[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E695-E696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          CONCERN FOR ZIMBABWE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 10, 2000

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it gives me little pleasure to have to 
introduce this resolution concerning the intimidation and violence that 
the ruling party of Zimbabwe continues to inflict upon its own 
citizens.
  It saddens me because President Robert Mugabe once spoke passionately 
and persuasively of justice, liberty, and majority rule. Destiny led 
this Jesuit-trained school teacher to become the leader of a liberation 
movement. His passionate intensity aroused sympathy for his cause from 
people around the world.
  But at some point during the past twenty years, that vision of a 
peaceful, democratic Zimbabwe has become twisted and bent. The 
president seems to believe that it is his birthright to rule and that 
he will live forever. The ruling party seems to equate legitimate 
political competition with treasonable offenses.

[[Page E696]]

And officials throughout the government seem to regard their positions 
of public trust as licenses to steal from their own citizens.
  Earlier this year, the people of Zimbabwe soundly rejected a 
constitutional referendum that would have given the president even 
greater powers. Commercial farmers, both black and white, as well as 
the commercial farm workers who comprise 26 percent of Zimbabwe's labor 
force, fought the referendum and won.
  Surprised that anyone should dare question its authority, the ruling 
party, at the direction of the president, launched a brutal and cynical 
campaign to cow its political opponents into submission. Peaceful 
opposition demonstrators have been beaten, harassed, and detained by 
state security forces. Roving bands of political thugs for hire have 
beaten farm workers, killed farmers and livestock, burned crops, and 
stolen equipment. Corruption, greed, and dirty tactics have become the 
defining characteristics of a once-proud ZANU party leadership.
  These activities have not gone unnoticed among Zimbabwe's neighbors 
and democratic nations around the world. Zimbabwe's law requires that 
parliamentary elections be held within the next few months. The 
intimidation and state-sponsored violence we have observed these past 
few months are designed to keep all power in the hands of the ruling 
party, which currently holds 147 or the 150 seats of parliament.
  These tactics are not just misguided; they are also destined to fail. 
The people of Zimbabwe are patient. They are loyal. They are respectful 
of those who fought for liberation. But they are not cowards. They are 
not ignorant. And their patience is limited.
  Every time a farm worker is beaten for asserting his right of free 
speech, ZANU loses support. Every time a Zimbabwean soldier dies in 
Congo for a war that means nothing to his family, ZANU loses support. 
Every time a field lies fallow because the farmers have been driven 
off, ZANU loses support. And every time land promised to the people 
winds up in the hands of a corrupt party official, ZANU loses support.
  President Mugabe has made the gravest mistake any politician can 
make: he has underestimated the people he governs.
  H. Res. 500 expresses the House of Representatives profound dismay at 
the practices of Zimbabwe's current leadership and our sincere wish 
that the people of Zimbabwe, who deserve the political freedoms many of 
them fought for, will remain steadfast in their peaceful pursuit of 
democratic reform.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit the text of H. Res. 500 at this point in the 
Congressional Record.

                              H. Res. 500

       Whereas people around the world supported the Republic of 
     Zimbabwe's quest for independence, majority rule, and the 
     protection of human rights and the rule of law;
       Whereas Zimbabwe, at the time of independence in 1980, 
     showed bright prospects for democracy, economic development, 
     and racial reconciliation;
       Whereas the people of Zimbabwe are now suffering the 
     destabilizing effects of a serious, government-sanctioned 
     breakdown in the rule of law, which is critical to economic 
     development as well as domestic tranquility;
       Whereas a free and fair national referendum was held in 
     Zimbabwe in February 2000 in which voters rejected proposed 
     constitutional amendments to increase the president's 
     authorities to expropriate land without payment;
       Whereas the President of Zimbabwe has defied two high court 
     decisions declaring land seizures to be illegal;
       Whereas previous land reform efforts have been ineffective 
     largely due to corrupt practices and inefficiencies within 
     the Government of Zimbabwe;
       Whereas recent violence in Zimbabwe has resulted in several 
     murders and brutal attacks on innocent individuals, including 
     the murder of farm workers and owners;
       Whereas violence has been directed toward individuals of 
     all races;
       Whereas the ruling party and its supporters have 
     specifically directed violence at democratic reform activists 
     seeking to prepare for upcoming parliamentary elections;
       Whereas the offices of a leading independent newspaper in 
     Zimbabwe have been bombed;
       Whereas the Government of Zimbabwe has not yet publicly 
     condemned the recent violence;
       Whereas President Mugabe's statement that thousands of law-
     abiding citizens are enemies of the state has further incited 
     violence;
       Whereas 147 out of 150 members of the Parliament in 
     Zimbabwe (98 percent) belong to the same political party;
       Whereas no date has been set for parliamentary elections in 
     Zimbabwe;
       Whereas the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe now exceeds 60 
     percent and political turmoil is on the brink of destroying 
     Zimbabwe's economy;
       Whereas the economy is being further damaged by the 
     Government of Zimbabwe's ongoing involvement in the war in 
     the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
       Whereas the United Nations Food and Agricultural 
     Organization has issued a warning that Zimbabwe faces a food 
     emergency due to shortages caused by violence against farmers 
     and farm workers; and
       Whereas events in Zimbabwe could threaten stability and 
     economic development in the entire region: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) extends its support to the vast majority of citizens of 
     the Republic of Zimbabwe who are committed to peace, economic 
     prosperity, and an open, transparent parliamentary election 
     process;
       (2) strongly urges the Government of Zimbabwe to enforce 
     the rule of law and fulfill its responsibility to protect the 
     political and civil rights of all citizens;
       (3) supports those international efforts to assist with 
     land reform which are consistent with accepted
       (4) condemns government-directed violence against farm 
     workers, farmers, and opposition party members;
       (5) encourages the local media, civil society and all 
     political parties to work together toward a campaign 
     environment conducive to free, transparent and fair elections 
     within the legally prescribed period;
       (6) recommends international support for voter education, 
     domestic election monitoring, and violence monitoring 
     activities;
       (7) urges the United States to continue to monitor violence 
     and condemn brutality against law abiding citizens;
       (8) congratulate all the democratic reform activists in 
     Zimbabwe for their resolve to bring about political change 
     peacefully, even in the face of violence and intimidation;
       (9) recommends that the United States send a bipartisan 
     delegation under the auspices of the International Republican 
     Institute and the National Democratice Institute for 
     International Affairs to observe the parliamentary education 
     process in Zimbabwe; and
       (10) desires a lasting, warm, and mutually beneficial 
     relationship between the United States and democratic, 
     peaceful Zimbabwe.

     

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