[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E654]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CALLING FOR STABILITY AND THE CESSATION OF VIOLENCE AND CONDEMNING 
 ISIS-AFFILIATED TERRORIST ACTIVITY IN NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE, INCLUDING 
           THE CABO DELGADO PROVINCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 21, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution 
calling for the stability and the cessation of violence and condemning 
ISIS-affiliated terrorist activity in northern Mozambique.
  For months, insurgents linked to the Islamic State have attacked 
innocent Mozambican citizens and soldiers in the region of Cabo 
Delgado.
  The region is home to one of the world's richest natural gas 
reservoirs, making it the target of considerable attention for Islamic 
revolutionaries.
  Since the early 2010s, a mixture of economic inequality, 
unemployment, and a religious movement have bred a strong, violent 
extremist organization called Ansar al-Sunna.
  That movement is now characterized by cells of the Islamic State 
working to terrorize the Mozambican people, funded by illegal drug and 
ivory trading.
  The violence has displaced nearly one million people and killed 
thousands of others.
  The insurgents decimate villages, especially targeting Christian 
districts, while murdering civilians with terrifying callousness.
  This resolution calls on the government of Mozambique, specifically 
President Filipe Nyusi, to finally take action to counter the 
extremism.
  Under the status quo, people are killed for practicing their 
religion, and extremists have overrun all forms of policing in the 
Northern province.
  A right to liberty and justice is not something designed only for 
Americans or those in the West. Every human being deserves an equitable 
chance to pursue a fulfilling, secure life.
  That opportunity is being stripped away by deadly revolutionaries in 
Mozambique. It is time for this Congress to take a stand against an 
insurgency that has decimated lives since 2017.
  As defenders of the defenseless, America must take a stand and 
pressure the Mozambican government to protect its own citizens.

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