US embassy cable - 02HARARE2368

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 002368 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR CGURNEY 
PARIS FOR CNEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, ZI 
SUBJECT: MANIPULATION OF FOOD DELIVERIES: UNSC 
CONSIDERATION? 
 
Classified By: political section chief Matt Harrington.  Reasons: 1.5 ( 
B) and (D). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  The MDC's Economic Affairs Secretary -- 
Eddie Cross -- expressed concern about the Government of 
Zimbabwe's manipulation of food deliveries and pressed for UN 
Security Council action on this as a major human rights 
issue.  The Ambassador suggested that the food shortage and 
GOZ's politicization of food assistance might be an 
appropriate matter for UNSC consideration but thought that 
linking this to human rights might be a more difficult 
proposition.  Cross told us that a team of South Africans was 
in town exploring options for resolution of the political 
crisis, and South Africa's High Commissioner subsequently 
confirmed this account.  End Summary. 
 
Manipulation of food 
-------------------- 
 
2.  (C) In an October 25 meeting with the Ambassador, Eddie 
Cross, Economic Affairs Secretary for the Movement for 
Democratic Change (MDC), expressed serious concern about 
Zimbabwe's dire food shortage and the Government of 
Zimbabwe's manipulation of it.  He claimed that the GOZ has 
battened down the commercial supply of food by instituting a 
national system of roadblocks to inhibit movement of 
foodstuffs.  Food cannot be transported from one place to 
another, even on a small scale.  For instance, a bag of flour 
being taken by a friend of his to relatives in rural areas 
was confiscated by police at a roadblock, and these sorts of 
incidents happen regularly around the country.  In addition, 
during the recent rural council elections and parliamentary 
by-election in Insiza, the ruling party campaigned with bags 
of maize, while stating explicitly that those districts that 
voted for the MDC would not be fed.  The Government sells the 
food it procures at a limited number of distribution centers 
-- manned by Border Gezi militia members -- and buyers must 
present a ZANU-PF card and proof of residence.  Those unable 
to produce a ZANU-PF card or who live in a district which 
voted for the MDC are not permitted to buy food, Cross 
claimed.  Governor Cephas Msipa of Midlands Province does not 
permit the politicization of aid in his province, but all of 
his gubernatorial colleagues do, he continued. 
 
3.  (C) Cross declared that the denial of food to hungry 
people because of their political affiliation is a serious 
abuse of human rights and humanitarian principles.  He said 
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was considering pressing the UN 
Security Council to consider formally the Government's 
manipulation of food as a serious violation of human rights. 
Cross suggested that perhaps Kofi Annan could send an 
investigative team with the mandate to gather evidence and 
report back to the Security Council. 
 
4.  (C) The Ambassador noted that there are numerous 
confirmed reports of Government-sourced food being used to 
buttress ZANU-PF's political fortunes.  Deliveries of donor 
food assistance, on the other hand, seem to be working well, 
for the most part.  He said he had attended many food 
distribution events conducted by WFP's implementing partners, 
and he was convinced that beneficiaries are identified in a 
fair, transparent manner.   Prior to the WFP suspension of 
food deliveries in Insiza, the only serious problem with 
international food assistance occurred in the northwestern 
town of Binga, where local authorities have blocked 
deliveries by NGOs they accused of favoring the MDC.  The 
Ambassador said we would investigate any allegations of 
politicization of donor food assistance, and he encouraged 
the MDC also to share specific concerns with WFP and the 
relevant NGO.  The Ambassador told Cross that an independent 
monitoring mechanism was expected to be in place within two 
weeks.  Cross replied that the MDC is in regular contact with 
the UN's humanitarian coordinator -- and UNDP Resrep -- in 
Zimbabwe, Victor Angelo. 
 
5.  (C) Regarding UN involvement, the Ambassador said he was 
not sure that another mission to Zimbabwe is the answer. 
Addressing the food shortage would be an appropriate matter 
for the UN, including lack of GOZ cooperation with 
international donors, but tying this to human rights would be 
a more difficult proposition.  Perhaps the UN Security 
Council could ask UN agencies to report on the food situation 
and invite outside witnesses, the Ambassador suggested. 
 
