US embassy cable - 03HARARE1404

UNCLAS HARARE 001404 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, KMDR, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION PRESIDENT BUSH;S VISIT TO AFRICA; 
HARARE 
 
 
  1.   Under headline "Tsvangirai exhibits inferiority 
      complex" the government-controlled daily "The 
      Herald" dedicated its July 10 editorial to hailing 
      President George W. Bush and his South African 
      counterpart Thabo Mbeki for coming up with a shared 
      position on how to resolve Zimbabwe's political and 
      economic crisis.  Excerpts follow: 
 
  2.   ". . .Yesterday, (Movement for Democratic Change 
      (MDC)leader Morgan Tsvangirai) was told loud and clear that 
      whatever he wants in Washington he must go through the 
      South African President, Thabo Mbeki, whom he has lately 
      described as a dishonest broker.  His political immaturity 
      and incorrigibility has truly gone international - he wants 
      to appeal to the American President to take over the 
      brokerage of the discussion between his party and the 
      ruling ZANU PF party.  Instead of winning friends, 
      Tsvangirai has sought to demonize those he expected to help 
      him like insulting President Mbeki as an `imperialist.'  He 
      has sought to demean African heads of state at every turn 
      while pandering to European and American leaders like a 
      poodle.  The South African President smartly told Bush that 
      the Zimbabwean problem was a domestic issue that needed a 
      home-grown solution and not one baked in Washington.  The 
      American President saw no offense in this and agreed that 
      he follow the lead of President Mbeki. . .The MDC has had 
      the comfort of being told by small American and British 
      bureaucrats that the American President will be sending 
      troops to remove President Mugabe from power and Tsvangirai 
      and his lieutenants have fallen for this lie.  But 
      yesterday they had a good wake-up call - no such thing will 
      happen.  If Bush is struggling to decide whether he should 
      send American troops to Liberia then this should be food 
      for thought for the opposition. . . ." 
 
SULLIVAN