US embassy cable - 02HARARE2620

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002620 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR CGURNEY 
PARIS FOR CNEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ELAB, ZI 
SUBJECT: MDC MASS ACTION: NEXT STEPS 
 
 
Classified By: polchief Matt Harrington.  Reasons: 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
Mass Action 
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1.   (C)  Gandi Mudzingwa, special advisor to MDC leader 
Morgan Tsvangirai, told polchief on November 20 that planning 
for mass action is consuming most of his time and attention. 
One element of the MDC's efforts on this front, he reported, 
had occurred on November 14, when groups of 20 women each had 
converged on police stations in Harare's high-density suburbs 
to deliver a petition demanding that the people's human 
rights be respected.  They invited the police to join them in 
a prayer seeking divine assistance in extricating Zimbabwe 
from its difficulties.  Mudzingwa said some of the women were 
arrested on minor charges, such as obstructing traffic, but 
that most of them were not, and police at some stations even 
agreed to join in the prayer.  The objective of this action 
was to help people overcome their fear of the police and to 
provide a peaceful method for residents to express their 
increasing anger and frustration. 
 
2.  (C)  Mudzingwa told us that the MDC is working closely 
with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to organize 
a one-day national work stayaway on December 9.   The ZCTU, 
he said, planned to announce the stayaway only "a couple of 
days" in advance, so that the GOZ would not have significant 
lead time in which to disrupt the action.  If the stayaway is 
successful, Mudzingwa said the MDC would then "go for the 
jugular."  Asked what he meant by that, Mudzingwa replied 
that the next activity would be designed to force Mugabe from 
office, but he declined to be drawn on what sort of activity 
was being contemplated. 
 
Tsvangirai-Mbeki letter 
 
SIPDIS 
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3.  (C) Mudzingwa told us that, the week of November 11, he 
had personally met in South Africa with officials in the 
office of South African President Thabo Mbeki to deliver a 
letter from Morgan Tsvangirai to Mbeki.  The letter (the text 
of which is conveyed septel) welcomes South African 
engagement on Zimbabwe but expresses concern that the failure 
of several recent visiting SAG delegations to engage with the 
MDC "compromises your image as an impartial broker."  The 
letter was particularly critical of recent public remarks by 
Foreign Minister Zuma during her recent visit to Zimbabwe and 
emphasizes the necessity of solving Zimbabwe's political 
crisis.  "The Zimbabwe crisis is real and needs resolution 
rather than management," Tsvangirai wrote. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
4.  (C) Mudzingwa clearly believes that pressure in the form 
of mass action stands the best chance of resolving Zimbabwe's 
political crisis.  Judging from the November 14 effort at 
peacefully targeting police stations, the MDC appears to be 
proceeding very carefully in this direction, engaging in 
small-scale forms of protest that provide an outlet for party 
supporters while avoiding triggering the wrath of GOZ 
security services.  A successful one-day stayaway would 
demonstrate the ability of the labor movement to shut down 
the country while avoiding the imposition of too heavy an 
economic burden on workers who are already struggling to make 
ends meet.  We are discreetly checking with our ZCTU sources 
to learn more about the status of organizing efforts and will 
then be able to provide a better assessment of the chances of 
success and possible consequences. 
 
5.  (C) The Tsvangirai-Mbeki letter reveals an increasing 
frustration in MDC circles that President Mbeki is more 
interested in helping assuage Zimbabwe's economic implosion 
than in brokering a sustainable resolution of the political 
crisis which is responsible for it. 
SULLIVAN