[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 125 (Monday, September 30, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9573-S9579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REPORT ON TRIP TO AFRICA

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, during the month of August, Senator 
Shelby and I made an extensive trip to Africa. In Africa, we visited 
many countries and noted some very material changes. For example, the 
Government of the Sudan finally wants to have good relations with the 
United States and is willing to make significant concessions to the 
rebels in the south Sudan. Through the good offices of the President's 
emissary, former Senator Danforth, a treaty has been worked out which 
has great promise if implemented and if enforced.
  The Muslim-Islamic military has come down from the northern part of 
Sudan, invaded Christian cities, killed all the men and taken the women 
and children and sold them into slavery, a practice which is really 
hard to believe in the 21st century. The peace treaty brokered by 
Senator Danforth has the promise of ending that. But as we talked to 
clerics in both Khartoum, Sudan, and in Eritrea, it will have to be 
enforced by the United States.
  We saw in South Africa great advances since my last trip there in 
1993 when there was so much contention between the blacks and the 
whites on apartheid. A government was formed in the 1994 elections. 
President Mandela has become the national hero and a great many of 
those problems are on their way to resolution. Great progress has been 
made.
  We saw in Mauritius, an island off the east coast of Africa, 
tremendous progress being made on trade with a sweater factory yielding 
compensation up to $300 a week, whereas in some countries in Africa 
they do not earn more than $250 a year.
  To reiterate, in accordance with my custom of reporting on my foreign 
travel, this is a brief summary of a trip with Senator Richard Shelby, 
R-Alabama, from August 6-22 to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South Africa, 
Mauritius, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sicily, Italy. 
We explored the emerging trade relationship with Africa during 
implementation of the 2000 African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, 
and the 2002 Trade Promotion Authority, TPA, legislation. We also 
looked at health issues--primarily the African HIV/AIDS crisis and 
poverty and famine that impact upon the U.S. foreign aid posture and 
the issue of ``trade versus aid.''
  The delegation travel began on Tuesday, August 6, 2002, stopping 
overnightin Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, en route to South Africa. Brazil's 
economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and will 
be aided in this respect by the new TPA and a $30 billion loan 
guarantee by the World Bank. I spoke about this with U.S. Consul 
General Mark Boulware. He is optimistic that the TPA will help further 
expand the economy of Brazil now that the Brazilian currency, the real, 
is no longer pegged to the U.S. dollar. Despite open anti-American 
protests following comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill 
suggesting widescale corruption in the Brazilian

[[Page S9574]]

monetary system, our delegation was treated well and found the brief 
visit to Brazil informative.
  The delegation proceeded to Cape Town, South Africa, where we were 
informed by U.S. Ambassador Cameron Hume that South Africa is a middle-
income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-
developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport 
sectors, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient 
distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. 
President Thabo Mbeki has vowed to promote economic growth and foreign 
investment, and to reduce poverty by relaxing restrictive labor laws, 
stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded 
governmental spending.
  However, President Mbeki has been disappointing in the battle against 
HIV/AIDS. Despite estimates that one in four South Africans is HIV-
positive, Mbeki has refused to accept the premise that HIV causes AIDS, 
and did not attend this year's World HIV/AIDS Conference in New York 
City. Mbeki's inaction in the face of this crisis has recently been 
criticized by former South African President Nelson Mandela.
  The United States continues to provide large sums of money and 
resources to confront this growing epidemic. In this year's 
supplemental appropriations bill, Senator Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, 
and I proposed that $700 billion be allocated to confront AIDS in 
countries such as South Africa where it threatens large segments of the 
population. President Bush has proposed a compromised figure of $500 
billion. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, CDC, has assigned five 
employees to South Africa to work on the AIDS epidemic, and the 
National Institutes of Health has recently contributed $11 million. 
Ambassador Hume believes that we are essentially ``force feeding'' 
South Africa with assistance on this issue, suggesting that South 
Africa is still dragging its feet.

