US embassy cable - 03HARARE1891

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001891 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPT. FOR AF/KANSTEINER, AF/S/DELISI 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JFRAZER 
PRETORIA FOR AMBASSADOR HUME 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ZI 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON SECRET CONSTITUTIONAL TALKS 
 
REF: HARARE 1719 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Win Dayton under Sections 1.5(b)(d) 
 
1.  CONFIDENTIAL/NOFORN -- PLEASE DO NOT DIVULGE TO OFFICIALS 
OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 
 
2.  (C) In a meeting in his law office September 16, MDC 
Secretary General Welshman Ncube told Ambassador Sullivan 
 
SIPDIS 
that he was scheduled to meet with Justice Minister Patrick 
Chinamasa September 21-24, after Chinamasa returned from WTO 
meetings in Cancun and before he left town again on the 25th. 
 He said they intended to go over the latest draft of the 
Constitution, transitional issues, and confidence-building 
measures (combatting violence, reining in militias, etc.). 
Ncube's comments at the meeting on the MDC's SADC outreach, 
the bishops' intitiative, The Daily News, and a Harvard 
negotiating workshop are reported septel. 
 
3.  (C) COMMENT:  The interparty constitutional talks remain 
largely outside the public eye, although reports of the talks 
are growing in circulation among selected interested parties. 
 Nonetheless, confidentiality will remain a sine qua non of 
the talk's chances for any success as the prinicipals 
continue to engage constructively on significant issues.  As 
related reftel, the fragile discussions have come far but 
have a long way to go, and may be entering a particularly 
precarious phase as the parties begin to delve into more 
controversial issues.  In particular, "confidence-building 
measures" would appear to depart from a strictly legal agenda 
and drift into potentially more parlous political waters 
heretofore carefully avoided. 
SULLIVAN