US embassy cable - 05HARARE1034

C O N F I D E N T I A L  HARARE 001034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENQFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION LEADER ON DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS, POLITICAL 
MANUVERING 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Eric T. Schultz under Section 1.4 b/d 
 
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Summary 
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1.  MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai on July 26 told the CDA 
that he supported efforts by outside parties, including the 
AU and the UN, to get more engaged on Zimbabwe.  He 
complimented the recently released report of UN Envoy 
Tibaijuka and called for the appointment of a UNCHR 
rapporteur for Zimbabwe.  He remained critical of Pretoria 
but accepted that the SAG played a pivotal role on Zimbabwe. 
Tsvangirai reported that each of the main ZANU-PF factions 
 
SIPDIS 
were courting the MDC, though for very different reasons. 
The MDC would consider a coalition with the Managagwa faction 
for opportunistic purposes if the conditions were right.  He 
closed by noting his continued interest in a Washington 
visit, but that it would need to wait until the party was 
&remobilized.8  End Summary. 
 
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On Obasanjo and AU Effort 
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2. (C) Tsvangirai gave CDA a readout of his meeting with 
Nigerian President Obasanjo in the run-up to the African 
summit in Tripoli in early July.  He said Obasanjo had 
explained that the AU had initially failed to grasp the scale 
and impact of Operation Restore Order and had therefore 
initially described it as an &internal matter.8  It had 
been at Obsanjo,s urging that the AU had subsequently sent 
an official to Harare to investigate the operation.  (N.B. 
The official never received GOZ accreditation and never left 
his Harare hotel before departing the country.) 
 
3. (C) Tsvangirai said Obasanjo had raised the idea of an AU 
mission headed by ex-Mozambican President Chissano to broker 
inter-party talks on the country's deteriorating situation. 
Tsvangirai said he told Obasanjo that the MDC had no 
 
SIPDIS 
objections to mediation efforts by the AU.  The Nigerian 
President said he would also discuss the mission with Mugabe 
in Tripoli.  Tsvangirai noted that media reports indicated 
that Obasanjo had been true to his word in approaching Mugabe 
but that Mugabe, after reportedly being receptive to 
Obasanjo, had publicly scotched the notion of inter-party 
talks.  Tsvangirai added that this initiative still had great 
potential and he urged that it receive international support. 
 
 
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Accepts SAG Role; But Still Wary of Mbeki 
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4. Tsvangirai said on his return from Nigeria through South 
Africa he had discussed with Mbeki Zimbabwe's deepening 
humanitarian crisis in the wake of Operation Restore Order. 
He said Mbeki had expressed concern over the humanitarian 
situation and had recounted his exchange with UNSYG Annan, 
who had expressed similar concerns.  Mbeki had said the SAG's 
next steps on Zimbabwe would await release of UN Special 
Envoy Tibaijuka's report (since released) on Restore Order 
but had pledged to pursue his concerns with Mugabe at 
Tripoli. 
 
5. (C) Tsvangirai said Mbeki had dismissed Obasanjo's efforts 
on Zimbabwe, which Tsvangirai said reflected Mbeki's priority 
on being part of any talks.  Tsvangirai said the MDC accepted 
that South Africa would remain a key player on Zimbabwe. 
However, he said the SAG remained biased and the GOZ's 
principal international protector.  The South African Deputy 
President's recent visit, for instance, had been to warn the 
GOZ about the likely negative cast of Tibaijuka's report.  In 
that vein, Tsvangirai doubted that reported SAG 
conditionality in loan negotiations with the GOZ would amount 
to much.  He also noted reports that South Africa and other 
Africans were working vigorously behind the scenes to thwart 
placement of Zimbabwe on the UNSC agenda, as was China, which 
Tsvangirai said had been the principal objective of Mugabe,s 
 
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