  I questioned Ambassador Hume on the future of race relations in South 
Africa. Despite the existing divide, for the time being race relations 
are comparatively good, but the great conciliator Nelson Mandela is 
slowing down at age 84 and the technocrat Mbeki lacks his personal 
stature. Nonetheless, South Africa has come a long way with the 
assistance of the United States since the U.S. Senate voted to override 
President Reagan's 1986 veto of legislation forbidding certain U.S. 
corporate investments in South Africa's apartheid regime an important 
moment in the relationship between our two countries.
  Our delegation also conducted discussions of a classified nature with 
U.S. officials in South Africa and other countries we visited.
  South Africa's fledgling post-apartheid government was the topic of 
discussion at a dinner hosted by Ambassador Hume with parliamentarians 
from South Africa's National Assembly and National Council of 
Provinces. Progress is being made in governance and oversight. I 
discussed with Johnny de Lange, the Chair of the National Assembly's 
Judicial Committee, the extent of permissible electronic surveillance 
and physical search undertaken under South African law.
  Our next series of meetings occurred in Durban, South Africa. There 
we met with Consul General Liam Humphreys and his staff to explore, 
among other things, post-September 11 security procedures. Durban is an 
important ``feeder port'' for U.S.-bound goods, and the crews that 
accompany them. As such, potentially lethal materials and individuals 
traveling under false credentials may enter U.S. ports if authorities 
in Durban are not vigilant. It is therefore imperative that individual 
visas--and not blanket crew visas--be issued to individuals only after 
cross-referencing U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation files for 
potentially derogatory information. It is important to continue our 
oversight of FBI information sharing for this purpose and to ensure the 
proper coordination of visa and cargo manifest procedures--particularly 
as proposals take shape for our new Department of Homeland Security.
  Durban is geographically located in the KwaZulu Natal province of 
South Africa, the only province in which the ANC is not in power. At a 
dinner hosted by Consul General Humphreys, Senator Shelby and I 
exchanged views with two leaders of the provincial majority Inkatha 
Freedom Party, IFP: Provincial Minister of Agriculture and 
Environmental Affairs and delegate to the National Council of Provinces 
Narend Singh, and Reverend Musa Zondi, a member of the National 
Assembly and the Deputy Minister of Public Works.
  Minister Singh noted the tremendous progress of South Africa and the 
KwaZulu Natal region when compared to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, 
where land reform--or more appropriately, the lack thereof--has been an 
unyielding challenge.
  I questioned Deputy Minister Zondi about the nature of race relations 
in South Africa. Minister Zondi is optimistic about race relations, and 
noted that relations in South Africa are far better than Saudi Arabia 
or Egypt where radical Islamic tensions place these societies on the 
cusp of ``a full-scale race war.'' Minister Zondi also noted with 
affection his friendship with the late Reverend Leon Sullivan of 
Philadelphia, a spiritual leader who promoted employment practice 
standards for U.S. companies doing business in South Africa. Zondi said 
that Reverend Sullivan did a great deal to make U.S. corporations more 
socially conscious. Minister Zondi visited Reverend Sullivan 
in Philadelphia in 1985 and believes strongly in the so-called 
``Sullivan Principles,'' the labor code promoted by Reverend Sullivan.

  From Durban the delegation traveled to Mauritius to explore trade and 
other issues in advance of the Presidential visit for the AGOA 
Conference in January 2003. Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has 
developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-
income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and 
tourist sectors. Mauritius has the highest median income in sub-Saharan 
Africa and an unusually high literacy rate. Investment in the banking 
sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Employment in Mauritius is at 
or above 95 percent, according to our dinner guest Raouf Bundhun, the 
Vice President of Mauritius.
  I asked the U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the 
Comoros, John Price, about the need for expanded commercial 
opportunities and enhanced security in the Indian Ocean region. I heard 
concern about the recent developments of official Seychelles passports 
reportedly being sold for $65,000 to those who wish to move freely in 
the Indian Ocean region. I also heard concern about aggressive 
recruitment in the Comoros by Islamic fundamentalists of young, 
impressionable individuals for schooling in radical theology and 
military training under the guise of Islamic education.
  I also inquired about how the new TPA law and AGOA will help 
Mauritius further progress economically. Ambassador Price informed us 
that the new TPA will help entrepreneurs such as Sunil Hassamal, who 
showed us the sweater factory that he has built from the ground up and 
who now employs 2500 workers. On the labor front, we were assured by 
Ambassador Price that despite some recent unfavorable press coverage of 
the treatment of Chinese laborers at one problem factory, in Mauritius 
no child labor is being employed, that overtime is being paid, that 
working conditions are tolerable, and that a viable minimum wage is 
being paid along with appropriate benefits, and that a 60-hour work 
week is respected--as required by AGOA.
  We met with Mauritian Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Deputy 
Prime Minister Paul Berenger to explore trade and security issues. 
Prime Minister Jugnauth is nearing the end of his term as Prime 
Minister, and will next year pass the reins to Deputy Prime Minister 
Berenger and assume the ceremonial role of President of Mauritius.
  I questioned Prime Minister Jugnauth and Deputy Prime Minister 
Berenger about what the U.S. should do if Saddam Hussein does not 
respond to demands for inspections. Prime Minister Jugnauth responded 
that the U.S. should not attack Iraq without clear provocation, for 
this act would ``lose the respect of the world.'' Jugnauth said that 
the U.S. must be careful that it is the U.S., and not Saddam, who will 
be perceived as ``sympathetic.'' Berenger said that we should await a 
resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis before addressing Iraq.

[[Page S9575]]

