US embassy cable - 04HARARE1417

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001417 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVELLE, D. TEITELBAUM 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2009 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, SOCI, ZI 
SUBJECT: MUGABE TAKES ON CATHOLICS AT ARCHBISHOP'S 
INSTALLATION 
 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Win Dayton under Section 1.5 b/d 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY: At the August 21 installation of the new 
Archbishop of Harare, President Mugabe stressed the need for 
Church and state to work with each other on issues of shared 
responsibility, including human rights and education.  He 
invited the new Archbishop to work with him but blasted 
Catholic clerics who he said worked with foreign powers 
against the GOZ.  The new Archbishop presided over the mass 
and stressed human rights in a brief public address.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) The Ambassador was among an audience of thousands who 
attended the installation of Robert Christopher Ndlovu as 
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Harare at the capacity-filled 
Harare Sports Center.  In a brief address, Ndlovu addressed 
principally pastoral issues but affirmed the church's role in 
standing up for human dignity, from which flowed human 
rights.  He added that freedom of speech and freedom of 
association were the bases of legitimacy for any authority. 
During the first half hour of the four hour program, a 
military jet loudly buzzed the covered complex five times at 
low altitude. 
 
3.  (U) Also in attendance were Catholic President Mugabe and 
the First Lady, seated in the first row just in front of the 
Ambassador.  After the introduction of dozens of bishops and 
church officials, each of which drew cheers and applause from 
the crowd, Mugabe was introduced to dead silence.  He and 
First Lady Grace were later called to the stage, where they 
stiffly shook the smiling Archbishop's hand without 
significant verbal exchange before returning to their seats. 
The Archbishop later gave communion to the pair at the outset 
of the mass. 
 
4.  (U) Just before the program's close, the President, to 
considerable applause, was called to the podium to address 
the multitude.  Speaking in Shona for roughly the first half 
of a 15-20 minute address, Mugabe drew substantial laughs and 
applause from the entire assembly.  (Embassy is still seeking 
a readout on the remarks in Shona).  In English, the 
President stressed moral themes and shared GOZ and Church 
missions.  He asserted that the GOZ and the Church agreed on 
human rights and civil rights -- "of course, everybody agrees 
on these things."  He went on to recount a litany of 
"colonial era" injustices and urged the Church to reflect on 
the implications of Zimbabwe's unique colonial experience, 
which he said impelled government regulation of certain 
exercises of freedom of speech and association.  Conceding 
differences on some of these issues, he urged the Church to 
engage in dialogue with the Government, and not to go to 
"outside authorities -- Blairs and Bushes."  He upbraided 
Pius Ncube, the outspoken Archbishop of Bulawayo, for 
tarnishing Zimbabwe's image abroad.  He claimed Ncube did not 
show up for a meeting Ncube sought with the President the day 
before and asked him rhetorically "where are the 10,000 dead 
from hunger" claimed by regime critics?  Mugabe also 
criticized the Jesuits for not complying with tuition fee 
caps imposed by the Ministry of Education. 
 
5.  (U)  Recalling his open communication with Ndlovu's 
predecessor, Archbishop Chakaipa, Mugabe urged Ndlovu to work 
with him; he could phone any time.  "You haven't come into a 
den of wolves ... we want to be with the Church."  In 
conclusion, he thanked the Pope for naming Ndlovu to the 
position.  Alluding to state media criticism of the 
appointment, Mugabe said "the Pope decided and we, as 
Christians, accepted." 
 
6.  (C) In a visit to the Embassy earlier this month, Ndlovu 
recounted to the Ambassador his strained relationship with 
the GOZ over the years.  He reported that the GOZ was taking 
a "wait and see" attitude on his appointment notwithstanding 
some adverse reporting in the state media; nobody from the 
GOZ had visited him since his appointment was announced.  His 
Hwange diocese had worked with the the GOZ on food, water and 
other social issues, but had run into problems over finances 
over water provision to a local primary school, ostensibly 
over exchange rate difficulties.  He described ongoing 
efforts by the GOZ to get into the Church's financial books 
and noted that the NGO bill (septel) was on the Council of 
Bishops' agenda.  Ndlovu had negotiated a solution a year ago 
to a months-long standoff in which ZANU-PF had been blocking 
Church-run food relief.  Church-State tensions were a 
significant concern, and he planned to keep politically 
oriented organs such as CCJP focused on community efforts 
rather than anti-government activities.  He appeared quite 
sensitive to the level of state repression throughout the 
country, particularly in rural areas that were obscured from 
public view.  Ndlovu expressed interest in building up the 
capabilities of the deteriorated Catholic University, 
especially as tertiary education continued to collapse around 
the country.  Bio notes on the 48-year old Ndebele Archbishop 
will be forwarded separately. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT: As democratic space in Zimbabwe continues to 
shrink, churches may increasingly become venues for dissent 
against the regime.  The GOZ has arrested numerous clerics 
and representatives from a variety of churches in recent 
years, usually in connection with public demonstrations.  We 
understand that an Irish priest serving the parish of Defense 
Minister Sekeremayi and Justice Minister Chinamasa was 
recently sent packing when his pulpit critiques of the regime 
became too direct.  Nonetheless, the GOZ generally has tread 
carefully in its confrontations with organized religion to 
date.  Indeed, Mugabe's remarks at the installation were more 
haranguing than threatening in tone and carried an explicit 
invitation to dialogue, even if the roaring jet engines 
served to remind everybody who holds the secular trappings of 
authority.  Most Zimbabwean Catholics we polled agreed that 
Mugabe's remarks were inappropriate for the venue. 
 
8.  (C) COMMENT(CONT'D): The volume, harmony, and spontaneity 
of the assembled throng's Shona hymns throughout the 
installation contrasted sharply with the tepid, poorly 
orchestrated chanting of Mugabe's large ruling party 
gatherings.  Mugabe tapped his finger to the music and 
occasionally clapped as Grace sat stone-faced throughout.  We 
did not observe a word spoken between the two. 
SULLIVAN