
country first. His goal is to have
the Electoral Commission hire its own
staff and be independent. The key is
to wrest control from the Securocrats.
7. (C) On the subject of Mugabe
himself, Tsvangirai said that in his recent
meetings, though Mugabe seems
mentally acute, he appears old and very tired.
He comes to many meetings
unbriefed and unaware of the content. It appears
that he is being managed by
hardliners. Tsvangirai said his goal now is to
find a way to 'manage' Mugabe
himself. One way, perhaps, would be to give
him something to give his
hardliners. Precisely what that something is, he
said, is something he is
still wrestling with.
8. (C) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST. We are skeptical
of Mugabe's motives, and
worried a bit at what appears to be naivete on
Tsvangirai's part. However,
we believe that in one area he is correct:
changing the status quo here will
require some risk taking on everyone's
part. As we've previously discussed
(reftel), we think it might be in USG
interests to consider some form of
incremental easing of non-personal
sanctions, provided we see actual
implementation of some of these reforms.
Post would appreciate Washington's
view on what would be acceptable
benchmarks, and possible moves on our part.
We also request guidance on what
to tell Qmoves on our part. We also request
guidance on what to tell
Tsvangirai at our next meeting, which is expected
early in the New
Year.
END COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST.
RAY
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i
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Lexi Aisbitt
Programmes
Manager
Zimbabwe Benefit
Foundation
020 7637 1527 - www.zbf.org.uk