  I asked Minister Berenger about U.S. security interests in the 
region. He seemed to qualify what we understood to be the official 
Mauritian position on the Chagossian island of Diego Garcia by stating 
that, in return for full sovereignty over all the other Chagossian 
islands, Mauritius would be willing to defer the issue of Diego 
Garcia--``agreeing to disagree'' over its final status while seeking to 
build U.S. confidence in the prospect of eventual Mauritian succession.
  On the situation in the Mid-East, Berenger favored a new arrangement 
within the Palestinian Authority, PA--involving the establishment of a 
purely symbolic President of the PA such as Yasser Arafat but with all 
real power going to a new PA Prime Minister.
  Our delegation next traveled to Tanzania, beginning our oversight of 
regional and broader security and trade issues in the lesser-developed 
countries of sub-Saharan Africa. At a luncheon meeting with U.S. 
Ambassador Robert Royall and the Tanzania country team, we learned that 
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, with $250 per 
capita annual income. The economy is heavily dependent upon 
agriculture, which provides 85 percent of exports, and employs 80 
percent of the workforce. The World Bank, the International Monetary 
Fund, and bilateral donors have reportedly been awaiting meaningful 
Tanzanian land reform prior to investing more heavily in the country. 
Under the government's socialist land policy, true private ownership is 
unlawful and investors can acquire merely leaseholds forfeitable at the 
government's discretion.
  I was disappointed to hear that Tanzania is not yet fully prepared to 
export commodities to the U.S. without further local economic reform 
and development. Tanzania has the potential to follow the example of 
Mauritius, a country with an 85 percent literacy rate, 95 percent 
employment, and an entrepreneurial spirit. I suggested that a Tanzanian 
delegation visit Mauritius and learn from its example. I also noted 
that with the passage of TPA, Congress expects real movement in the 
direction of ``trade rather than aid'' and I suggested to Ambassador 
Royall that he should provide President Bush with a list of achievable 
goals for Tanzania.
  We also discussed the AIDS epidemic. A team of researchers from the 
Centers for Disease Control, CDC, in Atlanta, Georgia, recently 
completed test kit evaluation in Tanzania, and has acquired data on 
which AIDS tests are the best performers in statistical pools. New CDC 
offices are also being constructed in Dar es Salaam, to assist with the 
disbursement of $7 million in U.S. aid, including $2 million dedicated 
to blood safety.
  We also explored the economic and political issues surrounding the 
tourism industry and the problems with refugees flowing into Tanzania 
from war-torn countries on its long western border. Tanzania currently 
has approximately 550,000 recent refugees--80 percent Burundian and 20 
percent Congolese and Rwandan--and 400,000 ``old caseload'' refugees 
from relocations in the 1970s.
  Ambassador Royall is working to help return these refugees as soon as 
possible in a fair manner. Ambassador Royall is also working closely 
with USAID, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and local U.S. non-
governmental organizations to assure that the system of national parks 
that supports Tanzania's tourism industry, accounting for approximately 
60 percent of GDP, can be sustained and expanded in conjunction with 
private sector support. Organizations with which we met, such as the 
African Wildlife Foundation, work closely with the Tanzanian national 
park system and the U.S. government. For example, USAID is providing 
assistance to the Tanzanian Park Service in maintaining roads and 
natural habitats in two national parks to protect this segment of the 
Tanzanian economy.
  The delegation also visited the United Nations' International 
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, ICTR, which is hosted by Tanzania and 
located in Arusha. At the ICTR, we were briefed by Lovemore Munlo, the 
Deputy Registrar, and Kingsley Moghalu, who serves as Special Assistant 
to the Registrar. Our visit to the ICTR coincided with the arrest by 
Angolan authorities of Augustin Bizimungu, Rwanda's former armed forces 
chief who had been indicted by the ICTR for a major role in the 1994 
Rwanda genocide. His arrest came less than a month after the U.S. 
offered up to $5 million under the Justice Department's ``Rewards for 
Justice'' program for tips leading to the arrest of eight Rwandan 
genocide suspects, including Bizimungu. Currently, 21 individuals 
suspected of genocide or complicity therein are on trial in the ICTR in 
eight separate trials. Former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda of Rwanda 
confessed in 2000 to war crimes and was convicted by the ICTR. He was 
subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. Currently, two-thirds of 
the top leadership of the Kambanda government are on trial for genocide 
and related war crimes. For lower-ranking participants in the genocide, 
Rwandan courts have prosecuted over 6,000 individuals--many of whom 
face the death penalty, which is not available at the ICTR.
  Later, I questioned U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Johnnie Carson as to 
whether the U.S. was late in responding to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 
While conceding that we were not swift, he assured me that we acted as 
quickly as we could and that the genocide would have continued--and 
would have been much worse--if we had not acted when we did. He 
suggested that the French were in a much better position to intervene 
to prevent the genocide.
  The ICTR is expected to remain in existence until 2008 or 2009, by 
which point the last of the appeals should have run their course. We 
were able to observe the proceedings of the trial of Eliezer 
Niyitegeka, former Minister of Information in the interim government of 
Rwanda in 1994.
  From Tanzania, the delegation proceeded to Nairobi, Kenya for 
additional trade and security meetings. Ambassador Carson led a country 
team briefing focused upon political stability after nearly a quarter 
century of rule by current President Daniel Moi, security arrangements 
for the war on terrorism, HIV/AIDS, and related matters. Carson's team 
noted that Presidents Clinton and Bush and Secretaries of State 
Albright and Powell have all been privately assured by Moi at various 
points that he will step down after his term ends and that free 
elections will be called, likely in the period December 1, 2002 through 
March 31, 2003. Moi is now backing as his successor Uhuru Kenyatta, the 
41 year-old son of Kenya's independence leader, Jomo Kenyatta, and a 
leader in the majority Kenya African National Union, KANU, party. If he 
can hold the traditional KANU coalitions together, Kenyatta is favored 
to succeed Moi.
  Kenya is a strong security partner of the United States. For example, 
the United States is the only country with which Kenya has entered a 
``Military Access Agreement,'' ``MAA'' allowing for U.S. military 
assets to be deployed there. Kenya appears well positioned to 
facilitate regional and other international security issues such as our 
global war against international terrorism.
  I also asked whether we are doing enough to combat the AIDS epidemic 
in Kenya. According to Carson, the hard data shows that the rate of 
infection among adults appears to be decreasing in Kenya. The CDC is 
engaged in programs in West Kenya to find new vaccines, to provide 
education and awareness programs, and to support 40 counseling/testing 
centers. USAID is also active in AIDS education, prevention, and 
behavior change. The Peace Corps also plays a role in Kenyan public 
health projects relating to HIV/AIDS.
  We next met with Kenya's Foreign Minister Marsden Madoka. Minister 
Madoka said that Kenya's cabinet had yet to discuss the Kenyan reaction 
if the U.S. were to move against Saddam Hussein for regime change. 
While noting that the cabinet would naturally have the final say, he 
did say, importantly, that ``chances are that Kenya would support the 
U.S. under these circumstances.'' On the issue of HIV/AIDS, I asked 
Minister Madoka how serious the problem is and what the United States 
can do to help. Minister Madoka said that Kenya has lowered 
the prevalence rate from 14 percent to 13 percent nationwide. There is, 
however, a long way to go in addressing this crisis and its collateral 
effects.

