[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      THE SITUATION IN MOZAMBIQUE

                                 ______


                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 1994

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the situation in Mozambique, much 
to our satisfaction has improved quite a bit over the past year. A 
cease-fire agreement signed by the government and RENAMO is holding 
well, and elections are scheduled for this October. This beautiful 
country and its people deserve peace and all its benefits.
  Afonso Dhlakama, leader of RENAMO and its candidate for president is 
currently visiting the United States for the first time. He is playing 
a constructive role in laying the groundwork for a new peaceful 
Mozambique. I encourage the administration to support the peace process 
in Mozambique.
  I commend to my colleagues' attention this excellent article by Shawn 
McCormick of the Center for Strategic and International Studies which 
appeared on Monday in the Washington Times.

                   A Chance To Boost Mozambique Peace

                          (By Shawn McCormick)

       Conflict resolution and peace-keeping face troubled times 
     in the United Nations and in the Clinton administration. Last 
     week U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali urged the 
     world to get more involved while President Clinton answered 
     by further narrowing the conditions under which the United 
     States will participate. This week the Clinton administration 
     has a unique opportunity to contribute to the peaceful 
     resolution of the situation in Mozambique without risking any 
     American lives or spending a single dollar.
       The leader of the Mozambican opposition party, RENAMO, 
     Afanso Dhlakama, will be in Washington (his first visit to 
     the United States) to boost support for the delicate peace 
     process under way in his country where 6,700 United Nations 
     peacekeepers are currently working to ensure that the 17-
     year-old war--which has cost a million lives--will come to an 
     end. Some in the administration point to RENAMO's past 
     behavior to urge that Mr. Khlakama meet with nobody higher 
     than Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs George 
     Moose. This would not only be a mistake, but it is out of 
     step with African and other diplomatic initiatives toward 
     Mozambique.
       There is no question that RENAMO's past is grim. It was 
     constructed from a variety of disaffected elements of the 
     Mozambique government by the Rhodesian intelligence service 
     following Mozambican independence in 1975. The Rhodesians had 
     only one purpose in mind--to undermine the then-Marxist 
     FRELIMO government in Maputo. The South African government 
     took over external control of RENAMO following Zimbabwe's 
     independence in 1980 and greatly extended RENAMO's ability to 
     kill and destroy. Unlike most guerrilla movements in Africa, 
     RENAMO failed to effectively articulate an ideological 
     position.
       RENAMO carried out this mission that Salisbury and Pretoria 
     urged and, with considerable assistance from FRELIMO's 
     governance and economic mismanagement, they succeeded in 
     paralyzing most of Mozambique. For more than a decade, the 
     world watched as this poor nation slipped into further 
     economic and human misery. There were violations of human 
     rights by both sides and, all too often, the victims were 
     innocent civilians.
       Horrific human rights abuses by RENAMO were recorded in 
     detail by Robert Gersony in a 1987 report prepared for the 
     State Department. While some question the methodology of that 
     report, few question the bottom line concerning the dreadful 
     acts carried out by RENAMO. Times have changed since the 
     Gersony Report was completed and the two former combatants 
     have reconciled their differences. In October 1992, they 
     signed the General Peace Accords negotiated by the Vatican 
     lay organization Sant' Egidio. The agreement is being 
     guaranteed by the United Nations. After a difficult first 
     month, no significant violations of the peace accord have 
     occurred. Indeed, many Mozambique-watchers are guardedly 
     optimistic that the two military forces will be integrated 
     before nationwide elections are held Oct. 27-28.
       The current strategy of key African leaders is to put the 
     past behind and to engage--not isolate--Mr. Dhlakama in the 
     democratization process. Last March in Harare, Mozambican 
     President Joaquim Chissano and Zimbabwean President Robert 
     Mugabe urged African leaders to put aside hostility toward 
     Mr. Dhlakama and to welcome him into the fold. They were 
     determined to avoid the ``Savimbi Syndrome''--the shunning of 
     Angola's UNITA by most leaders in Africa made it easier for 
     him to renew the war following his electoral defeat in 
     September 1992.
       Another positive signal is that the former colonial power, 
     Portugal, has welcomed both leaders to Lisbon since the 
     signing of the accord. Mr. Boutross-Ghali recently visited 
     Mozambique to add his support to the reconciliation effort. 
     Even Pope John Paul II has met with both Messrs. Chissano and 
     Dhlakama to show his encouragement.
       If key African and world leaders can change their attitude 
     and approach toward Mr. Dhlakama, then surely so can the 
     Clinton administration. It makes no sense for the United 
     States to cling to the past images and reports in order to 
     continue the policy of isolating RENAMO.
       Such a meeting or series of meetings with senior Clinton 
     administration officials is also fully justified in view of 
     the massive commitment by the last three administrations to 
     assist this war-ravaged country with more than $1 billion in 
     humanitarian and developmental assistance. This does not 
     include the more than $150 million the United States is 
     currently contributing to the U.N. peacekeeping effort.
       It is important to remember that the RENAMO of today is not 
     the RENAMO of the Gersony Report; it is the RENAMO of the 
     General Peace Accords. The Mozambican citizenry have realized 
     this and so should American decision makers. This should not 
     be seen as an appeal to accept this historical record of 
     RENAMO, but rather an effort to underscore the ending of the 
     ideological Cold War struggle in Washington.
       The reconciling of old foes that marked the recent 
     transition in South Africa should encourage the Clinton 
     administration to attach appropriate significance to the 
     opportunity presented by Mr. Dhlakama's visit today. Through 
     symbolic action, the United States can enhance the prospects 
     for long-term peace, democracy and stability in another part 
     of Southern Africa.

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