Report casts doubt on Mbeki's neutrality on Zim

Former president Thabo Mbeki had a bias for Zanu-PF during his time as
mediator between Zimbabwe's ruling party and opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), United States embassy documents have revealed.

During the past weekend whistleblower website WikiLeaks released 250 000
documents, consisting of US diplomatic and intelligence reports, to five
international newspapers, sending shockwaves through the international
diplomatic community.

Included in these documents is a report by US ambassador to Zimbabwe
Christopher Dell in 2007, marked "confidential", which sheds light on the US
strategy in Zimbabwe, as well as Mbeki's role.

It shows, for the first time, that Mbeki may not have been a neutral broker
during the negotiations process, which he was mandated by the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) to take charge of.

"Mbeki has always favored [sic] stability and in his mind this means a
Zanu-PF led GNU [government of national unity], with perhaps a few MDC
additions. This solution is more likely to prolong than resolve the crisis
and we must guard against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which
perpetuates the status quo at the expense of real change and reform," Dell
wrote in his report.

Dell's report was written shortly after then-US president George Bush
declared Mbeki as his "point man in Africa".

Behind the scenes, MDC activists claimed that during the negotiations
process Mbeki had favoured president Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, but this is
the first time the issue is stated in official documents.

Flawed figure
In his assessment of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Dell said he was the
"only player on the scene right now with real star quality and the ability
to rally the masses".

But, he said, Tsvangirai was a flawed figure.

"[He is] not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable
judgment in selecting those around him. He is the indispensable element for
opposition success, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in
power. Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to
lead the country's recovery," Dell warned.

According to Dell, the amount of talented individuals in the MDC was
limited.

"With few exceptions -- [finance minister] Tendayi (sic) Biti and
[communications minister] Nelson Chamisa is the talent thin below the top
ranks. The great saving grace of the opposition is likely to be found in the
diaspora."

Dell pulled no punches when he assessed Mugabe.

"To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician and has long thrived
on his ability to abruptly change the rules of the game. However, he is
fundamentally hampered by several factors: his ego and belief in his own
infallibility; his obsessive focus on the past as a justification for
everything in the present and the future; his deep ignorance on economic
issues (coupled with the belief that his 18 doctorates give him authority to
suspend the laws of economics, including supply and demand); and his
essentially short-term tactical style."