[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            A FREE ZIMBABWE

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, today I draw my colleagues' attention 
to the situation in Zimbabwe, where courageous citizens continue to 
protest the political repression and economic collapse that have 
plunged their country into crisis.
  Since 2000, President Mugabe has made a series of decisions intended 
to tighten his grip on power regardless of the cost to the country, 
trampling on the independence of the judiciary, harassing the 
independent media, manipulating the political process, intimidating 
opposition supporters, destroying the economy, and exacerbating a food 
crisis. A very real and legitimate issue--the need for meaningful land 
reform--was for a time employed as a fig leaf for the regime. But it 
has long been clear that this government is not interested in justice, 
only in power.
  Last week's general strike has been the latest manifestation of 
public dissatisfaction. Reports from the region indicate that security 
forces are violently suppressing efforts to demonstrate in the streets, 
using rubber clubs, rifle butts, water cannons, tear gas, and live 
ammunition to disperse crowds, according to the Associated Press. Some 
300 people have been arrested, including opposition parliamentarians. 
At this difficult time, it is important that the people of Zimbabwe 
know that the world is watching, and that like the Zimbabweans 
demanding change, the international community has not lost hope for the 
country.
  I was proud to work with the distinguished majority leader, Senator 
Frist, on the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, a bill 
which was passed into law in the last Congress. This legislation makes 
it clear that when the rule of law is restored in Zimbabwe, and when 
the civil and political rights of citizens are respected, the United 
States will come forward to help the country recover, rebuild. We will 
continue to fight the AIDS pandemic that is taking such a terrible toll 
on Zimbabwean society. I look forward to the day when we can follow 
through on that commitment, Mr. President, and help Zimbabwe to realize 
its tremendous potential as an engine of growth and model of 
participatory democracy in the region. Time after time, news reports 
confirm that Zimbabwe is full of patriots--citizens who refuse to allow 
their country to be hijacked by a self-serving cabal, independent 
journalists who risk torture when they seek to report the truth rather 
than the ruling party line, parents who want their children to grow up 
in a Zimbabwe free from repression and corruption. These people deserve 
our support and our admiration.

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