[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H1684-H1686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONCERNING PROMOTION OF PEACE, STABILITY, AND DEMOCRACY IN ZAIRE

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
International Relations be discharged from further consideration of the 
resolution (H. Res. 115) concerning the promotion of peace, stability, 
and democracy in Zaire, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and it is 
not my intention to object, I yield to the gentleman from California 
[Mr. Royce] the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa to explain his 
unanimous-consent request.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution has been cleared on both sides of the 
aisle and no recorded votes are anticipated.
  Mr. Speaker, we have seen the headlines. Zaire is in crisis. Its 
government has collapsed, having lost much of its territory to rebel 
forces. There is humanitarian suffering throughout the country. This is 
a complex crisis.
  Mr. Speaker, one of these forces has been a constant throughout this, 
and that has been the corrupt and despotic rule of President Mobutu. 
For more than 30 years, Mr. Mobutu has ruled Zaire with disdain for its 
people. Zaire is now politically collapsed. It is also economically 
collapsed. What should be a prosperous country is now one of the 
world's poorest.
  Meanwhile, Mr. Mobutu is one of the world's wealthiest men. Simply 
put, Mobutu has bled Zaire. Repairing this economic damage will not be 
easy. Repairing the political damage of Mobutu will be a bigger 
challenge. The immediate task is to stop the fighting, develop a 
transitional government, and start on the path toward democracy.

[[Page H1685]]

  Let us be clear: Mr. Mobutu has no role to play in this process. He 
should immediately resign from the office of the Presidency, leave 
Zaire, and withdraw from all political activity. That is what the 
resolution states. Mr. Mobutu should leave Zaire now.
  This is a strong statement for the U.S. House of Representatives to 
send. It is an important statement. America has a big stake in Zaire, 
and what the United States Congress says about Zaire is taken seriously 
in Zaire.
  This resolution is directed against Mobutu, but it is really about 
bringing democracy to Zaire. It calls on the administration to support 
democratic, multiparty elections. Getting to that goal is a tall order. 
Multiparty democracy is difficult under the best of circumstances. But 
single-party democracy long ago proved to be a mirage.
  Zaire does not need another leader emerging from the chaos to become 
a tyrant. That is what Mobutu did. Zaire can do better.
  This is a bipartisan resolution. It is the work of the members of the 
Subcommittee on Africa, who have been very interested in Zaire's 
political and humanitarian crisis, interested in making things better 
for the people of Zaire.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Menendez], the 
ranking member on the subcommittee, who has spoken forcefully on 
Zaire's crisis; and I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Payne], who has long been engaged in Zaire; and I also want to thank 
the gentleman from New York, Chairman Gilman, and the gentleman from 
Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] of the Committee on International Relations for 
supporting this resolution.
  As I say, this is a good resolution for Zaire and for the United 
States.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time and continuing my 
reservation of objection, I am very pleased that we have been able to 
work together.
  The gentleman from California [Mr. Royce] is the committee chair, and 
I want to commend my colleague for his work in this regard and the 
rapidity with which we have dealt with this issue because we think it 
is timely and it makes a difference now if we pursue it.
  Also, I want to commend my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey 
[Mr. Payne], who has for quite some time pursued the course of justice 
and democracy in Zaire and I understand is a cosponsor with the 
chairman on this resolution; and the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Campbell], as well as the committee, for their hard work negotiating, 
compromising to make this happen.
  What we do and what is being offered in this resolution is to send a 
strong message to our colleagues in Congress and the State Department 
but most importantly to the Mobutu regime by passing this collaborative 
resolution.
  The Congress can play a unique role different than the role of the 
State Department in foreign policy by reflecting the beliefs and 
opinions of the American people.
  In this resolution, I think we have done just that. The resolution is 
carefully drafted to address Zaire's real problem, and that is Mobutu.

