[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4489-S4491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 314--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING 
   THE VIOLENCE, BREAKDOWN OF RULE OF LAW, AND TROUBLED PRE-ELECTION 
                   PERIOD IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE

  Mr. McCAIN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 314

       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 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 Senate--
       (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;

[[Page S4490]]

       (3) supports those international efforts to assist with 
     land reform which are consistent with accepted principles of 
     international law and which take place after the holding of 
     free and fair parliamentary elections;
       (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 and international election monitoring, and violence 
     monitoring activities;
       (7) urges the United States to continue to monitor violence 
     and condemn brutality against law abiding citizens;
       (8) congratulates all the democratic reform activists in 
     Zimbabwe for their resolve to bring about political change 
     peacefully, even in the face of violence and intimidation; 
     and
       (9) desires a lasting, warm, and mutually beneficial 
     relationship between the United States and a democratic, 
     peaceful Zimbabwe.

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, Zimbabwe is in the midst of a political 
crisis that threatens its future, and that is destabilizing its 
regional neighbors. I believe the Senate should go on record in support 
of Zimbabwe's democratic activists and against the authoritarian 
tactics of President Robert Mugabe, whose campaign of state-directed 
violence and intimidation against opposition party members, farmers, 
and farm workers are devastating the nation he leads, impoverishing his 
people and tarnishing his country's prospects.
  As my colleagues know, in February, President Mugabe lost a 
referendum he had called in expectation of victory to grant himself 
additional constitutional powers. This historic loss, coupled with the 
emergence of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, signaled 
that Mugabe's days as President were numbered.
  But after twenty years in power, hopes that Mugabe would go quietly 
into the night after founding and presiding over his nation for two 
decades are demonstrably naive. Mugabe today is clearly doing 
everything in his power to avoid joining the tiny cadre of African 
leaders who have voluntarily transferred power following free and fair 
elections. On the contrary: Mugabe has incited a racial crisis over 
property rights and sent his army to fight a war in which Zimbabwe has 
no stake, all in the hopes of prolonging his hold on the power he 
apparently regards as his birthright. But the average Zimbabwean, who 
is poorer by one-third than when Mugabe came to power twenty years ago 
and who currently suffers the effects of 50 percent unemployment and an 
inflation rate of 70 percent, would likely disagree with Mugabe's 
assessment of the continuing benefits of his rule.
  President Mugabe has shamelessly encouraged the squatter occupation 
of Zimbabwe's commercial farms for political purposes. In doing so, he 
actively abandons the rule of law in favor of mob rule, in the process 
destroying the nation's wealth. An internationally agreed-upon process 
of land redistribution funded by Britain, the United States, and other 
powers collapsed after it became clear that the only land 
redistribution Mugabe favored was that which transferred white-owned 
farms intact to his political cronies.
  As if economic collapse and politically motivated race-baiting 
weren't enough, Mugabe has dispatched 12,000 troops to fight in the 
civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at a cost of millions of 
dollars to his government, while an AIDS crisis and economic stagnation 
grow. Independent observers cannot discern any tangible Zimbabwean 
national interest in Congo that merits a costly troop deployment, 
although such observers do note that Mugabe and his military allies 
have profited handsomely from using the mission to exploit Congo's 
natural resource base.
  Facing heavy domestic and international pressure, Mugabe has finally 
scheduled elections for next month. Based on its level of popular 
support, the beleaguered Movement for Democratic Change should do very 
well in the upcoming parliamentary elections, assuming they are not 
stolen by Mugabe and his ZANU-PF. The current rubber-stamp parliament, 
in which the ZANU-PF controls 147 of 150 seats, would likely change 
hands, altering the country's course and hopefully reinstating the rule 
of law and the democratic protections Zimbabwe's people deserve. Many 
observers believe, however, that only intense and sustained 
international pressure can prevent an electoral outcome inconsistent 
with the wishes of Zimbabwe's voters.
  The level of election-related violence and intimidation against the 
opposition is made clear by a May 22, 2000, International Republican 
Institute report, from which I quote:

       The [Movement for Democratic Change] released on May 10 a 
     comprehensive report documenting more than 5,000 acts of 
     violence and intimidation throughout the country in the past 
     10 weeks. At least 15 black MDC members and supporters, four 
     white farmers, and a policeman have been killed since the 
     February constitutional referendum that marked ZANU-PF's 
     first defeat at the ballot box since taking power in 1980. At 
     least 300 people have been driven from rural homes that have 
     been wrecked or burned. Hundreds have been beaten and maimed. 
     At least eight women have been raped because of perceived 
     allegiance to opposition parties. In 92 percent of the cases, 
     the perpetrators of the violence were either known supporters 
     of the ruling party or government employees. Of the victims, 
     41 percent were MDC supporters and 51 percent were black farm 
     workers and suspected MDC sympathizers. Most observers agree 
     that land reform is not the real issue, but is being used as 
     a smokescreen to mask government efforts to crush political 
     opposition.

  The International Republican Institute, which I chair, is deeply 
involved in pre-election security, training, and registration and will 
play an important monitoring role throughout Zimbabwe's electoral 
process. IRI is sponsoring an audit of Zimbabwe's voter registration 
rolls, training 3,000 domestic poll monitors, conducting voter 
education and public opinion polling, providing funding to support 
legal challenges to electoral conditions inimical to a free and fair 
vote, sponsoring an election-related violence-monitoring unit, and 
fielding a bipartisan international election observation team to 
observe and report on the electoral process in Zimbabwe. Both IRI and 
its counterpart, the National Democratic Institute, have indicated that 
the conditions for credible democratic elections simply do not exist at 
present.
  In light of these grim pre-electoral assessments, and the heavy-
handedness of Mugabe's rule in the period preceding the vote, I believe 
the Senate should clearly state its support for free and transparent 
elections in Zimbabwe, the rule of law, appropriate international 
assistance for a peaceful process of land reform, and the political 
activists who brave Mugabe's wrath in the name of democratic rule. My 
resolution makes a series of findings concerning the violence, 
breakdown of rule of law, and troubled pre-election period in Zimbabwe. 
The resolution resolves that the Senate:
  (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 principles of international law and 
which take place after the holding of free and fair parliamentary 
elections;
  (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 
and international election monitoring, and violence monitoring 
activities;
  (7) urges the United States to continue to monitor violence and 
condemn brutality against law-abiding citizens;
  (8) congratulates all the democratic reform activists in Zimbabwe for 
their resolve to bring about political change peacefully, even in the 
face of violence and intimidation; and
  (9) desires a lasting, warm, and mutually beneficial relationship 
between the United States and a democratic, peaceful Zimbabwe.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in expressing our strong support 
for the democratic rights and freedoms of the

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people of Zimbabwe. Their will, not President Mugabe's personal whims, 
should determine their country's course. Democratic rule in neighboring 
South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique has served those countries well. 
Zimbabwe's citizens should be no less fortunate.

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