[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 172 (Wednesday, December 12, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13041-S13042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT: A SIGNAL OF U.S. 
   COMMITMENT TO RULE OF LAW, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES

  Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I am pleased to see that after a delay of 
several months, the House has acted on the Zimbabwe Democracy and 
Economic Recovery Act of 2001, of which I am a co-sponsor, and that we 
can finally send this bill to the President for his signature.
  The Foreign Relations committee reported this bill in July, and it 
passed the Senate by unanimous consent on August 1. Since then, the 
situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated rapidly. Respect for human 
rights and the rule of law have been systematically subverted by 
Zimbabwe's ruling party, and indeed by President Robert Mugabe himself. 
President Mugabe has supported the invasion of farms by so called ``war 
veterans,'' he has intimated judges, harassed the free press, forbidden 
international monitors to observe next year's presidential elections 
and packed the supreme court with cronies in a misguided attempt to 
give his actions a patina of legitimacy.
  Under Mugabe's leadership the economy of Zimbabwe has been driven 
into the ground. The deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of 
Congo was an expensive ill thought fiasco which has cost millions. The 
illegal farm invasions have resulted in the loss of income from the 
country's major cash crop. Unsound fiscal policies have resulted in a 
suspension of aid from the international Monetary Fund, inflation is 
soaring, international investment has dried up and unemployment is on 
the rise.
  The World Food Program has had to start a food distribution program 
in a country that should be exporting food to its neighbors. That in 
itself is bad enough. Worse, however, is the fact that the Zimbabwean 
government has stated that private relief agencies are prohibited from 
delivering food to the needy. Only the government can distribute food. 
Given the current political climate this can mean only one thing: the 
government will attempt to coopt the population by giving food in 
exchange for votes in the upcoming presidential elections.
  The bill itself is very straightforward. It offers money for a 
credible program of land reform, and plans for U.S. support for bi-
lateral and multi-lateral debt relief if the President certifies to 
Congress that rule of law has been restored in Zimbabwe, including 
subordination of law enforcement organizations to the civilian 
government, that conditions for free and fair elections exist, that a 
credible program of land reform has been put in place, and that the 
government of Zimbabwe is adhering to agreements to withdraw its troops 
from the Democratic Republic of Congo. No new sanctions are imposed on 
the government, but the legislation does very wisely ask the 
administration to look into personal sanctions for high level members 
of the Zimbabwean government and their families, such as travel bans 
and visa restrictions.
  The actions undertaken in the last two years by Robert Mugabe can be

[[Page S13042]]

characterized as nothing more, or less, than a shameless power grab. 
According to news reports current polls show that the leading 
opposition party has more support than Mugabe. No doubt this will cause 
an even more heinous crackdown on political opponents in the lead up to 
the elections. While I sincerely hope that Mugabe comes to his senses 
and allows for the presence of international observers during the 
upcoming presidential elections, I doubt that he will. Perhaps passage 
of this bill will send a signal to the government of Zimbabwe that the 
United States is serious about its position on the rule of law, human 
rights and democracy. The tragedy that has unfolded in what was once a 
stable prosperous country must not be ignored.

                          ____________________