US embassy cable - 02HARARE2735

UNCLAS HARARE 002735 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA, AF/PDPA 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KPAO, KMDR, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT: AMERICAN DELEGATION CRITICIZES U.S. 
POSITION ON LAND REFORM IN ZIM; HARARE 
 
 
  1.   The lead story in the December 2 edition of the 
      government-controlled daily "The Herald" is based on a 
      report released by a delegation of American elected 
      officials after their two-week fact-finding visit to 
      Zimbabwe. The report criticizes the United States' position 
      on Zimbabwe's controversial land reform program.  Under 
      headline "U.S. stance on land rapped" the newspaper carried 
      the following article: 
 
  2.   "New York City councilors have attacked the U.S. 
      Government for its position on Zimbabwe's land issue which 
      they say is heavily influenced by a biased former colonial 
      power, Britain.  `We cannot expect Britain to have a 
      neutral position on the land issue,' the councilors said in 
      a report compiled after a two-week fact-finding tour in 
      Zimbabwe.  The report urges U.S. to immediately lift travel 
      restrictions against government officials and help kick- 
      start dialogue between Zimbabwe and Britain.  `It would be 
      difficult for the Zimbabwean officials to state their case 
      to the world if they are restricted from traveling to other 
      countries.  How can the U.S. have dialogue with North Korea 
      and Iraq, in the interest of peace, while preventing 
      Zimbabwean officials from traveling to articulate their 
      position?'  The U.S., they said, was supposed to be neutral 
      and help resolve the dispute between Zimbabwe and Britain 
      instead of taking sides.  `Without an independent U.S. 
      position, it will be difficult to act as an honest broker,' 
      they 
      said. . .The councilors said they had found that 
      there were double standards when Western countries, 
      especially Britain and the U.S., talked about 
      democracy and human rights in Africa.  They called 
      for increased commercial contacts and visits by 
      ordinary Americans to Zimbabwe, including the media, 
      to observe the changes occurring in the Southern 
      African country. . . ." 
 
3.  Comment:  Although the local media are referring to the 
group as a "delegation from the New York City Council," the 
fact-finding mission included other American elected 
officials.  New York City Council members Charles Barron (D- 
Brooklyn) and James Davis (D-Brooklyn) were accompanied on 
their visit to Zimbabwe by New York State Assembly member 
Adam Clayton Powell IV (D-Harlem) and Illinois State 
Senator Donne Trotter (D-Chicago).  The group was in 
country October 11-23, 2002. 
 
SULLIVAN