DATE=5/15/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ZIMBABWE / STRATEGY (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262372
BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA
DATELINE=JOHANNESBURG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The South African author of a confidential
strategy document prepared more than one year ago for
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU
P-F party says he recommended the land issue be the
driving force in the campaign for Zimbabwe's coming
parliamentary elections. V-O-A Southern Africa
Correspondent Alex Belida reports the disclosure
further buttresses charges that there was nothing
spontaneous about the farm occupations and land-
related violence that began in Zimbabwe earlier this
year.
TEXT: President Robert Mugabe said recently he was
surprised by the occupations of more than one-thousand
white-owned farms begun earlier this year by veterans
of Zimbabwe's independence struggle.
But a confidential document seen in Harare by the
Voice of America and dated March 22nd of last year
shows that a pre-election strategy worked out for Mr.
Mugabe's ZANU P-F party proposed the use of what were
termed "unorthodox methods" and "unconventional
elements" to sway voters.
/// OPT /// It also said circumstances leading up
to Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections required a break
with what were termed "standard formulas and expected
tactics." It recommended what was termed "a powerful
frontal assault on all the electorate's senses, logic
and emotion." /// END OPT ///
No details are contained in the document. Its author,
Johannesburg-based public relations consultant Dieter
Nerf, declines comment on whether he specifically
recommended the occupation of farms, the use of war
veterans, or a confrontation with former colonial
power Britain as campaign tools to bolster ZANU P-F's
electoral prospects.
But Mr. Nerf tells V-O-A (and "Newsday" newspaper) he
advised the ruling party that land would be the only
issue it could use -- despite opposition complaints
about corruption and mismanagement in past land reform
programs. He compliments Mr. Mugabe for successfully
shifting blame away from himself for previous
failures. The consultant also says Mr. Mugabe, in his
words, has obviously used the land issue to create
civil instability in a way that plays into his hands
politically.
Asked for comment on the document, a spokesman for
ZANU P-F, Jonathan Moyo, says he knows nothing about
it. Mr. Moyo, widely regarded as a leading ruling
party strategist, also says, quoting now, "It sounds
like fiction to me."
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has
accused President Mugabe and the ruling party of
orchestrating a brutal countrywide campaign of
intimidation and violence against those perceived to
be opposed to ZANU P-F. It says the violence has
little to do with land -- even though it says land is
a legitimate issue.
/// OPT /// An opposition review of violence this
year says at least 19 people have been killed,
including 15 M-D-C supporters. More than one-thousand
have been injured and more than 400 homes destroyed.
It says the violence is state-sponsored and aimed at
destroying the first genuine political threat to ZANU
P-F's dominance in the 20 years since Zimbabwe gained
its independence. /// END OPT ///
Mr. Nerf says he was never paid for his strategic
plan, which outlined a more than 13-million U-S dollar
campaign program. He says he calls ZANU P-F officials
on a regular basis but has received no commitments.
Mr. Nerf says there should never be bloodshed when it
comes to politics although he acknowledges it does
happen. He also says he does not believe the ruling
party is misusing his ideas or his document, which he
describes as "fairly inoffensive." /// OPT /// "I
think they're doing their own thing," is the way he
puts it. /// END OPT ///
His document, however, is marked "strictly
confidential." It says no copies should be made or
distributed without the approval of Zimbabwe's
minister of state security. The section on
"unorthodox tactics" says ideas proposed under this
heading "are for discussion and need not be committed
to paper."
Mr. Nerf rejects suggestions that this is sinister-
sounding, describing it as standard practice with
certain types of promotional activity.
/// OPT /// The document says the proposed program
is aimed at creating a position where, in the
document's words, "you can determine your own future
rather than having other forces determine it for you."
It also states that "the superiority of the
President's political instinct is without question."
/// OPT /// Analysts and diplomats have said they
have no doubt that the 76-year-old Mr. Mugabe will
do anything necessary to maintain his grip on power.
One diplomat in Harare has told V-O-A the authorities
have a variety of tools at their disposal -- including
the military -- to carry out such operations as the
farm seizures. This envoy says he thinks Mr. Mugabe
and his supporters "are using whatever they need to
fulfill their goals." /// END OPT ///
Most observers link the land seizures and related
violence to the sagging political popularity of
President Mugabe and his ruling ZANU P-F party.
Earlier this year, they suffered their first ever
political defeat when voters nationwide rejected a
draft constitution put forward by the government. A
subsequent opinion poll showed the vast majority of
voters favored a change in leadership.
/// REST OPTIONAL ///
No date has yet been announced for Zimbabwe's
parliamentary elections. But analysts have predicted
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change could do
well -- not only among urban voters distressed by
dismal economic conditions but also among rural voters
disenchanted with the ruling party for failing to
enact meaningful land reform programs in its 20 years
in power.
Mr. Nerf would not disclose the identities of any of
his other clients. However, a spokesman for South
Africa's Zulu-nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party has
confirmed he worked for the I-F-P during its campaign
for last year's elections. The spokesman says Mr.
Nerf was not involved in strategy but was mainly
responsible for the party's advertising.
(Signed)
NEB/BEL/JWH/KL
15-May-2000 10:03 AM EDT (15-May-2000 1403 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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