US embassy cable - 04HARARE187

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000187 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
AF/S FOR SDELISI, LAROIAN, MRAYNOR 
AF/PD FOR DFOLEY, CDALTON 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JFRAZER, DTEITELBAUM 
LONDON FOR CGURNEY 
PARIS FOR CNEARY 
NAIROBI FOR TPFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, ELAB, KDEM, KSEP, ZI, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN ZIMBABWE 
 
REF: (A) STATE 11875 (B) 03 STATE 333935 (C) 03 
 
     HARARE 403 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
1.  (U) Since its disputed victory in Zimbabwe's 2002 
parliamentary and presidential elections, the ruling ZANU-PF 
party has pursued a concerted campaign to shrink individual 
liberties and democratic space in this constitutional 
republic.  The government's human rights record remained 
poor, although political violence declined in 2003 compared 
to the previous year.  The executive branch continued to 
aggrandize its power at the expense of the judiciary and the 
unicameral parliament, and stepped up efforts to hamstring a 
weakening independent media.  Legislative activity during the 
year scaled back due process protections, and retroactively 
overrode court judgments and legalized past illegal acts of 
the government.  Repressive laws were exercised selectively 
to constrain the activities of the government's critics. 
Ruling party supporters continued to harass and to intimidate 
critics with relative impunity.  The government closed the 
country's only independent daily newspaper for four months 
and is pursuing court action to close it down permanently. 
The executive branch frequently ignored court orders and 
sought to intimidate sitting judges in politically sensitive 
cases.  Urban and rural council and parliamentary 
by-elections during 2003 were marred by violence and other 
irregularities.  The National Youth Service program was 
implicated in a host of human right abuses, generally 
associated with suppressing political opponents of the 
government.  The nation's highly polarized and stalemated 
political climate was compounded by a mutually reinforcing 
economic implosion that touched every sector of society. 
 
2.  (U) Complicating our efforts to address Zimbabwe's 
deteriorating political situation is the government's growing 
apparent xenophobia toward the west.  A liberation party that 
has ruled the country since independence, ZANU-PF has had 
difficulty sustaining its popularity in recent years.  Its 
political insecurity is compounded by the disastrous failures 
of its economic policies, including the corrupt and often 
violent implementation of a land reform program.  Central to 
the ruling party's political strategy is its portrayal of 
Zimbabwe as under seige by "neocolonial" forces intent on 
undoing land reform and robbing the country of its 
sovereignty.  The government employs the dominant state media 
relentlessly to paint political opponents and critics as 
lawless agents of a racist conspiracy headed by Great Britain 
and the United States.  Actions and statements of the U.S. 
Government are consistently distorted or fabricated to 
substantiate conspiracy theories and ostensibly to justify a 
stronger hand against regime critics.  In this environment, 
many ruling party and government officials avoid association 
with U.S. officials, and Embassy access to the Government of 
Zimbabwe is limited. 
 
3.  (SBU) Underpinning the U.S. Goverment's human rights 
strategy with Zimbabwe is a recognition that resolution of 
the nation's political crisis is a necessary precondition for 
addressing the country's myriad problems, including its human 
rights situation.  Facilitating such a resolution is a 
central U.S. priority.  It was in this vein that President 
Bush consulted with President Mbeki in support of steps to 
resolve the crisis.  In addition to ongoing U.S. consultation 
with the South African Government on Zimbabwe, U.S. diplomats 
have engaged other governments with potential influence in 
Zimbabwe to coordinate mutually supportive approaches. 
 
4.   (U) Against this backdrop, U.S. officials routinely 
spotlight publicly and when possible highlight privately the 
need for the government to improve the environment for free 
and fair elections and to strengthen rule of law. 
Politically motivated violence, flaws in the electoral 
process, concerns over judicial independence, limits on 
freedom of association, and abridgement of free speech were 
among many themes pursued by U.S. officials on Zimbabwe. 
Official travel and financial restrictions were maintained 
against key government officials and members of the ruling 
party to signal official disapproval of their policies and to 
press for change.  Statements of U.S. officials regularly 
received prominent play in the independent press, including 
the country's most widely circulated newspaper.  Foremost 
among these was a June op-ed piece by Secretary Powell on the 
eve of the President's visit to the region and a December 
interview of the Ambassador.   The Embassy generally assured 
wide dissemination among Zimbabwe's media, legal fraternity, 
civil society, academics, and government and party officials 
of human rights-related reports by the State Department, 
NGOs, and international organizations.  Prominent coverage of 
human rights themes at embassy public affairs resource 
centers (approximately 100,000 visited the one in Harare, for 
example) and the Zimbabwe-specific programs of the Voice of 
America influenced opinions inside Zimbabwe and throughout 
the region. 
 
5.   (SBU) To document Zimbabwe's human rights situation, 
USAID funded a well-respected human rights organization that 
comprehensively gathered and disseminated information on 
cases of alleged abuses.   In addition, USAID-funded programs 
assisted victims of political violence, including 
documentation of atrocities, and supported centers for 
victims of torture and political violence in urban centers 
throughout the country.  The Democracy and Human Rights Fund 
(DHRF) and USAID further enhanced provision of legal services 
to victims of political crimes.  U.S. diplomats also 
personally interviewed victims of political violence and 
maintained a visible presence at politically significant 
events, including party rallies and election activities.  To 
bolster domestic election observation capabilities, USAID 
facilitated an independent local election observation NGO on 
capacity building and deployment costs.  The Department 
sponsored three Zimbabweans for human rights-related 
Interntional Vistors Programs (IVPs) last year, and the 
Embassy's resource center helped local human rights 
organizations access human rights material on the internet as 
a means to develop their capacity and effectiveness. 
 
