US embassy cable - 05HARARE1103

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, PREF, PTER, EAID, ZI, Restore Order/Murambatsvina 
SUBJECT: IOM UPDATE ON RESTORE ORDER RELIEF EFFORTS 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Eric T. Schultz under Section 1 
.4 b/d 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (C) On August 1, International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) officials told CDA and USAID mission Director they had 
received no reports of further demolitions following Vice 
President Mujuru,s announcement last week that the operation 
was over.  They also reported that the GOZ had agreed to a 
pilot program to provide tents for victims of Operation 
Restore Order.  They said during the visit to the proposed 
site of the pilot program, Security Minister Mutasa had 
spoken openly of the operation as a mistake and called on 
local security forces to assist with relief efforts.  The IOM 
representatives said the cost of providing tents had pushed 
the UN,s &flash appeal8 to US$ 18 million.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------- 
GOZ Cooperation Improving 
------------------------- 
 
2. (C) In an August 1 meeting, IOM Chief of Mission Mohammed 
Abdiker and Regional Representative for Southern Africa 
Hans-Petter Boe told the CDA and USAID Director that IOM had 
received no further reports of demolitions following Vice 
President Mujuru,s announcement last week that Operation 
restore Order was over.  They acknowledged this was not the 
first such GOZ announcement and agreed it was too soon to say 
the operation was really over but nonetheless considered it a 
hopeful sign. 
 
3. (C) The IOM representatives said another hopeful sign was 
the GOZ,s increasing cooperation with relief efforts.  Along 
with the UN Resrep, they had met July 29 with Security 
Minister Mutasa, who had proposed that IOM begin a pilot 
program to provide temporary shelter to people made homeless 
by the operation.  Mutasa had suggested his own home district 
of Headlands as the site of the pilot program.  The following 
day, they had traveled to Headlands with Mutasa to look at 
the proposed site and had been joined by Agriculture Minister 
Made and Justice Minister Chinamasa. 
 
4. (C) Abdiker said that during the course of the visit, 
Mutasa had publicly admitted that mistakes had been made in 
Operation Restore Order and had called on local security 
forces to cooperate with relief efforts.  Abdiker said 
unfortunately no reporters had been present.  Still, to his 
knowledge it was the first time a senior GOZ official had 
said in public that the operation had been flawed.  Mutasa 
and the other Ministers had agreed that IOM could provide 
tents to 123 displaced families.  This would also be the 
first time that the GOZ would have allowed IOM to provide 
shelter for those made homeless by the operation. 
 
5. (C) Abdiker said the three ministers had agreed that IOM 
could provide shelter and food while the families waited for 
the GOZ,s Operation Garikai to provide them with permanent 
housing.  IOM staff would arrive in Headlands the week of 
August 1 to begin preparations.  After setting up the pilot, 
IOM planned to set up another &tent city8 in the Harare 
suburb of Hatcliffe, then replicate the program throughout 
the country.  Boe noted that there were rumors that Mugabe 
himself would visit the Headlands site on August 6. 
 
--------- 
UN Appeal 
--------- 
 
6. (C) Abdiker and Boe that the UN was in the final stages of 
crafting a "flash appeal" for assistance to the victims of 
Restore Order.  To be issued jointly with the GOZ, the appeal 
would seek funds to provide assistance to approximately 
40,000 of the families who had been victimized by Operation 
Restore Order.  20,000 of these families remained without 
shelter and they were in dire need of food assistance. 
Abdiker said the cost of providing the tents was the main 
reason the appeal had increased from US$ 10 million last week 
to US$ 18 million this week.  Boe noted that the appeal would 
also seek funds to establish a UN Habitat office in Harare. 
7. (C) The CDA and USAID Mission Director said donors might 
have problems with parts of the appeal, such as the UN 
Habitat Office, which went beyond emergency assistance. 
(N.B. We may also have problems funding tents, which are 
expensive.  USAID/OFDA generally prefers to provide plastic 
sheeting for temporary shelters.)  In appealing for 
additional U.S. assistance, Abdiker noted for the record that 
the U.S. had been the key donor to IOM.  The U.S. had 
provided nearly US$ 2 million in emergency assistance 
following the onset of the operation and by acting quickly 
had encouraged the UK (US$ 1 million), the Dutch (US$ 
500,000), and the Australians and the Japanese (US$ 53,000 
and 96,000 respectively) to contribute as well. 
 
-------------------- 
Beyond Restore Order 
-------------------- 
 
8. (C) Abdiker and Boe said that IOM was also working on 
several migration issues with the GOZ and the region.  IOM 
had sent someone from their Georgia mission to advise the GOZ 
on border controls.  This individual would be returning in 
September to install computers at the airport and other ports 
of entry as the initial phase of a tracking system.  Boe said 
IOM had also just received permission from the GOZ to open up 
a sub-office in Beitbridge, on the border with South Africa, 
which would include a transit center to assist returnees from 
South Africa.  The center would include Immigration 
officials, social workers, transportation, specialists in 
countertrafficking, HIV/AIDS, and health, and possibly food 
assistance. 
 
9. (C) Boe said Save the Children had estimated that 9,000 
people were crossing the border at Beitbridge each month and 
that the number of deportees from South Africa was 4-5,000 
per month.  Many returnees were attempting to walk home and 
were collapsing from exhaustion and lack of food.  When 
Abdiker and Boe visited the morgue in Beitbridge, they were 
told there were 56 bodies that day, although the morgue only 
had capacity for 6.  There were similar problems along the 
border with Botswana and IOM was considering a similar 
transit center in Plumtree. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
10. (C) IOM has been the key player from the start in 
assisting the victims of Operation Restore Order.  They have 
done excellent work with limited resources and despite an 
uncooperative government.  Although their plans to provide 
tents to 20,000 families may be overly ambitious given the 
resources likely to be made available, they deserve our 
continued support. 
 
11. (C) Mutasa,s apparent about-face on Operation Restore 
Order is an intriguing recent development.  Three weeks ago, 
when he met with Staffdel Simpkins, Mutasa proudly boasted 
about his role as an architect of the operation.  This is 
surely another sign that the UN Special Envoy,s report has 
hit the GOZ hard. 
SCHULTZ