6.  (C)  In a separate conversation with political section 
chief, MDC MP David Coltart expressed anger at WFP's 
suspension of food deliveries in Insiza two weeks prior to 
the October 26-27 parliamentary by-election, after three 
metric tons were stolen by ZANU-PF supporters and distributed 
to beneficiaries of their choosing.  Coltart said the move 
ensured that the only food available in the constituency for 
two weeks was that provided by the ruling party, which 
distributed food at all its campaign rallies.  He said WFP 
should have, instead, flooded the area with food and been 
much more public in its criticism of the Government for 
failing to arrest those responsible.  Coltart was worried 
that failure to resume deliveries in Binga -- which have been 
stopped since the MDC swept most seats in the recent rural 
council elections in late September -- while restarting them 
in Insiza, shortly after ZANU-PF's election victory there, 
will send the unmistakeable message to rural populations that 
voting for the ruling party is the only way of acquiring 
food.  (Comment:  We asked Coltart if he really would have 
been happy to have the WFP continue to deliver food in Insiza 
when it could not assure it would not be seized.   Coltart is 
rightly angry at ZANU-PF's behavior in Insiza, but his 
criticism of WFP is misplaced since flooding Insiza with food 
was hardly an option for WFP when its food had been seized. 
His points about more public WFP criticism of ZANU-PF's food 
seizure and the importance of resuming food distribution in 
Binga have more merit.  End Comment.) 
 
South Africans in Town 
---------------------- 
 
7.  (C)  Eddie Cross expressed concern that political 
tensions would soon get out of hand and that the MDC would be 
unable to control them.  He said the South African Government 
(SAG) at that moment had "a team" in town trying to broker a 
political solution.  He said the MDC had rejected the team's 
proposal that the party withdraw its legal challenge of the 
presidential election results.  Cross claimed that the GOZ 
had sought the services of an Indian attorney to represent it 
in this case but that he had refused, saying it was 
unwinnable.   Cross said the MDC believed a prerequisite to 
any political transition must be Mugabe's retirement.  The 
party, he said, has told the SAG that, once Mugabe withdraws 
from active politics, it would agree to a transition period, 
supervised by SADC, that leads to a new election held under 
international supervision.  The Ambassador replied that that 
approach sounded reasonable, but he cautioned that the ruling 
party only appears interested in a political solution that 
guarantees a ZANU-PF government in perpetuity. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8.  (C) Cross's comment on a South African team took us by 
surprise, so we followed up with a couple of key 
interlocutors to learn more.  Gandi Mudzingwa, Tsvangirai's 
special advisor, confirmed the presence of South African 
officials, but he said they were intelligence officers from 
President Mbeki's office here to test the waters for a 
possible Mbeki visit.  They were not selling particular 
proposals, but were clearly probing for possible solutions to 
Zimbabwe's political crisis.   Mudzingwa claimed they had 
arranged their own travel here, outside the auspices of the 
South African High Commission, and did not meet with GOZ 
representatives.  In a conversation with the Ambassador, 
South Africa's High Commissioner, Jeremiah Ndou, acknowledged 
the presence of the team.  He did not offer details on their 
identities or home agency -- and we did not press him on this 
-- but said they were in Harare "to see what's possible."  In 
any case, it appears that the South Africans are considering 
ramping up their involvement in the search for a lasting 
resolution of the political crisis here.  We cannot confirm 
whether the low-profile team members were indeed intelligence 
officers from Mbeki's office, but Ndou's reticence to 
elaborate on their efforts suggests that they could be.  We 
would welcome Embassy Pretoria's perspective on this 
interesting development. 
 
9.  (C) Cross is right that ZANU-PF has manipulated the food 
assistance it provides in a variety of ways to buttress its 
support and punish the residents of areas where the MDC is 
strong.  The delivery of international food assistance is 
working very smoothly, with the two major exceptions of Binga 
and Insiza.  We believe the question of diverting food from 
opposition supporters -- when more than half of Zimbabwe's 
population is facing famine -- is an appropriate issue for 
discussion by the UN Security Council, but would defer to 
others on whether linking this matter to human rights is the 
most effective diplomatic approach. 
 
 
 
SULLIVAN