US embassy cable - 03HARARE1993

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001993 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
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, MDC 
SUBJECT: MDC ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGY 
 
REF: HARARE 1958 
 
1. SUMMARY. (SBU) On September 30, MDC President Morgan 
Tsvangirai briefed the diplomatic community on the MDC's 
 
SIPDIS 
position on various current issues.  While Tsvangirai did not 
reveal anything earth shattering, he did acknowledge that 
some contact with ZANU-PF was ongoing but said that the 
inter-party talks process had not been yet been launched nor 
achieved agreement.  He also gave a nine-month timetable for 
change in Zimbabwe and expressed appreciation to the SADC 
diplomats for facilitating meetings between the MDC 
delegation and SADC heads of state. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TSVANGIRAI BRIEFS DIPLOMATS 
 
SIPDIS 
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2. (U) On September 30, MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai 
briefed the diplomatic community on the MDC's position on 
various current issues, including developments on a 
ZANU-PF/MDC dialogue and the regional tour recently completed 
by MDC leadership. The MDC called the diplomatic briefing one 
day before the October 1 deadline for talks that Tsvangirai 
reportedly had set earlier.  During the question and answer 
period, Tsvangirai maintained that there had never been an 
October 1 deadline and that no one had threatened mass 
action.  He blamed the press for distorting his words.  He 
said the MDC court challenge to the 2002 presidential 
election slated to begin on November 3 would continue as 
scheduled unless there was "demonstrable and irreversible" 
progress toward a solution to the crisis.  He did not rule 
out using mass action but said it would be "determined by 
circumstances." 
 
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INTER-PARTY DIALOGUE 
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3. (U) Tsvangirai said dialogue between the two principals 
(President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai) would resolve 
the crisis in the long term.  He commented that, while the 
church initiative and other attempts to broker a negotiation 
were good efforts, they had not broken the impasse between 
the two leaders.  He expressed appreciation for Mugabe's 
conciliatory statements during the Muzenda funeral but was 
skeptical of the sincerity of the public announcement and of 
the will to implement change.  (See Reftel.) He said the MDC 
had done a few things to try to break the ice, such as 
attending the opening session of Parliament and Vice 
President Simon Muzenda's funeral, and this had palliated 
suspicion but had only improved informal relations between 
the two party's members. 
 
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TIMETABLE REVEALED 
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4. (U) During the question and answer period, one diplomat 
asked Tsvangirai for a timetable for a new Zimbabwe. 
Tsvangirai said that after a meaningful dialogue has begun, 
 
SIPDIS 
he could envision a three-month period of negotiations 
followed by 3-6 months of transition, ultimately leading to 
elections.  He thought this should all happen by mid-2004 if 
Zimbabwe is to survive.  He then revealed that during the 
first weekend in October, the party would be issuing new 
policy papers, which would be available to the public at a 
later date.  He intimated that the party would try to market 
its policies better, after being criticized over the last few 
years for not having clear-cut policies. 
 
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MENDING FENCES WITH SADC 
------------------------ 
5. (U) Tsvangirai expressed appreciation to SADC diplomats 
for facilitating meetings between the MDC delegation and 
various SADC heads of state.  He said the delegation would 
travel to other countries in the region (Botswana, South 
Africa, and Angola) and may travel to Nigeria too. 
Tsvangirai said the purpose of the trips was to give an 
 
SIPDIS 
alternative interpretation of the crisis and to offer 
possible solutions.  He claimed that the delegation has been 
well received in the host countries and that the meetings had 
been successful, with no one disputing the cause of the 
crisis--poor governance--rather than "land" or "Britain" as 
Mugabe would have it.  He added that as long as Mugabe thinks 
he has the support of SADC leaders he would not budge in his 
position.  He asked SADC to help the process by urging 
ZANU-PF to the negotiating table. 
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PERSONAL FREEDOMS STILL DENIED 
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6. (U) Tsvangirai said he was disturbed that despite the 
MDC's efforts to break the tension between ZANU-PF and MDC, 
the ruling party had closed the Daily News.  (The MDC also 
circulated a strong statement from the Tsvangirai about the 
closure of the Daily News.)  Tsvangirai said the closure of 
the newspaper was an attack on the MDC by ZANU-PF, even 
though the Daily News is not owned by the MDC.  He vowed that 
the MDC would do everything it could to get the paper back up 
and running.  He lamented the MDC's lack of access to public 
media and implored the international community to express 
outrage over the attack on freedom of expression. 
 
7. (U) On the electoral process and the August elections, 
Tsvangirai denied claims that the electoral environment had 
 
SIPDIS 
improved much.  He said that although there may have been 
less violence during the urban council elections, the 
electoral process was still not free and fair, particularly 
due to the problems with the voters roll and prevention of 
candidate registration. 
 
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COMMENT 
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8. (SBU) The MDC diplomatic briefing signals a shift in its 
public relations strategy.  The combination of the regional 
tour and diplomatic briefing suggests that the party is 
seeking to strengthen its diplomatic links.  Tsvangirai was 
also careful to praise the SADC diplomats for their 
assistance with the MDC delegation, a welcome change after 
months of acerbic attacks on Zimbabwe's neighbors. 
Tsvangirai,s comments about the public perception that the 
 
SIPDIS 
MDC has no policies and admission that the party failed in 
the marketing of its policies also suggest a change in focus. 
 Through bolstering its public image and international 
credibility, the MDC may hope to bring Mugabe to the 
negotiating table with Tsvangirai.  END COMMENT. 
SULLIVAN