                              {time}  1815

  The resolution states that Mobutu should resign from the office of 
president, leave Zaire and withdraw from all political activity. We are 
on the brink of a new era in Zaire. Rebel leader Kabila has launched a 
process long overdue, the transition from Mobutu to democracy. And 
while it is Kabila who has ushered in this process, we have got to be 
cautious not to anoint him or anyone else for that fact before they 
have proven their commitment to democracy, a free market economy, a 
commitment to holding elections in a reasonable time frame. And I know 
at the State Department is working very hard to communicate our 
expectations to Mr. Kabila, and they are also working behind the scenes 
to thwart an escalation of violence which could become potentially 
uncontrollable and destabilized, not just Zaire, but the fragile peace 
process in Angola.
  It is important that the United States send a message to all parties 
in Zaire and to other countries in the region that the continued flow 
of arms into Zaire and the escalation of violence will undermine, not 
support the Nation's transition process. Years of pillaging Zaire's 
natural resources and its inattention to the development of its 
infrastructure, economy and support systems like education and health 
have left Zaire years behind where it might have been under qualified 
and well-intentioned leadership. But the Zairian people are resilient, 
it as a country has enormous tremendous potential, it has natural 
resources and its people to become politically and economically a 
strategic power within Africa and the world.
  So, Mr. Speaker, as we send this message we think that it is 
extremely important for our colleagues to join with us sending a 
unified strong message and creating the opportunity for the United 
States to play a very significant role in creating a broad-based 
transitional government pledged to democracy ultimately holding 
democratic elections.
  Mr. Speaker, under my reservation of objection I yield to the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Moran].
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
resolution. It is long passed due, and it is entirely appropriate that 
this body pass such a resolution because Mobutu was able to stay in 
power. We established his power base, we sustained him in power for 
years, long past any time when he could allege to be a legitimate 
leader of his country. We did that because we assumed he was 
anticommunist. And so through our misguided ideological objectives, we 
established in power a leader whose sole objective was his own self-
serving interest.
  And so over the last quarter century what he has done is to extract 
the natural resources of his country, he has exploited its people, he 
has acquired immense wealth, he has used that wealth to spend most of 
his time in his European villas while the people of his country suffer.
  Mr. Speaker, it is long past time when this country should have cut 
bait on this guy. I am extremely pleased that the people of Zaire have 
risen and are about to depose him. It is now time for the United States 
to play a constructive role in that transition. This resolution 
outlines that constructive role, and I strongly support it.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, under my continuing reservation of 
objection I yield to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Payne], who has worked with the chairman in helping to draft this 
resolution that is being proposed.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the chairman and ranking member 
of the Africa Subcommittee for their diligence and work on H.R. 115. 
This is by far the most important piece of legislation on Africa we 
have before us today.
  This bill calls for Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, to step 
down from his office immediately. The bill is symbolic in that it means 
this is the first step of getting rid of the colonial dictators like 
the Abachas and the Mobutus that prevent true democracy. They have been 
an extension of the colonial rule in the past, and they must leave.
  Before I came to Congress and for many years after that, I have been 
an outspoken critic of the corrupt military regime of Mobutu, so I 
believe it is timely that we do this in this session.
  I introduced in the 102d Congress a resolution calling for the 
administration to draw on its power to have Mobutu resign and leave 
Zaire. Although it passed overwhelmingly, it did not move him out.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know Mobutu imprisoned Patrice Lumumba in which, 
those years, he was captured and killed under the aid of our CIA 
surveillance. And 2 years later, the United States actively supported 
African allies during the cold war in which the CIA virtually helped 
bring Mobutu to power in 1965.
  At this time, Kabila and Lumumba were fighting for the same cause. It 
was at the height of the cold war, and things today are very different. 
And so we should take a different look at what is going on.
  I know it was U.S.'s policy of supporting UNITA and Jonas Savimba in 
Angola, the RENEMO forces in Mozambique, Ian Smith in Rhodesia, our 
policy of constructive engagement in South Africa, and Sergeant Doe 
following the brutal coup in Liberia in the 1980's.
  Along with that, 75 years of colonial rule by Belgium, France's 
influence on

[[Page H1686]]

a continent and one of the wealthiest countries in Africa will perhaps 
for the first time be able to have self-governance. Mobutu's army is 
notorious for depending on foreign troops and mercenaries to combat 
there and fight their fights. As my colleagues know, Serbian troops 
were there recently. Troops from UNITA have also been in the country.
  Today 1.1 million refugees have returned to Rwanda, which has 
increased the stability in Uganda and Burundi. In the last 6 months the 
Alliance for Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo-Zaire, 
the ADFL, have gained control over Kisangani, Zaire's third largest 
city, Mbuji, one of the other large cities, and Lumbumashi, the second 
largest city. We hope that Kinshasha will not have to be fought over 
and destroyed.
  I am not pro-Kabila or anti-Kabila, but I think that the time is 
right, that we should see new leadership in that country.
  And so I stand here with my colleagues saying that we should ask the 
United States to be engaged in the negotiations, to be engaged with our 
diplomats trying to help the Europeans move along, a removal of Mobutu 
and then move towards a transitional government so that elections could 
be held and so that we can move this country for the first time to have 
free, transparent and democratic society.
  Once again I thank my colleagues for allowing me this time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, under my continuing reservation of 
objection I yield to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Chabot].
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend both the gentleman from 
New York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Royce] as 
well as the Africa Subcommittee staff for the excellent job they have 
done in bringing this important and timely resolution to the floor. I 
also want to express a special appreciation to my colleague from New 
Jersey [Mr. Payne] and also the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Menendez], both of whom have shown great leadership on this very 
important issue for years now.
  The message we are sending to Zaire is straightforward. President 
Mobutu must resign from office immediately and leave the country. The 
transition from dictatorship to democracy can only begin after the 
dictator himself has gone. The continuing political chaos in Zaire can 
only exacerbate a very bad situation and could, sadly, lead to chaos in 
all of central Africa.
  Witnesses testifying before our subcommittee maintain that, and I 
quote, a disintegration of Zaire could create a dangerous situation in 
that region that could take decades to fix. Mobutu's exit from Zaire 
will help to prevent that disintegration from taking place.
  Mr. Speaker, the beleaguered people of Zaire have suffered for far 
too long under the autocratic and thoroughly corrupt rule of President 
Mobutu. They deserve a better life than they have under him at this 
time. They deserve freedom. This resolution expresses the sense of this 
House that the United States supports the creation in Zaire of the 
enabling environment necessary to conduct democratic multiparty 
elections as soon as humanly possible. It is a good resolution, and it 
sends a strong message to President Mobutu.
  I urge adoption of the resolution.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, as 
the ranking member I appreciate the work and the courtesies extended by 
the chair and other colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 115