  We then traveled to Sudan. Sudan has been ravaged by civil war since 
1956

[[Page S9576]]

with intermittent breaks. The Sudan country team, led by Charge de 
Affairs Jeffrey Millington, contrasted the Bush policy of engaging 
Sudan in light of recent reform efforts contrasted with the Clinton 
Administration's approach to maintain sanctions because of human rights 
violations and religious suppression. With the Bush engagement policy, 
peace talks between the government of Sudanese President Omar el-
Bashier and Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement, SPLM, leader John 
Garange are moving forward in talks in Machakos, Kenya. Sudan is not 
only attempting to remedy its own civil strife with the Machakos 
negotiations, but its leadership is at least speaking in terms of 
engaging the United States in its views toward democracy, human rights, 
religious freedom, and suppressing international terrorism.
  On the domestic side, the government of President Bashier is 
conducting ongoing peace talks with the SPLM, which controls much of 
the southern regions of the Sudan. Former Senator John Danforth, with 
whom we met in Nairobi on August 18 after returning from Khartoum, 
accepted his role as Special Envoy to negotiate this conflict on 
September 6, 2001, and first visited the region on November 6, 2001. 
Senator Danforth is working with a small team made up of veteran 
diplomats including Michael Miller from the National Security Council 
East Africa staff, Charge Millington and Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
State Charles Snyder.
  Senator Danforth has been successful to date. On July 20, 2002, 
breakthrough agreements were reached leading to the ``famous 
handshake'' between Sudanese President Omar el Bashier and SPLM leader 
John Garange on July 27, 2002 in Kampala. The July 20 Machakos round 
produced an agreement in principle not to apply Sharia (Islamic law) in 
the post-reconciliation South, and would provide the people of the 
South the right to self-determination after 6\1/2\ years (including a 
referendum on secession). Still to be determined in further Machakos 
rounds will be the precise form of government in the South for the 6\1/
2\ year trial period such as judiciary, infrastructure, security, and 
the ultimate status of the SPLM, including whether John Garange can 
keep a standing army. Senator Danforth, in preparation for upcoming 
rounds, has skillfully tested the two sides' willingness to come 
together on four vital humanitarian issues: (1) continuation of a 
ceasefire in the Nuba Mountain region between North and South, where 
Evangelicals working with Christian populations have been the target of 
religious persecution; (2) a polio vaccination program; (3) prevention 
of attacks against civilians; and (4) prevention of ``raiders,'' who 
with the encouragement of the government in Khartoum, have killed male 
populations and enslaved their women and children. Satisfaction of the 
four Danforth preconditions would lay the groundwork for final 
agreements in Machakos on a more permanent peace in the Sudan.
  A key aspect of our trip involved gathering information on religious 
persecution. Persecution of religious minorities, focused particularly 
on Christians in Muslim countries such as Sudan, led in 1998 to the 
passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, ``IRFA'', 
which I introduced with Representative Frank Wolf. The IRFA established 
the Office of International Religious Freedom and the U.S. Commission 
on International Religious Freedom with the mission of reviewing and 
making policy recommendations on religious freedom.
  We met with Reverend Ezekiel Kondo, the Provincial Secretary of the 
Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan. Reverend Kondo raised 
the following issues: (1) the persecution of those who convert from 
Islam to Christianity, which is apparently continuing and is not 
covered by Machakos; (2) the withholding of permits to build new 
churches and to license existing churches, which remains a problem with 
non-Muslim clerics; (3) the refusal to grant visas for religious 
leaders to leave the country for professional conferences and for 
religious leaders from abroad to visit Sudan; and (4) the need for more 
precise coverage of the Nuba Mountain region dispute within the context 
of the Machakos agreements. Reverend Kondo is skeptical that Muslim 
attempts to reach out to non-Muslims will work if the basic rights for 
non-Muslims are not committed to in writing, implemented, monitored and 
enforced.

