US embassy cable - 03HARARE1736

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001736 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, KMDR, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION COUNCIL ELECTIONS IN ZIM; HARARE 
 
  1.   While an editorial in the September 3 edition of the 
      independent daily "The Daily News" saw the outcome 
      of the weekend urban council elections, in which the 
      opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 
      narrowly defeated the ruling ZANU PF party, as a 
      demonstration that Zimbabweans want change, the 
      September 3 edition of the government-controlled 
      daily "The Herald" blamed the overwhelming urban 
      support for the MDC on the travel restrictions 
      imposed on Robert Mugabe and senior members of his 
      government by the United States and the European 
      Union (EU).  Excerpts follow: 
 
  2.   Under headline "Gauging the nation's mood" the "Daily 
      News" (09/03), comments: 
 
      "The results of the weekend urban council elections 
      have once again confirmed the importance to national 
      politics of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the 
      MDC.  Apart from emphasizing that the MDC enjoys 
      significant support from Zimbabweans across racial, 
      tribal and regional lines, the outcome of the polls 
      aptly demonstrated that the people of this country 
      want change in the way they are being governed.  The 
      outcome of these elections should help the ruling 
      ZANU PF gauge the mood of the nation. . .The MDC's 
      overwhelming victory, although largely expected, can 
      only be viewed as a vote of no confidence in the 
      ruling party by the people who are most affected by 
      Zimbabwe's worst economic crisis since independence 
      in 1980. . .It must be clear by now, even to the 
      government, that blaming the MDC and `racist 
      imperialistic forces' for all of our problems will 
      simply not wash with the people of Zimbabwe. 
      Clearly no one is falling for this line anymore. 
      Zimbabweans want their problems to be addressed now 
      so that they can move on with the business of living 
      and building a prosperous nation.  The government 
      cannot continue to ignore or engage in a tug-of-war 
      with the MDC. . .The outcome of the weekend 
      elections has shown that Zimbabwe is virtually a 
      divided nation, with ZANU PF controlling its 
      traditional rural stronghold while the MDC holds 
      sway over the urban electorate. . .It is important, 
      now more than ever, that Zimbabwe's main political 
      parties begin to make some headway in resolving this 
      unhealthy situation by sitting down to come up with 
      a negotiated political settlement. . . ." 
 
  3.   Under headline "Punishing the innocent, setting 
      Barabbas free?" the "Herald" (09/03) comments: 
 
      ". . .Once again urban voters voted with their 
      stomachs.  We view their failure to vote for the 
      ruling party as protest against economic hardships 
      that include cash shortages, rising prices of basic 
      commodities, shrinking salaries and fuel shortage. 
      However, while there can be no denying that these 
      problems are there and urban dwellers are bearing 
      the brunt, we feel that there is still need to get 
      people to appreciate the real cause of our problems. 
      The economy has been on a steady decline for the 
      past four years. . .but that decline accelerated 
      when the MDC called on the West to impose sanctions 
      on the government and, by extension, the people of 
      Zimbabwe.  Those calls were headed and in December 
      2001 U. S. leader George Bush signed the so-called 
      Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Bill into 
      an Act.  The Act prompted American agents and 
      organizations the world over not to vote for any 
      financial aid and assistance to Zimbabwe in entities 
      to which they are affiliated.  It also authorized 
      Bush to fund a so-called free media in Zimbabwe, 
      which is but a euphemism for media that is anti- 
      government.  Over and above this, on February 18 
      last year, the EU declared sanctions on Zimbabwe, 
      which imposed travel bans on senior government 
      officials.  All these steps have aggravated the 
      hardships faced by Zimbabweans.  It is in this light 
      that we view the tendency by urban voters to vote 
      and protest against the ZANU PF government while 
      inadvertently placing the MDC in positions of 
      authority as being tantamount to punishing the 
      innocent while letting Barabbas go free. . .While we 
      chide the ruling party for failing to mobilize all 
      its supporters to go and vote, the apathy on the 
      part of MDC supporters cannot escape our attention. 
      In our view, it dramatizes the disillusionment of 
      the urban voters with the MDC's failure to deliver 
      since it started making inroads into Zimbabwe's 
      political arena. . . ." 
 
SULLIVAN