[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E494-E495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TWO PATHS TOWARDS DEMOCRACY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EARL F. HILLIARD

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 10, 2002

  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to enter into the Record this 
OpEd as it appeared in the Washington Times newspaper last week. 
Entitled, ``Two Paths Towards Democracy'' this OpEd brings to our 
attention the great efforts currently underway in the Republic of Congo 
to re-establish lasting democratic institutions and the rule of law. 
With parliamentary and municipal elections forthcoming in Congo, it is 
important that we encourage the country and its leaders along the path 
of further transparency and liberalization. Recent President elections, 
in which nearly 75 percent of registered voters cast ballots without 
fear of intimidation or violence, demonstrates that democratic gains 
are already being consolidated into a reliable political tradition.
  Under President Sassou-Nguesso's stewardship, Congo has shown a 
remarkable recovery from nearly a decade of civil war. Without any 
external assistance, the president successfully began a process of 
national reconciliation, which will reach its crescendo during this 
month's historic elections. I am grateful to that country's very able 
ambassador, Serge Mombouli, for keeping me and my colleagues apprised 
of the many positive developments in his country.
  As Africa's third largest exporter of crude oil, Congo is home to 
nearly $2 billion worth of U.S. direct investment and is a strategic 
partner in our search for diversified sources of petroleum. 
Furthermore, Congo has developed as a key regional peacemaker, opening 
its door to over 100,000 refugees from neighboring Democratic Republic 
of Congo, while serving as a model to other countries seeking a 
recovery from decades of civilian conflict.
  I am joined by my colleagues in saluting the leadership of our 
friends in the Republic of

[[Page E495]]

Congo and pledge to them our full support and solidarity as they 
continue down the courageous road of reconciliation, peace and 
prosperity.

               [From the Washington Times, Mar. 24, 2002]

                       Two Paths Toward Democracy

       So often, the news out of Africa focuses on death, disease 
     and dictators. But there is another ``D'' which must not be 
     overlooked, lest it be forgotten altogether, that is 
     democracy. This past weekend presented two stark examples of 
     how democratic movements are playing out across the 
     continent.
       Presidential elections in Zimbabwe have captured the 
     world's attention for many months now, though not in a way 
     that Africa's fledgling democrats would like. There could 
     perhaps be no better example of either a deeply flawed 
     election process or the slow and steady fall into political 
     and economic anarchy than was seen this past weekend in 
     Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
       The demise of this once-strong democracy and economic power 
     has again colored how we in the West engage with Africa, and 
     seems to have lent credence to those in the Bush 
     administration, led by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who 
     believe that ``we have gotten little for all the aid money we 
     have spent.'' But is it fair to apply this old ``bad apple'' 
     adage to all of Africa?
       On the same day that justice and democracy were purloined 
     in Zimbabwe, they were restored and celebrated in the 
     Republic of Congo, after nearly a decade of civil war and 
     political upheaval. Long overshadowed by its much larger 
     neighbor with a similar name, U.S. assistance and United 
     Nations mediators poured into the Democratic Republic of 
     Congo during that country's own war, while political violence 
     that killed over 20,000 people and left nearly 800,000 
     homeless went largely unnoticed just across the border.
       Since coming to power in 1997, Congo's de facto head of 
     state, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, has had to rebuild the country 
     from the ground up--largely on his own. His first order of 
     business involved demobilizing and disarming former 
     combatants from all political factions. After extending a 
     cease-fire and blanket amnesty to these fighters, Mr. Sassou-
     Nguesso's government began a wildly successful weapons buy-
     back program.
       The government then went even further, turning domestically 
     conceived peace talks convened in 1999 into a dialogue of 
     ``national reconciliation without exclusion.'' Three years 
     later, over 15,000 guns have been taken out of circulation 
     and a new national police force is in place, composed of the 
     manifold tribal, ethnic and political factions who were once 
     at the center of the country's hardships. As a result, 
     political feuds are now being settled within the halls of 
     government and not on the field of battle. This rang 
     particularly true last weekend when nearly 80 percent of 
     registered voters turned out to vote ``in favor of peace,'' 
     as President-elect Sassou-Nguesso later said in explaining 
     his subsequent electoral victory.
       An IMF report, released last month, praised the ``home 
     grown nature'' of Congo's post-war renewal, noting that 
     President Sassou-Nguesso has laid ``the foundations for 
     lasting peace and stable political institutions despite 
     limited external assistance.'' However the achievement of his 
     campaign pledges of economic revitalization and political 
     stability has not yet been fully realized. In this phase of 
     the country's transformation, the United States has a vital 
     role to play.
       Home to one of Africa's largest Atlantic seaports and 
     nestled on the banks of the River Congo, which itself 
     supplies much of landlocked Central Africa with all nature of 
     supplies; Congo has long been a hub of commercial activity on 
     the continent. Today, as Africa's third largest producer of 
     crude oil, the country is looking toward international 
     markets to assist in its economic turnaround. Congo is 
     already home to nearly $2 billion in U.S. foreign direct 
     investment, but more is needed if present growth rates are to 
     be sustained and increased.
       An ambitious program of privatization of state-owned 
     industries is already beginning to pay off for Congo, with 
     the country's first sell-off, a flour mill, going to U.S.-
     based Seaboard Corporation. Ralph Moss, the company's 
     Washington representative adds that ``Our Congo investment is 
     by no means our largest in Africa, but it has so far been our 
     most profitable.''
       It is essential that in a balanced policy toward Africa, 
     U.S. officials must do more than criticize the obvious 
     shortcomings of the continent's remaining autocratic regimes. 
     It should laud and provide recompense to those who have 
     successfully enacted the kinds of political and economic 
     liberalizations that will make them trusted and effective 
     partners to the United States. On a day when two countries 
     forged two different paths for the future, the imperative is 
     as clear as ever.

     

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