US embassy cable - 03HARARE1360

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001360 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/S-O FOR POTUS BRIEFING BOOK, AF/FO AND AF/S 
DELISI, NSC FOR AFRICA SR DIR JENDAYI FRAZER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2013 
TAGS: PREL, SF, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: MDC LEADER TSVANGIRAI SAYS THAT NO CURRENT 
MEDIATION EFFORTS, INCLUDING SOUTH AFRICA'S HAS PRODUCED 
MORE THAN TALKS ABOUT TALKS; ASKS THAT US PRESS SOUTH 
AFRICA FOR CONCRETE RESULTS WITHIN A SHORT TIMEFRAME 
 
REF: HARARE 1351 
 
Classified By: JOSEPH G. SULLIVAN FOR REASONS 1.5B/D 
 
1. (U) MDC Delegations 
----------------- 
 
(C) MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai outlined for the 
Ambassador his party's plans for upcoming meetings and 
various mediation efforts underway. Tsvangirai said that the 
MDC would be sending a small team to Pretoria next week 
headed by spokesman Paul Themba Nyati to manage the press. 
In addition, a political delegation headed by Deputy SecGen 
Gift Chamanikire and including David Coltart, Sekai Holland 
and Moses Ndlovu would travel to Pretoria and Maputo.  He 
reiterated the request that they be received by someone on 
the delegation.  When the Ambassador suggested that this 
would be difficult, he indicated that even a meeting with a 
junior member of the delegation would be helpful.  Tsvangirai 
apologized for the MDC having stated publicly its intent to 
meet with the US delegation and recognized that this made 
things more difficult.  He also wanted to be sure that last 
Saturday's New York Times description of his reaction to US 
public statements had not been misunderstood.  Tsvangirai 
said he welcomed US public statements and had only sought to 
avoid conveying any impression that the MDC was orchestrating 
US pressure. 
 
2.(C) No Real Talks underway 
-------------------------- 
 
(C) Tsvangirai sought to set the record straight about what 
mediation efforts are underway and to underline that no 
genuine substantive dialogue is ongoing between the political 
parties, notwithstanding suggestions by President Mbeki to 
the contrary.  He was most worried that the US not be 
deflected from pressing for genuine dialogue by "idle 
reassurances" from the South Africans that meaningful 
dialogue is ongoing.  Tsvangirai said that, while periodic 
conversations take place between the South African High 
Commission and the MDC, no specific proposals have been put 
on the table and no ZANU-PF agreement to dialogue has been 
conveyed to the MDC.  He said that neither have there been 
substantive telephone discussions which could pass for 
negotiations nor any South African emissaries with the 
exception of a South African Deputy Director of Intelligence 
who visited and met with the MDC over two months ago. 
Tsvangirai expressed concern that the effect of repeated 
 
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South African statements that dialogue is ongoing and that 
the solution must come from inside Zimbabwe has been to give 
cover to Mugabe's stalling and unwillingness or inability to 
confront ZANU-PF's own succession crisis. 
 
3.(C) Several Church efforts 
---------------------------- 
 
(C) Tsvangirai said that he had discouraged further efforts 
by Father Fidelis to broker a meeting between Mugabe and him 
because "this would not be meaningful after the man has 
thrown me in jail."  With a bit of prodding, Tsvangirai 
allowed that he would not reject such a summit meeting if it 
was accompanied by a substantive ZANU-PF  commitment to 
serious negotiations.  Tsvangirai said that the Zimbabwean 
ecumenical Church delegation had held a second round of 
separate talks with the MDC and a ZANU delegation including 
Party Chairman John Nkomo and Information Secretary Nathan 
Shamuyarira.  To try to move these mediation efforts to 
substance, the MDC had proposed that the agenda for dialogue 
between MDC and ZANU be the same as that agreed between the 
parties in May 2002 before Mugabe scuttled those talks. 
 
4.(C) ZANU-PF and CIO Contacts with MDC 
--------------------------------------- 
 
Tsvangirai said that Justice Minister Chinamasa was 
 
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maintaining periodic talks with MDC SecGen Welshman Ncube 
over ways of the two sides agreeing on a revised 
constitution.  Tsvangirai said it was unclear with what 
status Chinamasa was carrying out these talks and the MDC 
would in any case insist that basic agreements on a return to 
the rule of law and legitimacy and a transitional arrangement 
would have to accompany a constitutional revision process. 
Tsvangirai also said that the CIO had recently renewed 
 
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contact with the party, but that it was not possible to 
determine with what status or purpose. 
 
5. (C) What MDC Expects Out of Dialogue 
--------------------------------------- 
(C) Tsvangirai said that any serious dialogue had to address 
several key issues: the immediate return to a rule of law, 
including dismantlement of youth militia; a discussion of 
serious issues, including the nature and length of a 
transitional arrangement; commitment to relatively early 
elections under revised free and fair procedures; and, most 
critically,  Mugabe's exit. Tsvangirai said that the MDC was 
debating how long a transition period should be and 
Tsvangirai stated his preference for not more than a year. 
 
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But he thought that the length of a transition should be 
dictated by the extent of commitment to serious reforms 
during a transitional period. 
 
6. (C) A Retrospective on Mass Action 
------------------------------------- 
 
(C)  While underlining the success of the stayaway, 
Tsvangirai recognized the downsides of not having produced 
 
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the mass demonstrations promised.  He appeared reconciled to 
a more patient path and more training and organization of 
cadres in non-violence and other key areas. 
 
7.(C) His request of the US 
--------------------------- 
 
(c) Tsvangirai asked that we press the South Africans for 
concrete results from their effort to foster dialogue, 
including a fixed timetable of three or so months and a 
designated result; i.e. Mugabe's exit and a transitional 
government. 
SULLIVAN