6.  (SBU) To fortify the integrity of democratic pluralism in 
Zimbabwe, USAID provided a range of assistance to strengthen 
legislative committees, one of the few venues where civil 
political discourse between the ruling and opposition parties 
still occurs openly.  In addition, USAID funded training for 
organizational and leadership development, internal and 
external communications, and financial management within 
selected democratically oriented organizations.  USAID 
cultivated grassroots democratic capabilities by bolstering 
accountability mechanisms among democratically elected 
municipal officials and facilitating their contact with 
international counterparts.  To help build a foundation for 
active citizen participation in political life, USAID has 
funded a number of civil society organizations, providing 
them with training and technical assistance to help them 
advocate to the parliament on issues of national 
significance.  USAID provides similar assistance to a number 
of grassroots organizations that work with municipal 
authorities.  DHRF funds went to support the establishment of 
an Institute of Peace, Leadership, and Governance at Africa 
University, and USAID/ASHA funded the infrastructure 
construction costs for the Institute.  The Department slated 
eight Zimbabweans last year to attend IVPs on 
governance-related themes. 
 
7.  (SBU) To bolster access by Zimbabweans to balanced 
information, ESF funds supported Voice of America broadcasts 
to Zimbabwe five times a week.  The program featured 
interviews by Zimbabwean announcers with U.S. policymakers 
and Zimbabwean opinion makers on a range of key political, 
economic and cultural topics.  The program is the only 
broadcast of its kind on both AM and short wave, that targets 
Zimbabweans who have limited access to independent media. 
Shortwave Radio Africa, partially funded by USAID, also 
provides Zimbabweans with alternative sources of news about 
their country.  USAID has funded activities to fortify the 
capacity of Zimbabwe's strained independent press, and public 
diplomacy efforts have devoted particular priority to 
concerns about freedom of press.  In addition, USAID has 
funded Business Operating Centers that, among other services, 
will allow ordinary Zimbabweans to access independent media 
sources via the Internet.  USAID also has funded capacity 
building and training for a public opinion institute to 
conduct polls and gauge public opinion on topical issues, 
including governance, and to hold public seminars that review 
findings and inform policy makers.  The Department 
facilitated participation by two prominent Zimbabwean 
journalists in a slate of activities in the United States 
under a Voluntary Visitors Program. 
8.  (SBU) In supporting religious freedom, the Embassy has 
collaborated closely with clerics involved in pressing for 
resolution of Zimbabwe's political crisis.  Through public 
and private statements and dissemination of relevant public 
documents such as the Department's Human Rights Report, we 
have underscored official concern about the government's 
arrest and intimidation of religious figures who criticize 
the government. 
 
9.  (U) Advancing women's issues, DHRF funds went to help the 
Zimbabwe Women Lawyers' Association print a civic awareness 
manual to educate rural women on their voting and other civic 
rights, and for workshops to present the manual.  DHRF funds 
also enabled a parliamentary women's caucus to hold workshops 
and build capacity among women members of parliament.  The 
Department sponsored a Zimbabwean activist for an 
International Vistors Program on "Women as Political and 
Economic Leaders".  The Embassy also sponsored a workshop on 
domestic violence for law enforcement officials and 
interested civic society representatives. 
 
10.  (SBU) Supporting workers rights through an American 
trade union organization, USAID has funded a program of the 
Solidarity Center to assist trade unions in Zimbabwe to 
become more accountable and responsive to their memberships 
and more effective at representing the interests of their 
constituents.  Funds were used to provide professional 
economic and legal advice, to support new offices, to 
facilitate staff travel to membership chapters in the field, 
and for training in economic literacy and organizational 
development.  On several occasions, the Embassy advocated to 
the government on behalf of the American organization 
representative in Harare in connection with difficulties he 
had in maintaining his legal residency.  Finally, the 
Department sponsored a visiting expert who spoke to wide 
Zimbabwean audiences on alternative conflict resolution 
mechanisms, particularly in the context of labor relations. 
 
11.  (U) The Embassy has promoted interest in and scrutiny of 
trafficking-related issues among civil society and NGOS 
generally concerned with human rights in Zimbabwe.  We have 
projected official concern about trafficking issues in 
Zimbabwe through public and private statements and 
dissemination of public documents such as the Department's 
Trafficking in Persons Report. 
 
12.  (SBU) As for evaluating the success of our human rights 
strategy in Zimbabwe, we still have a long row to hoe. 
Again, restoration of an acceptable human rights regime here 
will hinge largely on the ability of Zimbabwean players 
themselves first to resolve their political stalemate and of 
the Government of Zimbabwe to subject itself to the will of 
the Zimbabwean people and the rule of law.  Our comprehensive 
strategy is necessarily long term -- geared first to foster 
resolution of a political crisis while sustaining crucial 
democratic institutions through parlous times.  In the longer 
run, those democratic institutions we help to sustain -- free 
press, independent judiciary, civil society, equitable 
electoral process -- must serve as the foundation of a 
healthy polity that now seems so distant. 
 
13.  ADDENDUM: USG-FUNDED PROGRAMS OF USD 100,000 OR MORE 
(FY-03 only, not including funds that carried over from 
FY-02) -- 
 
DA-funded activities: 
 
NGO advocacy -          620,000 
Local governance -            486,000 
Victims of Torture -          461,000 
Victims of Conflict -         977,000 
 
ESF-funded activities: 
 
Trade unions -          300,000 
Public Information/VOA -       1,500,000 
SULLIVAN