  When I referenced this religious persecution with President Bashier's 
Peace Advisor, Dr. Ghazi Sulahaddin, and his Foreign Minister, Mustafa 
Ismail, I was told that the current Sudanese government should be given 
a chance to show the international community that the acts underlying 
the persecution have occurred during many years of civil war, and a 
process toward reconciliation only began in 1997. Both men assured us 
that Sudan is on the path to religious freedom and respect for human 
rights in general. President Bashier pledged that it is ``the 
obligation of Muslims to provide religious freedom,'' and that he has 
made this issue a priority and has commanded local officials to ``study 
this issue closely.''
  Dr. Sulahaddin, and Foreign Minister Ismail highlighted for us their 
views on U.S.-Sudan relations. Sulahaddin said there is a ``huge'' 
potential for normalization and improvement of relations between our 
countries and Sudan does not engage in terrorism because the taking of 
innocent life is contrary to Islamic beliefs. He argued that the U.S. 
had no basis for concluding that the Sudanese plant that was targeted 
for missile strikes by the U.S. in 1998 actually produced nerve gas. He 
emphasized the positive aspects of the new interaction between U.S. and 
Sudanese intelligence agencies, and the resulting shift toward more 
engagement and intensification of dialogue with the Bush 
administration.
  Foreign Minister Ismail stressed that the international community, 
particularly the United States, should be patient with Sudan since the 
real beginning of movement toward democracy, human rights, religious 
freedom and other elements of a free society only began in 1997-1998 
with the drafting of the new Sudanese Constitution. This in combination 
with the debilitating effects of the North-South war has caused 
``growing pains,'' according to Minister Ismail. Minister Ismail handed 
to Senator Shelby a report that provides details that Sudan has done 
everything that it can to fight terrorism.
  President Bashier stated his appreciation for the existing 
cooperation between the U.S. and Sudan, including the special role of 
our country and Senator Danforth in brokering the Machakos talks. In 
stressing the need for the ultimate unification of Sudan following the 
6\1/2\ year trial period envisioned by Machakos, President Bashier drew 
an analogy between the Sudanese civil war and the U.S. Civil War. 
Bashier said that if the U.S. had not remained unified the Union could 
have ended up ``more like Canada or Mexico.''
  On regime change in Iraq, Dr. Sulahaddin said, any attack on Iraq 
would fragment the Arab world, and urged the U.S. to seek a unified 
stance in the United Nations among various Arab countries. President 
Bashier said that he hopes that the U.S. will seek alternatives to 
military action because the Iraqi people have suffered enough.
  Our delegation next moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to further 
explore trade, security and health issues. We met with the U.S. country 
team led by Charges de Affairs Thomas Hull. Hull briefed us about the 
state of Ethiopia in the wake of its two-year border war with Eritrea. 
The U.S. intelligence relationship with Ethiopia has grown even 
stronger after September 11. The Ethiopians believe that the war on 
terrorism serves their own domestic security interests, as Ethiopia 
must also contend with radical Islam as a constant threat. Other issues 
that were discussed included potential U.S. basing in Eritrea in 
preparation to act militarily against Saddam Hussein and the impact 
such basing might have on Ethiopian security concerns vis-a-vis 
Eritrea. Ethiopia is also concerned about cross border terrorist 
incursions into its country from Somalia.
  We then met with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zanawi, who was 
quite articulate and spoke in depth about many subjects. He said that 
Ethiopia is a close ally in the war against terrorism, but for 
Ethiopian reasons. The

[[Page S9577]]