       Whereas Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko's 31-year rule 
     has turned his potentially prosperous country into one of the 
     world's poorest, where human suffering long has been 
     widespread;
       Whereas the Mobutu Government has systematically violated 
     the human rights and undermined the security of Zaire's 
     46,000,000 people;
       Whereas the Mobutu Government has proven itself unwilling 
     to allow a genuine transition to multi-party democracy and 
     continues to cling to power against the best interests of 
     Zaire's people;
       Whereas the Mobutu Government permitted the circulation of 
     extremist propaganda in the refugee camps that undermined 
     voluntary repatriation efforts of the United Nations High 
     Commission on Refugees;
       Whereas the international community is concerned about the 
     humanitarian needs of the hundreds of thousands of refugees 
     and displaced Zairians;
       Whereas there are continuing reports of human rights 
     violations by all parties that stem from the continued 
     fighting in Zaire;
       Whereas representatives of the Zairian Government and the 
     Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-
     Zaire (ADFL) negotiated in South Africa, under the 
     supervision of the United Nations and the Organization of 
     African Unity, with no cease-fire agreement; and
       Whereas the objectives of the United States Government, 
     achieving the cessation of hostilities and achieving 
     political reforms in Zaire, continue to be stymied: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
       (A) President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire should immediately 
     resign from the office of the Presidency of Zaire, leave 
     Zaire, and withdraw from all political activity;
       (B) the United States Government should unequivocally call 
     on Mobutu Sese Seko to immediately leave Zaire and withdraw 
     from all political activity;
       (C) the United States should continue to distance itself 
     and its foreign policy from President Mobutu and his 
     government in order to hasten his departure from Zaire's 
     government and political life;
       (D) the United States should work with all interested 
     African and European nations to oppose the presence in Zaire 
     of foreign government and mercenary forces, halt the flow of 
     arms into the country, and encourage the warring parties to 
     negotiate a cease-fire leading to a lasting peace; and
       (E) the United States Government should play a leading role 
     in the international effort in supporting the creation of a 
     broad-based transitional government of national unity 
     composed of all democratic forces in Zaire; and
       (2) the House of Representatives supports the creation in 
     Zaire of the enabling environment necessary to conduct 
     democratic, multi-party elections at the earliest feasible 
     time, as well as the necessary conditions to establish the 
     rule of law, respect for human rights, and the effective 
     provision of humanitarian assistance.


                     amendment offered by mr. royce

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Royce:
       Page 3, line 14, strike ``and''.
       Page 3, after line 19, insert the following:
       (F) the United States should actively pursue an immediate 
     agreement among the various parties to permit the immediate 
     and unhindered provision of humanitarian relief and the 
     presence of international humanitarian workers to aid 
     refugees and displaced persons in the Zaire; and

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Royce].
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The resolution was agreed to.


             amendment to the preamble offered by mr. royce

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to the preamble.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment to the preamble offered by Mr. Royce:
       After the fifth clause of the preamble, insert the 
     following:
       Whereas many thousands of Rwandans seeking to return home 
     are now too ill to walk and scores succumb each day to 
     cholera, malnutrition, malaria, dehydration, and other 
     diseases while awaiting final agreements among parties to the 
     conflict, the Government of Rwanda, and international 
     humanitarian organizations, to permit the organization and 
     implementation of a speedy air evacuation and the regular 
     supply of urgently needed relief supplies and medical care;
       Whereas in Zaire there have been numerous attempts to 
     obstruct humanitarian relief to these populations at risk and 
     to hinder relocation of civilians and the repatriation of 
     refugees wishing to return home;

  Mr. ROYCE (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the amendment to the preamble be considered as read and printed in 
the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the amendment to the 
preamble offered by the gentleman from California [Mr. Royce].
  The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  
                            ____________________