US embassy cable - 05MASERU209

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  4/22/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, LT 
SUBJECT: PRE-ELECTORAL CONSULTATIONS:  U.S., ALLIES MEET 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC , STATE . 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC , STATE . 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1.  Summary:  Ambassador hosted Chiefs of Missions of the United 
Kingdom (Dean), South Africa, and the UN Resident Coordinator 
(UNDP Representative Hodan Haji-Mohamud) to discuss facilitation 
of a tri-partite meeting between Government of Lesotho (GOL), 
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and opposition parties. 
During the course of the meeting held the morning of April 22 in 
the Ambassador's office, we spoke  by phone with Former Minister 
of Home Affairs and now Communications Minister, Thomas Thabane, 
concerning a tri-partite meeting which the government has 
concurred would be held on Monday, April 25.  Key members of the 
Diplomatic Corps believe it necessary to have such an inclusive 
gathering of all parties to emphasize the objectives of the 
elections occurring April 30; free, fair and inclusive 
elections; and to lay the ground work for the next elections 
(2007).  We believe that we have now made substantial progress 
in engaging the government through the Deputy Prime Minister 
(DPM) and also Ministers of Justice and Communications to help 
underscore the importance of a peaceful, 
election/decentralization process in Lesotho.  End Summary 
 
2.  Members of the Diplomatic Corps have been meeting over the 
past three weeks with members of the government of Lesotho, the 
IEC and representatives of the opposition parties.  In 
conversations with the government and the wider diplomatic corps 
on April 21, we emphasized the importance of peaceful, free and 
fair elections.  We received confirmation via a telephone 
conversation with Minister Thabane on April 22, that the 
government would send invitations to all 24 opposition parties, 
to the IEC and to the diplomatic community for the April 25 
meeting which is to occur at the Convention Center in Maseru. 
Throughout our conversations (and this was reemphasized in my 
conversation with Minister Thabane today) we requested the 
Diplomatic Corps be invited as observers.  The government has 
been pressing us to serve as Chair of such a meeting.  The U.S., 
the UN, and the UK have consistently and determinately responded 
that it is the Government's role to secure a neutral Chair and 
that we would be present as observers only.  We note that the 
South African High Commissioner has been trying to pressure the 
UN representative to Chair such a meeting.  She has repeatedly 
refused to do so and has indicated that the UN is there solely 
as a neutral observer and in all cases throughout Africa would 
work as necessary only through regional organizations.  I have 
made clear to the South African High Commissioner that it is not 
appropriate for the UK, the U.S. or the UN to chair this session 
and that if any outside diplomatic representative were to do so, 
it would be inappropriate intervention in national affairs and 
subject to misrepresentation by the public and the press.  At 
the same time, we, the U.S., have emphasized the helpful role 
that we and donors play in assisting the government 
institutionalize democracy and with all stakeholders to 
understand the importance of strict adherence to the April 30 
date; free, fair, peaceful and inclusive elections, and laying 
the ground work for the next elections (which would be the 2007 
National Elections) in Lesotho.  The four key planners in the 
international community have been ourselves, the UN, the UK and 
SA, although the latter brings its own political baggage given 
its history with Lesotho.  Therefore, the U.S., the UK and the 
UN Chiefs of Mission have also conducted a sustained separate 
dialogue on our common goals which we believe are more objective 
and less subject to negative interpretation than those of the 
South Africans. 
 
3.  Following our April 22 morning meeting at the Chancery, we 
agreed to remain in contact over the weekend prior to the 
anticipated Monday, April 25 meeting to be convened by the 
Government and which we will attend as observers.  We also 
agreed that the Chiefs of Mission would meet with the DPM (who 
is acting during the overseas travel of the PM) on the elections 
and related security matters and hope this meeting will take 
place by Thursday, April 28.  We also agreed that the US 
Assistant Regional Security Officer (ARSO) from Pretoria and the 
UN Regional Security Officer from Johannesburg would meet with 
other Missions' security representatives on Wednesday, April 27 
at the UNs Conference Center.   We concurred that our various 
staffs, e.g. political and security officers, would continue to 
take on-the-ground soundings from now through the elections and 
that we would share information both related to the electoral 
process and to security matters. 
 
4.  Comment:  It is the opinion of the Diplomatic Corps based on 
the nearly daily series of meetings that we have had, either 
individually or together with political and security leaders 
within the GOL, that getting all of the players to agree to an 
open forum discussion together on April 25 is a step in the 
right direction.  We know from our previous meetings as a group 
 
MASERU 00000209  002 OF 002 
 
 
that some members of the opposition parties had made veiled 
threats to carry out disruptive activities if such a tri-partite 
meeting were not held.  We believe the coordination amongst 
ourselves and our key allies has been substantial and fruitful 
to this point and we will continue our own interactions and will 
consult with all stakeholders from now through the April 30 
elections.  Consultations will continue following those 
elections during this period of transition and movement toward 
decentralization.  End Comment.