[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 69 (Wednesday, June 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4635-S4636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2000

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in favor of the 
Zimbabwe Democracy Act of 2000. I am very pleased to join my colleague, 
Senator Frist, in cosponsoring this legislation and sending an 
unambiguous signal to the current government of Zimbabwe that the 
international community will not passively stand aside while that 
country's great promise is squandered; the United States will not 
remain silent while the rule of law is undermined by the very 
government charged with protecting a legal order; this Congress will 
not accept the deliberate dismantling of justice and security and 
stability in Zimbabwe.
  Since the ruling party lost the outcome of a February referendum, in 
which voters rejected a new constitution which would have granted 
President Robert Mugabe sweeping powers, a terrible campaign of 
violence has gripped the country. Veterans of Zimbabwe's independence 
struggle and supporters of the ruling party have invaded a number of 
farms owned by white Zimbabweans. When the courts ordered the police to 
evict the invaders, President Mugabe explicitly continued to support 
the invasions, and called on the police force to ignore the court. 
Predictably, confusion and violence have ensued, and the rule of law, 
the basic protections upon which people around the world stake their 
safety and the safety of their families, has been seriously eroded.
  This is not a race war. Let me repeat that--this is not a race war. 
Race is not the critical issue in Zimbabwe today. And no one need take 
my word for that. One need only look at the facts on the ground. One 
need only observe the disturbing frequency with which members of the 
opposition have been the targets of violence. It is the Movement for 
Democratic Change, an opposition party that has been rapidly gaining 
the support of the disillusioned electorate, that is the real target of 
President Mugabe's campaign. It is the electorate that rejected the 
ruling party's proposed constitution that is suffering, and this is not 
unprecedented. In the early 1980s, supporters of a rival political 
faction were brutally slaughtered in Matabeleland--a dark period

[[Page S4636]]

in the young country's history for which there is still not a 
satisfying public account. So we must not be intimidated by the scape-
goating of the power-hungry. Once there was a struggle against a 
terrible system of oppression, grounded in racial discrimination, in 
the country now called Zimbabwe. But that is not the heart of the 
matter today.
  Nor is this crisis really about land tenure reform, although there is 
no question at all that land tenure reform is desperately needed and 
long overdue in Zimbabwe. But the government's past efforts at land 
reform have too often involved distributing land to key supporters of 
the ruling party, not the landless and truly needy. Fundamentally, land 
reform is about improving quality of life for the people of Zimbabwe--
something that is utterly undermined by the violent tactics of the 
ruling party today.
  So while this is not about race and it is not, at its core, about 
land, what this is about is an increasingly discredited President, who, 
watching his legacy turn increasingly into a source of shame rather 
than celebration, has hatched a desperate campaign to cling to power, 
even though this campaign, if successful, would render him the leader 
of an utterly broken country. Runaway government spending has led to 
high inflation and unemployment. Corruption infects the state. And, at 
this time of economic strain and hardship, the Government of Zimbabwe 
is spending over $1.5 million a month on its participation in the Congo 
conflict.
  The Zimbabwe Democracy Act indicates that the U.S. will have no part 
of the terrible campaign of violence now compounding Zimbabwe's 
troubles. The bill suspends U.S. assistance to Zimbabwe while carving 
out important exceptions--humanitarian relief, food or medical 
assistance provided to non-governmental organizations for humanitarian 
purposes, programs which support democratic governance and the rule of 
law, and technical assistance relating to ongoing land reform programs 
outside the auspices of the government of Zimbabwe. And it articulates 
clear conditions for ending this suspension of assistance--including a 
return to the rule of law, free and fair parliamentary and presidential 
elections, and a demonstrated commitment on the part of the Government 
of Zimbabwe to an equitable, legal, and transparent land reform 
program.
  The bill also offers assistance to the remarkable forces working 
within Zimbabwe in support of the rule of law, in support of democracy, 
and in support of basic human rights for all of Zimbabwe's citizens. It 
establishes a fund to finance the legal expenses for individuals and 
institutions challenging restrictions on free speech in Zimbabwe, where 
the latest campaign has also included a media crackdown. The fund would 
also support individuals and democratic institutions who have accrued 
costs or penalties in the pursuit of elective office or democratic 
reform.
  I had the chance to be in Zimbabwe in December, and I do not believe 
that I have ever encountered a more dynamic, committed, and genuinely 
inspiring group of civil society leaders than the group I met in Harare 
a few months ago. These forces must not be abandoned in Zimbabwe's time 
of crisis.
  And, very responsibly, this legislation recognizes that Zimbabwe will 
need the assistance of the international community when it seeks to 
rebuild once the crisis has passed. It authorizes support for ongoing, 
legally governed land tenure reforms, and authorizes an innovative 
approach to facilitating the development of commercial projects in 
Zimbabwe and the region.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I commend 
Senator Frist and his staff for their efforts on this matter. Right now 
a country of great promise and a people of tremendous potential are 
enduring a terrible campaign of lawlessness and oppression. Right now, 
one of the most important states on the African continent, economically 
and politically, is in crisis. To write off Zimbabwe, to lose this 
opportunity to speak and act on the matter, would be a terrible 
mistake.
  States descend into utter chaos in stages. Let us move to arrest 
Zimbabwe's descent today, not next year, when the problems will be more 
complex and more deeply entrenched, and not after 5 years of crisis, 
when Afro-pessimists will undoubtedly ignore the country's proud 
history and cynically assert that Zimbabwe cannot be salvaged. Let us 
be far-sighted, let us act now, pass this legislation, and stand firmly 
behind the forces of law, of democracy, and of justice in Zimbabwe.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.

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