reasons to which he refers is the constant threat of radical Islam to 
Ethiopia and its African neighbors. He referred to the war on terrorism 
as something of a godsend for Ethiopia, because it has focused the 
world on the practices of radical Islam. Ethiopia, according to the 
Prime Minister, is at the epicenter of terrorism and a secular island 
in the sea of Islam.
  We questioned Prime Minister Meles about the U.S. policy of regime 
change in Iraq. He responded that Saddam should be removed in order to 
force countries like Saudi Arabia with large Islamic populations to 
choose whether to allow radical Islam to take hold or to fight against 
that very radicalism. He calls this a fight for their very survival.
  Regarding trade, Ethiopia stands to gain by the combination of the 
AGOA and the TPA, and Meles appreciates the role of the United States 
in engaging sub-Saharan Africa on trade. He said Ethiopia wants access 
to the U.S.'s trillion-dollar economy.
  We also sought the Prime Minister's views on the Sudanese peace 
process and its effect upon Ethiopia. According to Meles, the Sudanese 
Muslim government has already taken anti-Islamic actions by agreeing in 
principle to non-application of Sharia in the South. This, according to 
Meles, will make it easier to achieve breakthroughs on other issues. 
The Prime Minister also sees the exploitation of oil and gas reserves 
in a stable Sudan, and the willingness of the United States to engage 
the peace process, as positive incentives for the Sudanese to move the 
peace process forward.
  With regard to Somalia, Prime Minister Meles compared Somalia to 
Afghanistan and Yemen as a potential haven for terrorists. When I asked 
what the U.S. should do to address the situation, Meles noted that the 
United States must devote nonmilitary resources rather than attempting 
to broker a Machakos-type agreement. Somalia is not ready for a 
negotiated agreement because there are too many actors on that stage.
  We also discussed the HIV/AIDS crisis and human suffering in 
Ethiopia. The Prime Minister linked solutions to both crises to United 
States assistance in bolstering Ethiopian infrastructure and 
institutions, providing access to U.S. markets through expansion of 
trade, and removal of Ethiopia from the cycle of reliance on foreign 
aid.
  U.S. appropriations for HIV/AIDS projects in Ethiopia have increased 
from $4 million to $18 million in the past two years. At this time, 
both USAID and the CDC are active in Ethiopia. USAID focuses both on 
famine relief, drought issues and along with the CDC, HIV/AIDS 
prevention and education efforts. CDC has also opened HIV/AIDS 
diagnostic clinics in Addis Ababa. While the HIV/AIDS rate is 13 
percent, consistent with Kenya prevalence percentages, actual numbers 
of those with HIV/AIDS is higher in Ethiopia as the population is 
higher.
  From Ethiopia we moved to neighboring Eritrea. Ethiopia's annexation 
of Eritrea as a province in 1962 started a 30-year struggle for 
independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating 
governmental forces. A two and a half year border war with Ethiopia 
that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on December 12, 2000. 
Final lines of demarcation are being arbitrated.
  According to U.S. Ambassador to Eritrea Donald McConnell, the 
relationship between the United States and Eritrea is sweet and sour. 
Ambassador McConnell gives Eritrea an ``A+'' grade in joining with the 
United States in the war against terrorism. Eritrea may soon be 
assisting the United States to change the regime in Iraq by allowing 
our troops to use bases in Eritrea. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki 
said in our meeting with him that there must be a change altogether in 
the Iraqi regime if Iraqi behavior is to change.
  In terms of promoting stability in the region, Ambassador McConnell 
told us that Eritrea might face greater challenges from radical 
fundamentalism. President Isaias is skeptical of Sudanese intentions 
and believes that the Bashier government will continue to quietly 
encourage radical fundamentalists to further destabilize the region. 
President Isaias said that the Sudanese leadership is committed to 
radical Islam and are worse than bin Laden, and that they preach hatred 
under the guise of Islam. He believes that the United States must 
remain constructively engaged in the region to prevent radical Islamic 
views from overtaking neighboring countries or threatening their 
security.
  While in Eritrea, we continued to hear of religious persecution in 
Sudan and the importance of the United States in stopping it. In 
separate discussions with Abune Philipos Woldetensae, the Patriarch of 
the Eritrean Orthodox Church, and Abba Menghisteab Tesfamariam, the 
Bishop of the Catholic Church of Eritrea, we were told that the 
Sudanese are oppressing Christians in southern Sudan. Abune Philipos 
went so far as to say, Christian believers in Sudan will not exist if 
the U.S. Government does not bring pressure to resolve their 
persecution by Islam. Bishop Menghisteab recounted how five of his 
fellow Catholic Bishops from Sudan have told him as recently as July 
28, 2002 of Christian women and children being sold into slavery.
  The Sudanese Bishops also told him that President Bashier is 
attempting to Islamize the entire country by using Sharia law to 
suppress Christians. According to both clerics, some new Eritrean 
churches may be facing problems obtaining permits to worship. These two 
men stay in close contact with the head of the Eritrean Muslim 
community, as well as leading Protestants, which make up the 
traditional four churches in Eritrea. The new churches not belonging to 
this traditional group of four have been told in recent weeks that they 
must register with the government and provide information on their 
activities and source of funding, according to Ambassador McConnell.
  We discussed other human rights issues such as the detention without 
charge of two Eritrean employees of the U.S. embassy due to national 
security concerns. There is just so much the U.S. can do as it relates 
to the internal affairs of a country like Eritea, and we remain hopeful 
of an acceptable resolution of the detention of the two employees.
  The United States can help Eritrea by remaining engaged in the 
region. Among other things, we can assist Eritrea in becoming an 
exporter of valuable products by focusing foreign aid on building their 
infrastructure. Then Eritrea can take advantage of AGOA and TPA and 
become a viable U.S. trade partner and thus expand our bilateral 
relationship.
  Our codel then traveled to Sicily for refueling the night before 
returning to the United States.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that copies of op-ed pieces 
which I have written for the Morning Call and the Harrisburg Patriot 
and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also be printed in the Congressional 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From The Morning, Call, Sept. 16, 2002]

          Prosperity and Peace in Africa Will Help Fight AIDS

                           (By Arlen Specter)

       PHILADELPHIA--``I want access to America's trillion-dollar 
     economy,'' Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi told Sen. 
     Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, and me in our mid-
     August fact-finding travels through Africa. If the developing 
     nations of Africa can stop the spread of HIV and AIDS and end 
     their bloody wars, the continent stands at the brink of real 
     economic development with expanded foreign aid and new U.S. 
     trade laws, which will open our markets.
       Wherever we went--South Africa, Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia, 
     Mauritius, and Eritrea--we heard of the debilitating effects 
     of the AIDS epidemic. In many African countries, the U.S. 
     National Institutes of Health and Center for Disease Control 
     are providing funding and personnel to combat AIDS. President 
     Bush recently announced a new $5 billion aid package to 
     Africa to spur economic development and AIDS control. This 
     year's World HIV/AIDS Conference in New York City is 
     promoting education, testing, and treatment. Follow-up action 
     by African governments and increased foreign aid offer some 
     promise, but winning the war against AIDS will be very 
     difficult.
       Prospects for ending civil wars are brighter. On July 20, a 
     breakthrough agreement was reached between the Sudan 
     government and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement 
     (SPLM) largely due to the mediation efforts of former Sen. 
     John Danforth. Sudan's President Omar el-Bashier told us of 
     his keen interest to improve relations with the U.S. and to 
     have his country taken off the terrorist list. This has led 
     Sudan to offer unlimited, surprise visits by U.S. 
     intelligence agents to its weapons factories and laboratories 
     to assure it is not developing weapons of mass destruction, 
     and Sudan has

