US embassy cable - 05HARARE801

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000801 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, PHUM, PGOV, ZI, Media and Communications, U.S.-Zimbabwe Bilateral Relations 
SUBJECT: INFORMATION MINISTER ON BILATERAL RELATIONS, MEDIA 
POLICY, CRACKDOWN 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Eric T. Schultz under Section 1 
.5 b/d 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY: During a courtesy call by the Ambassador at 
the Ministry on June 2, new Minister of Information Tichaona 
Jokonya defended the GOZ's media policy and its Operation 
"Restore Order".  He said he wanted better relations with the 
independent media and with the USG.  The Ambassador condemned 
the GOZ's crackdown in urban areas and stressed that concrete 
measures by the GOZ to improve governance would have to 
precede any improvement in bilateral relations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
2.  (C) Jokonya opened the meeting by telling the Ambassador 
that, after a long career with the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs, he was a diplomat, not a politician.  However, the 
ruling party was pushing him as a recently elected MP to 
spend considerable time in his district (Chikomba in Masvingo 
Province) cultivating relations with his constituents.  He 
spoke fondly of his four years in the United States as 
PermRep and said that he was proud to be a "free citizen" of 
Louisiana.  He half-jokingly asked if this citizenship would 
spare him inclusion on our sanctions list. 
 
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Minister Defends GOZ Media Policy, Seeks Rapprochement With 
Independent Media 
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3.  (C) Conceding that he was still learning the ropes at the 
Ministry, the Minister launched into a familiar rehearsal of 
historical sketches on land reform and Tony Blair's purported 
personal vendetta against the GOZ.  Jokonya then moved to 
defenses of various aspect of the GOZ's media policy.  He 
asserted that the much-criticized Access to Information and 
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) was not as draconian as 
portrayed by the western media.  The GOZ had not arbitrarily 
banned The Daily News (TDN, an independent newspaper closed 
in 2003), which he maintained was closed after it refused to 
obey the law by registering.  He noted that TDN's new 
application remained before the Media and Information 
Commission, and he urged that we reserve further judgment on 
the GOZ's media policy pending the adjudication of the TDN 
application. 
 
4.  (C) Jokonya emphasized his interest in repairing the 
Ministry's relationship with the independent media.  He had 
initiated a dialogue with its representatives and was trying 
to address their complaints and suggestions.  For example, he 
was examining the composition of the Media and Information 
Commission, which journalists complained inadequately 
represented the perspective of journalists.  He asserted that 
when pinned down about AIPPA, media representatives' 
complaints boiled down to certain aspects of registration 
requirements and purported selective application of its 
provisions.  He was sure something could be worked out on 
both issues. 
 
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Seeks Better Relationship With USG 
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5.  (C) The Minister encouraged the USG to work more closely 
with his ministry.  He noted that we worked well with other 
GOZ ministries, such as the Ministry of Public Health, and 
emphasized that he was open to American suggestions on how to 
improve operations at his Ministry.  He said he had been 
enormously impressed with the current and preceding 
Secretaries of State, and complimented the First Lady on 
 
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comments she made in Egypt regarding U.S. tolerance for 
different paths to democracy.  If the USG could talk to North 
Korea, he concluded, it should be able to collaborate more 
closely with Zimbabwe, a country with which it had much more 
in common.  He said that he wanted his Ministry to be where 
diplomats came when they wanted something done; he emphasized 
that he would relay our views to "the highest level" when we 
came to him. 
 
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Ambassador Condemns "Restore Order", Urges Concrete GOZ 
Measures to Enhance Relations 
----------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) The Ambassador said that the USG would welcome 
different approaches and an improvement in bilateral 
relations.  He reiterated his message to President Mugabe 
that shrill public rhetoric did nothing to advance either 
country's interest and that the governments should engage 
more meaningfully with each other face to face.  However, 
dialogue would only go so far as long as we were divided by 
fundamental principles that could not be papered over or 
finessed through image management. 
 
7.  (C) The Ambassador told the Minister that the Embassy 
watched closely for signals that would justify a return to 
our formerly constructive relations but discerned few.  In 
particular, the USG was appalled at the unconscionable abuses 
associated with the GOZ's Operation "Restore Order", which 
had deprived tens of thousands of their homes and 
livelihoods.  Limitations on freedom of expression and 
continued gross economic mismanagement represented additional 
constraints.  We welcomed indications of positive shifts in 
GOZ media policy and hoped to see them bear fruit.  The key 
to prospects for improved bilateral relations would continue 
to be concrete measures for improved governance on the GOZ's 
part. 
 
8.  (C) Jonkoya briefly defended "Restore Order", casting it 
as a legitimate exercise to stem "criminal elements", but 
noted its "inconsistency" with other national objectives and 
expressed appreciation for the Ambassador's comments. 
 
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VOA; Public Diplomacy 
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9.  (C) The Ambassador welcomed the Minister's offer to work 
more closely together and encouraged more contact between the 
official media and the Embassy's Public Affairs Section.  He 
noted that he had offered to do his first in-country 
interview with the state-controlled Herald, which had not 
taken him up.  Jonkoya responded that he would work to 
facilitate the Ambassador,s access to Zimbabwe,s official 
media. 
 
10.  (C) The Ambassador added that the Voice of America was 
charged with projecting balanced views on the Zimbabwean 
situation and welcomed engagement with GOZ ministers and 
representatives; few had exploited the opportunity.  Jokonya 
criticized VOA for broadcasting sensationalist, often 
misleading or untrue stories about Zimbabwe, and asserted 
that it maintained an anachronistic "Cold War" view of 
Zimbabwe.  Nonetheless, he undertook to listen to it more 
often and said he would look into the possibility of greater 
GOZ engagement with VOA. 
 
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Comment 
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11.  (C) Jokonya is a relative breath of fresh air in 
comparison to his clever but shrill and vitriolic predecessor 
Jonathan Moyo.  We have already seen modestly positive shifts 
in GOZ media policy.  Opposition MDC President Morgan 
Tsvangirai's castigation of "Restore Order", for example, was 
 
SIPDIS 
given airtime by the national broadcaster this past week, and 
an extended critique of GOZ economic policies by the private 
sector, including commercial farmers, was aired June 8. 
Jokonya is unlikely to stand up to Mugabe or the party 
hierarchy on critical issues but, as a diplomat and elder 
statesman, he may be an effective conduit of information and 
we intend to take him up on his offer to engage more closely 
with his ministry and through it the country,s official 
media. 
SCHULTZ