US embassy cable - 03HARARE1958

UNCLAS HARARE 001958 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ZI 
SUBJECT: MUZENDA EULOGY INCLUDES APPEAL TO MDC 
 
REF: (A) HARARE 1931 (B) HARARE 1600 
 
 1. (U) SUMMARY:  Robert Mugabe's eulogy on September 24 to 
Vice President Simon Muzenda, who died on September 20 (ref 
A), is not likely to change the political climate here.  As 
with previous speeches, Mugabe seized the opportunity to 
extol the virtues of land reform, to vilify the British and 
Americans, and to dangle the carrot of reconciliation with 
the MDC.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) President Mugabe's speech commemorating the life of 
Simon Muzenda combined English, Shona, and Ndebele in 
prepared and impromptu comments.  In English, Mugabe praised 
the life and contributions of the late Vice President, 
promoted the success of land reform program and vilified the 
British and the Americans.  He accused white commercial 
farmers of attempting to get the EU to impose sanctions on 
Zimbabwean beef exports and urged such  "Rhodesians" to leave 
the country.  Reiterating the irreversability of land reform, 
Mugabe maintained that the peasants in Zimbabwe were land 
reform's true beneficiaries chastised the British and 
Americans for being obstacles in Zimbabwe's independence 
during the 1970s. 
 
3. (U) In Shona and Ndebele, Mugabe drew on cultural themes 
and social norms, especially hierarchy and the status of 
elders.  He welcomed MDC figures present and encouraged the 
need for dialogue between the two parties without 
interference by Western interests.  He alluded to the need 
for the MDC to show respect to ZANU-PF by relating the story 
of a younger brother who disagreed with an older brother but, 
because of the elder's status, had to disagree in private 
even when he knew elder was wrong.  He used another idiom 
that preached against airing dirty laundry, and he encouraged 
exclusion of the British from any interparty dialogue. 
Mugabe said Zimbabweans should work together regardless of 
political affiliation and told the crowd that he and 
Tsvangirai were the same -- they ate the same traditional 
 
SIPDIS 
foods (sadza and tripe and intestines) and hence were both 
Zimbabwean. 
 
4. (U) In conclusion, Mugabe talked about bequeathing a 
legacy to upcoming generations and the need to not forget the 
past.  He was not explicit as to who would be taking over but 
mentioned several times the need to continue the journey laid 
out by the Zimbabwe founders. 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT: Mugabe's speech as delivered differed 
considerably from his circulated written text, which made no 
mention of the MDC or bequeathing legacies.  Underscoring the 
eulogy's intended connection to the domestic political 
context, the September 25 government daily featured 
"President's Calls for Unity With Opposition" on its front 
page.  In fact, the message did not break significantly new 
ground and echoed the message of his Heroes Day speech last 
month (ref B): the ruling party is prepared to engage with 
the opposition but only on its own terms and with proper 
deference.   The unusually heavy reliance on local dialect, 
especially in the "outreach" to the MDC, represented an 
effort to establish common ground with MDC elements in a way 
that would separate them from the party's white constituents 
and international supporters.  Several MDC leaders were in 
the crowd but reported MDC reaction to Mugabe's appeal so far 
has been entirely negative, labeling Mugabe's remarks as 
meaningless window-dressing. 
SULLIVAN