VZCZCXRO0863
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0359/01 1711639
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201639Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3073
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 3445

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000359 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/ITA, DS/DSS/OSAC, S/CT, D, P, M, INR, CA, AF/S; 
GABORONE FOR RSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM ASEC CASC LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO JUNE 20 SITREP: CONTINUED QUIET IN MASERU 
 
REF: A) MASERU 358 AND PREVIOUS; B) MASERU 355 AND PREVIOUS 
 
MASERU 00000359  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  A second consecutive night of calm on June 
19-20 during newly shorted curfew hours has eased Maseru's 
immediate tensions.  On June 20, Lesotho's powerful taxi 
associations agreed with a GOL appeal to postpone consideration 
of a strike until June 25, the GOL's Ombudsman publicly spoke 
out against the curfew, and Prime Minister Mosisili, making his 
first public comments on the situation in Lesotho during a state 
visit to South Africa, conceded a possible link between recent 
violence and an unresolved post-election political impasse.  The 
Government of Lesotho continues to operate normally and the 
local population remains calm (though apprehensive), dissipating 
any immediate likelihood of unrest or instability.  On the basis 
of the shortened curfew, Embassy Maseru resumed normal operating 
hours on June 20, though it will continue to defer non-essential 
USG travel to Lesotho.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------- 
Another Quiet Night 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) After a second consecutive night of calm on June 19-20 
and the shortening of Lesotho's daily curfew from twelve to nine 
hours (now lasting from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.), tensions 
subsided in the capital city of Maseru.  In an apparent attempt 
to thwart a legal challenge to the curfew, the Lesotho Mounted 
Police Service's (LPMS) curfew revision referenced a 1984 
statute rather than controversial 1991 provisions established by 
the then ruling military government.  A local pro-opposition 
radio station reported additional allegations of abuses by 
military and police officers, including an alleged rape, but 
security officials told senior diplomats that the curfew has led 
to a sharp decline in overall local crime.  On the basis of 
reduced curfew hours, Embassy Maseru resumed normal operating 
hours on June 20.  The U.S. Mission continues to defer 
non-essential USG travel to Lesotho due to limitations that the 
curfew imposes on local transportation and services. 
 
¶3.  (U) Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili remained in South 
Africa on a state visit, and has not addressed the Basotho 
public on the curfew or associated violence that has occurred 
since June 10.  According to press reports, however, Mosisili 
referred to the curfew in a press conference in Cape Town with 
SA President Mbeki, conceding that recent attacks on the homes 
of three cabinet ministers could be linked to post-election 
political tensions in Lesotho.  "There was unhappiness about the 
way proportional representation seats were allocated," said 
Mosisili. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Taxi Drivers Delay Strike Decision, 
Factory Workers Union Threatens 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) On June 20, Lesotho's powerful taxi associations met 
with Acting Minister of Public Works and Transportation Lesole 
Mokoma to discuss the present curfew in light of their threat to 
the halt taxi services if the GOL did not lift the curfew by 
12:00 p.m. on June 20 (ref A).  According to Embassy sources, 
Acting Minister Mokoma requested that the taxi associations 
delay any decision about a strike until Monday June 25 to allow 
him time to consult other GOL officials.  The taxi associations 
agreed to delay action, an indication of at least a partial 
placation by the recent loosening of the curfew.  The vast 
majority of public and private sector employees in Maseru 
commute by private taxi. 
 
¶5.  (U) At the same press conference, the Factory Workers Union 
(FAWU) threatened to strike and peacefully demonstrate if the 
GOL does not fully lift the curfew by Sunday, June 24.  Many of 
Lesotho's 40,000 garment workers work swing shifts and are not 
compensated for lost work due to the curfew. 
 
---------------------------------- 
GOL Ombudsman Speaks Out on Curfew 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) The Government of Lesotho's Ombudsman, an independent 
dispute resolution officer with binding authority over the 
executive branch, publicly expressed concern on June 20 
regarding the ongoing curfew, which he said had curtailed 
citizens' constitutional rights.  In a written press statement, 
the Ombudsman said that the curfew negatively affected Lesotho's 
already weak economy as it forced workers to curtail working 
hours.  The Ombudsman appealed to law enforcement authorities to 
speed up the process of identifying and disarming unlawful 
elements in Lesotho so that the curfew could be lifted.  "[The 
successful completion of law enforcement investigations] can 
return life in the Maseru district to normal and the residents 
 
MASERU 00000359  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
can again start enjoying their fundamental rights in a free 
democratic society, which have been taken away by the curfew," 
he stated.  The office also appealed to members of the public to 
support law enforcement authorities in their efforts to 
investigate recent attacks. 
 
------------------------------------ 
COMMENT:  Immediate Sense of Danger 
Dissipates, Unpredictability Remains 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (U) The Government of Lesotho continues to operate normally 
and the local population remains calm (though apprehensive), 
dissipating any immediate likelihood of unrest or instability. 
On June 20, GOL principal secretaries (senior civil servants of 
each respective cabinet ministry) held a mid-day intramural 
soccer match, reflecting a continued sense of business as usual 
during daylight hours.  While the attacks and violence of June 
10-17 pose a significant problem for security and military 
authorities, there is no indication that the unidentified 
perpetrators seriously threaten the GOL's short-term ability to 
govern and operate. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The situation, however, does remain unpredictable.  The 
Deputy Prime Minister's view that current or former military 
personnel are attempting to acquire weapons in order to achieve 
eventual political objectives (ref B) may be hyperbole, but the 
military-style attacks certainly suggest that criminal gains are 
not the motive.  The curfew appears to be a knee-jerk reaction 
to the confusion and embarrassment brought on by assailants 
capable of disarming well trained LDF soldiers and LMPS police 
officers with nary a shot fired.  While security officials may 
take comfort in the reduced crime produced by the curfew, local 
patience for the curfew's inconveniences and uncertainties will 
not endure indefinitely.  END COMMENT. 
MURPHY