[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10643-H10644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONDEMNING ASSASSINATION OF FATHER JOHN KAISER AND OTHERS IN KENYA

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 410) condemning the assassination 
of Father John Kaiser and others who worked to promote human rights and 
justice in the Republic of Kenya.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 410

       Whereas Father John Kaiser, a Catholic of the Order of the 
     Mill Hill Missionaries and a native of Minnesota who served 
     as a missionary in the Kisii and Ngong Dioceses in the 
     Republic of Kenya for 36 years advocating the rights of all 
     Kenyans, was shot dead on August 23, 2000;
       Whereas Father Kaiser was a frequently outspoken advocate 
     on issues of human rights and against the injustice of 
     government corruption in Kenya;
       Whereas fellow priests have stated that Father Kaiser had 
     told them the night before he was killed that he feared for 
     his life;
       Whereas the brutal murders of Father Stallone, Father 
     Graiff, and Father Luigi Andeni, all of the Marsabit Diocese, 
     and the circumstances of the murder of Brother Larry Timons 
     of the Nakuru Diocese, and that of Father Martin Boyle of the 
     Eldoret Diocese have not yet been satisfactorily investigated 
     nor have the perpetrators of the murders been brought to 
     justice, raising growing concern over the rule of law and the 
     justice system in Kenya;
       Whereas Father Kaiser's death is one more example of the 
     hostile actions being directed against Kenyan civil society 
     and in particular human rights groups and advocates;
       Whereas the report of a Kenyan governmental commission, 
     known as the Akiwumi Commission, on the investigation into 
     the politically motivated ethnic violence between 1992-1997 
     in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, has not yet been released, in 
     spite of several requests by numerous church leaders and 
     human rights organizations to have the Commission's findings 
     released to the public;
       Whereas documents were found on Father Kaiser's body that 
     he had intended to hand over to the Akiwumi Commission;
       Whereas the Kenyan Human Rights Commission has expressed 
     the fear that the progress in the struggle for democracy, the 
     rule of law, respect for human rights, and the basic needs of 
     all Kenyans achieved during the last few years is jeopardized 
     by the current Kenyan Government;
       Whereas the Kenyan Human Rights Commission has expressed 
     concern over the continued blatant violations of the rule of 
     law and the constitution, acts of torture, and murder and 
     rape by the Kenyan security forces;
       Whereas private armies that work with the police are known 
     to exist in Kenya and the Government of Kenya encourages 
     informal repression as a means of intimidating and denying 
     citizens their rights; and
       Whereas the human rights movement in Kenya is in need of 
     international support and solidarity for the important work 
     they are doing: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) condemns the violent deaths of Father John Kaiser and 
     others who worked to promote human rights and justice in the 
     Republic of Kenya and expresses its outrage with respect to 
     such deaths;
       (2) calls for an independent investigation of such deaths, 
     in addition to the initiatives of the Government of Kenya;
       (3) calls on the Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, And Labor, 
     to prepare and submit to the Congress, not later than 
     December 15, 2000, a report on the progress of the 
     independent investigation and initiatives of the Government 
     of Kenya described in paragraph (2);
       (4) calls for the findings of such independent 
     investigation to be made public; and
       (5) calls on the President to support such independent 
     investigation through all diplomatic means.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Con. Res. 410.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks and to include extraneous material.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. An 
outspoken and passionate defender of the poor, the weak and the 
oppressed, Father John Kaiser was shot and killed just 1 month ago. His 
killer still remains at large.
  Although Father Kaiser knew that he was in danger, his courage and 
compassion never left him. He is one of a distressingly long line of 
clergy who have been murdered in Africa.
  Eight years ago, five American nuns from Illinois were killed by 
Charles Taylor's NPFL soldiers in Liberia. We are still waiting for 
their killers to be brought to justice. We must not let 8 years slip by 
with no resolution of Father Kaiser's case. We owe it to him and to the 
voiceless on whose behalf he spoke with such energy, devotion, and 
commitment. We also owe it to the future of democracy and the rule of 
law in Kenya.

