The Angolan government denied it was planning to send police to Zimbabwe arguing that the Zimbabwean government could handle its problems on its own.
The Angolan government was forced to make the denial after a report by TalkZimbabwe, which was repeated in several other media, said Angola was planning to send 3 000 police officers to help President Robert Mugabe quell the unrest in his country.
Although the United States was one of the countries pressing for a reaction from the Angolan government it doubted that the Angolan government had the capacity to provide the police officers.
“Few in Angola, including government officials and opposition members, believe that Angola has the capacity to deploy 3000 police to Harare. Further, the GRA normally reacts cautiously and prudently with regard to its southern African neighbours,” the US embassy in Angola said.
“Given the international attention on Zimbabwe, we believe it highly unlikely that the GRA would take such a step. However, it is assumed that President Mugabe, relying on his personal relationship with President dos Santos, as the two longest standing Presidents in southern Africa, requested assistance – fuel and cash – during his two-hour visit at the Luanda airport.”
Full cable:
Viewing cable 07LUANDA288, ANGOLA DENIES IT IS SENDING POLICE TO ZIMBABWE
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO2321
OO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0288 0811138
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 221138Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3829
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L LUANDA 000288
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/S
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AF WATCHERS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017
SUBJECT: ANGOLA DENIES IT IS SENDING POLICE TO ZIMBABWE
REF: LUANDA 252
Classified By: Amb. Cynthia Efird for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Angolan government has officially
denied it is sending 3000 police militia to Zimbabwe. The
denials come in response to a report originating on
TalkZimbabwe.com following a visit by Angolan Interior
Minister Roberto Leal Monteiro, &Ngongo8 to Zimbabwe, which
has since been repeated by news services around the world,
including the Times of London. Minister Monteiro
categorically denied to Ambassador Efird on March 21, 2007
that Angola was sending police troops. In addition, the
Angolan Chief of Police has issued formal statements denying
the report and the Angolan Embassy in Harare has also issued
a statement calling the story &completely false.8 End
Summary.
¶2. (U) Background: Angolan Minister of Interior Roberto Leal
Monteiro, &Ngongo,8 traveled to Zimbabwe from March 14th to
March 17th to meet with his GOZ counterpart. His visit also
followed a two-hour airport stop-over of President Mugabe to
Luanda on March 7, 2007 on his return from the independence
ceremonies in Ghana. While in Harare, Monteiro signed a
cooperation agreement with the GOZ on stemming international
criminal activity such as trafficking and smuggling of
precious metals. However, an article on Talk Zimbabwe.com
alleged that Monteiro pledged to supply 3000 Angolan police
officers to help quell the violence in Zimbabwe. This
article has been picked up and repeated in western news
services.
The Minister and others Deny the Report
—————————————
¶3. (SBU) When the first report surfaced on March 19, 2007,
Ambassador Efird immediately called Minister Monteiro to
question him on the report. His Chief of Staff conveyed the
Minister,s denial and at that time Amb. Efird strongly
suggested to the Minister that the GRA issue a strong denial.
On March 21, 2007 Ambassador Efird met with Minister
Monteiro to discuss the issue and he categorically denied the
report. He stated that he normally meets on a semi-annual
basis with his GOZ counterpart, and that meeting which had
been originally planned for December was postponed due to the
death of the Zimbabwean Minister,s mother at the end of last
year. It was rescheduled to follow-on his trip to Kinshasa
to examine some Angolan-DRC border issues. Monteiro told the
Ambassador, &Zimbabwe can handle its problems on its own.8
The Angolan Embassy in Harare sent a letter to Talk
Zimbabwe.com calling the report &completely false8 and
provided the Diplomatic Corps in Harare with copies of the
letter. The letter reinforced that the bilateral accords
signed dealt with the exchange of best practices and did not
pertain to police reinforcements. The Angolan Chief of
Police has also denied the report on Angolan television and
radio.
¶4. (C) Embassy Comment: Few in Angola, including government
officials and opposition members, believe that Angola has the
capacity to deploy 3000 police to Harare. Further, the GRA
normally reacts cautiously and prudently with regard to its
southern African neighbors. Given the international
attention on Zimbabwe, we believe it highly unlikely that the
GRA would take such a step. However, it is assumed that
President Mugabe, relying on his personal relationship with
President dos Santos, as the two longest standing Presidents
in southern Africa, requested assistance – fuel and cash –
during his two-hour visit at the Luanda airport. It is also
likely that part of Monteiro,s trip to Zimbabwe was also to
evaluate first-hand the situation in Harare to inform the
President,s decision on the request for humanitarian
assistance. Ambassador Efird has demarched President dos
Santos on Zimbabwe (Reftel A) and is awaiting an appointment
with the Minister of External Relations who returned from
bilateral meetings in Portugal only yesterday (March 21,
2007). End Comment.
EFIRD
(23 VIEWS)
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