[[Page S9578]]

     also agreed to grant religious freedom to Christians who have 
     been persecuted and sold into slavery for decades by their 
     Islamic oppressors. Much more needs to be done to, but our 
     former colleague, Sen. Danforth, gave us a detailed report on 
     the reasons for his optimism.
       In Addis Ababa and Asmara, we heard assurances from 
     Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi and Eritrean President 
     Isaias Afwerki that the war over their boundary dispute had 
     been resolved. Both men, along with other regional leaders, 
     were focusing on the conference for ``Samalia 
     Reconciliation'' held in Kenya last week, sponsored by IGAD, 
     the Intergovernmental Authority for Development. Anarchy in 
     Somalia, with numerous war lords, causes regional instability 
     and breeding grounds for al Qaeda.
       In our visit to the Rwanda War Crimes Tribunal in Arusha, 
     Tanzania, we observed a trial on charges of genocide. That 
     Tribunal established an historic precedent in 2000 by 
     convicting a head of state, former Prime Minister Jean 
     Kambanda of Rwanda.
       Perhaps the Rwanda criminal proceedings have even been a 
     factor in ending the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone in the 
     last few years. Peace negotiations are also now promising in 
     Burundi and Congo. An optimistic note was sounded by Charles 
     B. Snyder, deputy assistant secretary of state for Africa: 
     ``I like to think peace is contagious.''
       If answers can be found to war and AIDS, the isle of 
     Mauritius, located 1,200 miles off the east coast of South 
     Africa, is a prototype for economic prosperity. Mark Twain 
     once said upon visiting the island that ``One gets the 
     impression that God made Mauritius first, and then modeled 
     Heaven after it.'' We visited a sweater factory that was 
     started by a Mauritian in 1985 and now employs, 2,500 people 
     using the most modern equipment. Some of the piece workers 
     there earn $300 a week, a stark contrast from the $250 annual 
     earnings in Tanzania. Our Ambassador John Price and the 
     factory owner, Sunil Hassamal, expect those earnings to 
     increase as a result of the U.S. African Growth and 
     Opportunity Act passed in 2000 and the newly enacted 
     legislation on Trade Promotion Authority.
       Perhaps the most remarkable development since my last trip 
     to South Africa in 1993 is what has happened to that country. 
     With the election victory of the African National Congress in 
     1994, apartheid has given way to a stable government where 
     blacks and whites work together and Nelson Mandela is 
     everybody's hero.
                                  ____


                 [From the Patriot News, Sept. 1, 2002]

                Christians Face Many Obstacles in Sudan

                        (By Sen. Arlen Specter)

       A peace agreement between the government of Sudan and the 
     Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement offers the prospect of 
     ending slavery and the persecution of Christians in Sudan.
       The civil war, which has raged since 1956 with only 
     intermittent lapses, has seen governmental Muslim forces 
     attack Christians in the south, kill the men and kidnap the 
     women and children who are then sold into slavery.
       In September 2001, President Bush appointed former Sen. 
     John Danforth as his Special Envoy to broker a peace 
     agreement between the warring factions. After intense 
     negotiations, a break-through agreement was reached on July 
     20 leading to the ``famous handshake'' one week later between 
     Sudanese President Omar el Bashier and SPLM leader John 
     Garange.
       Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and I traveled to Sudan in 
     mid-August to discuss these issues with the parties with 
     special emphasis on what was happening on religious 
     persecution.
       I tried to visit Sudan, but could not do so because of 
     dangers from the civil war. Instead, I visited neighboring 
     Eritrea where I met with Sudanese Christians in exile and I 
     then traveled to Addis Ababa where I discussed religious 
     persecution with Patriarch Abuna Paulos of the Ethiopian 
     Orthodox Church.
       These meetings plus fact finding in Egypt and Saudi Arabia 
     in 1998 provided part of the bases for legislation that Rep. 
     Frank Wolf, R-Va., and I introduced that later became the 
     International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
       In Khartoum last month, Rev. Ezekiel Kondo, the Provincial 
     Secretary of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, advised that 
     persecution of Christians by the government of Sudan was 
     continuing, but there was hope that a peace agreement would 
     produce real change. Rev. Kondo said Christians weren't able 
     to build churches, were denied visas to attend out-of-country 
     conferences and Islam converts to Christianity faced death.
       When we traveled to Asmara, Bishop Abba Menghisteab 
     Tesfarmariam of the Eritrean Catholic Church told us about 
     complaints of five Sudanese Catholic Bishops at a conference 
     in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in July, that Catholics were 
     persecuted and sold into slavery by their Islam oppressors.
       In Asmara, we also met with 97-year old Patriarch Abune 
     Philipos Woldetensae of the Orthodox Church who emphasized 
     that Christians will not be permitted to practice their 
     religion even with guarantees in the peace agreement unless 
     the U.S. makes it happen.
       In our meetings with Sudan's top officials, Sen. Shelby and 
     I stressed the importance of carrying out the guarantees for 
     freedom of religion. President Omar el-Bashier, foreign 
     Minister Mustafa Ismail and Peace Advisor Ghazi Sulahaddin 
     all pledged to do so. When we discussed the issue with 
     Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, he scoffed at the 
     prospects for Sudan to honor the commitment on religious 
     freedom because Islam fundamentalists are fanatic about 
     spreading their religious beliefs as part of gaining control 
     of people and countries.
       From meeting many people in the region and especially Sen. 
     Danforth, it is my judgment that Sudan very much wants to 
     gain favor from the U.S., which is the principal reason for a 
     peace agreement with the SPLM.
       Repeatedly, the Sudanese officials asked about being taken 
     off the terrorist list.
       Sudan's government has made other significant concessions 
     such as giving U.S. intelligence agents unlimited access to 
     weapons factories and laboratories for surprise ``visits'' to 
     check for production of weapons of mass destruction.
       The ``Strategic Paper on Just Peace in the Framework of 
     Comprehensive Political Settlement in Sudan'' specifies 
     ``Religious belief and cultural identity are natural 
     aspirations at the individual and group level, but cannot be 
     imposed on others by any single party.''
       A final written agreement must spell out religious rights 
     and deal with many specific pending issues.
       Whatever the words, only the deeds matter.
       Ultimately, U.S. pressure will be indispensable.
       The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 provides 
     the mechanism to monitor and, where necessary, impose U.S. 
     sanctions to guarantee religious freedom in Sudan and 
     elsewhere.
                                  ____