[[Page H10644]]

  As the theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, wrote, ``Man's capacity for 
justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice 
makes democracy necessary.''
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to fully support this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I speak with great feeling on this legislation because I 
introduced this legislation; and obviously, I rise in strong support of 
the measure.
  This measure condemns the assassination of Father John Kaiser and 
others who fought for human rights and justice in Kenya.
  Father Kaiser worked as a missionary in Kenya for over 30 years, was 
highly respected by all Kenyans whose lives he touched. He was an 
outspoken champion of human rights and justice in Kenya. But the 
government arrested him, placed him under house arrest, and eventually 
contributed to his assassination.
  Prior to his death, Mr. Speaker, Father Kaiser confided in family and 
friends that he feared for his life. On August 23, 2000, just a few 
months ago, his body was found shot to death on a road not far from his 
home. Kenyan police immediately ruled out suicide, but there are few 
clues regarding his mysterious death.
  I strongly applaud our Federal Bureau of Investigation for becoming 
involved in the effort to solve the crime, which took away one of the 
finest Americans ever to serve in Africa.
  I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 410 in 
memory of Father Kaiser.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 410.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on International Relations be discharged from further consideration of 
the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 146) condemning the 
assassination of Father John Kaiser and others in Kenya, and calling 
for a thorough investigation to be conducted in those cases, a report 
on the progress made in such an investigation to be submitted to 
Congress by December 15, 2000, and a final report on such an 
investigation to be made public, and for other purposes, and ask for 
its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 146

       Whereas Father John Kaiser, a Catholic of the Order of the 
     Mill Hill Missionaries and a native of Minnesota, who for 36 
     years served as a missionary in the Kisii and Ngong Dioceses 
     in the Republic of Kenya and advocated the rights of all 
     Kenyans, was shot dead on Wednesday, August 23, 2000;
       Whereas Father Kaiser was a frequently outspoken advocate 
     on issues of human rights and against the injustice of 
     government corruption in Kenya;
       Whereas fellow priests report that Father Kaiser spoke to 
     them of his fear for his life on the night before his 
     assassination;
       Whereas the murders of Father Stallone, Father Graife, and 
     Father Luigi Andeni, all of Marsabit Diocese in Kenya, the 
     circumstances of the murder of Brother Larry Timors of Nakaru 
     Diocese in Kenya, the murder of Father Martin Boyle of 
     Eldoret Diocese, and the murders of other local human rights 
     advocates in Kenya have not yet been fully explained, nor 
     have the perpetrators of these murders been brought to 
     justice;
       Whereas the report of a Kenyan governmental commission, 
     known as the Akiwumi Commission, on the government's 
     investigation into tribal violence between 1992 and 1997 in 
     Kenya's Great Rift Valley has not yet been released in spite 
     of several requests by numerous church leaders and human 
     rights organizations to have the Commission's findings 
     released to the public;
       Whereas, after Father Kaiser's assassination, documents 
     were found on his body that he had intended to present to the 
     Akiwumi Commission;
       Whereas the nongovernmental Kenyan Human Rights Commission 
     has expressed fear that the progress achieved in Kenya during 
     the last few years in the struggle for democracy, the rule of 
     law, respect for human rights, and meeting the basic needs of 
     all Kenyans is jeopardized by the current Kenyan government; 
     and
       Whereas the 1999 Country Report on Human Rights released by 
     the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the 
     Department of State reports that the Kenyan Government's 
     ``overall human rights record was generally poor, and serious 
     problems remained in many areas; while there were some signs 
     of improvement in a few areas, the situation worsened in 
     others.'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) condemns the violent deaths of Father John Kaiser and 
     others who have worked to promote human rights and justice in 
     the Republic of Kenya and expresses its outrage at those 
     deaths;
       (2) calls for a thorough investigation of those deaths that 
     includes other persons in addition to the Kenyan authorities;
       (3) calls on the Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and 
     Labor, to prepare and submit to Congress, by December 15, 
     2000, a report on the progress made on investigating these 
     killings, including, particularly, a discussion of the 
     actions taken by the Kenyan government to conduct an 
     investigation as described in paragraph (2);
       (4) calls on the President to support investigation of 
     these killings through all diplomatic means; and
       (5) calls for the final report of such an investigation to 
     be made public.

  The Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  A similar concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 410) was laid on the 
table.

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