           [From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 13, 2002]

              Try the Sudan Model for Inspections in Iraq

                           (By Arlen Specter)

       Washington.--On a trip to Sudan in August, Sen. Richard 
     Shelby and I learned about ``visits'' to Sudan's weapons 
     factories and laboratories by U.S. intelligence agents that 
     could provide a model for U.N. inspections in Iraq.
       Sudan's president, Omar el-Bashir, told us his country was 
     very eager to improve relations with the United States with a 
     view to ultimately getting off the terrorist list. In 
     addition to promising to stop persecuting Christians, Sudan 
     is allowing U.S. agents unlimited, unannounced visits to any 
     location--to break locks, inspect and photograph. Our agents 
     told us they are confident that Sudan is not developing 
     weapons of mass destruction at any of these installations.
       Obviously, the situations between Iraq and Sudan are very 
     different, so many questions would have to be answered. The 
     first question is whether Saddam Hussein will ever honor his 
     commitment to the United Nations to permit such inspections.
       Last April, Secretary General Kofi Annan told me of his 
     frustrations in dealing with Saddam's ``cat and mouse'' game. 
     First, Saddam stalls, then his people say yes with 
     qualifications, then another Iraqi official says no and 
     meanwhile Saddam is free to do what he pleases. Since the 
     United States downplays such inspections, there isn't much 
     push to get them done. While it is true that no inspection 
     regime can guard against factories or laboratories we don't 
     know about, visits on the Sudan model would go a long way.
       Then there is the doubt about whether the Bush 
     administration really wants inspections. Inspections might 
     delay a planned attack. In any event, Bush's team doubts 
     their value. The President addressed the United Nations 
     yesterday and stated that the U.N. Security Council 
     resolutions must be adhered to by Iraq. Inspections are an 
     integral part of those resolutions, and could be patterned 
     after the inspections currently being used in Sudan. A very 
     high-level expert in the U.S. intelligence community told me 
     unrestricted, surprise inspections could provide adequate 
     information on what Iraq is doing on WMD at those locations.
       As President Bush has escalated the rhetoric for regime 
     change, even his customary Republican allies have joined the 
     international chorus in raising questions and insisting that 
     he receive congressional authority to go to war against Iraq. 
     Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, Republican 
     Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, Jack Kemp and even columnist 
     Robert Novak represent a strong conservative base in urging 
     caution, restraint and even no action.
       Former Secretary of State James Baker has proposed a U.N. 
     resolution calling for the use of force to compel Saddam to 
     honor his 1991 commitments to permit inspections. That could 
     provide the basis for an international military coalition if 
     the Security Council agrees and Iraq continues to resist. If 
     the United Nations does not adopt the Baker idea, it gives 
     the United States a strong reason to unilaterally enforce 
     Iraq's inspection commitments if the United Nations won't.
       In order to make the case for military action, President 
     Bush will have to deal with other tough issues: the cost in 
     casualties, who will replace Saddam and what will be the 
     repercussions in the region and beyond. But if Saddam 
     continues to turn away inspectors, this will raise the 
     common-sense

[[Page S9579]]

     conclusion that he has something to hide, like weapons of 
     mass destruction. And as the risk looms large that Saddam is 
     continuing to develop such weapons, those issues will be 
     subordinated to avoiding another Sept. 11 or worse.

  Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for 30 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________