[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 28401-28408]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE'S ``OPERATION MURAMBATSVINA''

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 409) condemning the Government of 
Zimbabwe's ``Operation Murambatsvina'' under which homes, businesses, 
religious structures, and other buildings and facilities were 
demolished in an effort characterized by the Government of Zimbabwe as 
an operation to ``restore order'' to the country, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 409

       Whereas on May 19, 2005, the Government of Zimbabwe 
     launched ``Operation Murambatsvina'', translated from the 
     Shona language as ``Operation Drive Out the Trash'', in major 
     cities and suburbs throughout Zimbabwe in an effort that it 
     characterized as an operation to ``restore order'' to the 
     country;
       Whereas hours after the Governor of the Reserve Bank of 
     Zimbabwe called for an end to the parallel market, Operation 
     Murambatsvina began in the city of Harare and subsequently in 
     other urban areas, such as the city of Bulawayo, ostensibly 
     to oust illegal vendors and eliminate illegal structures;
       Whereas Operation Murambatsvina was carried out as an 
     indiscriminate demolition of the homes and livelihood of 
     thousands of Zimbabwean citizens already suffering from a 
     protracted economic and political crisis brought on by poor 
     policy directives by the Government of Zimbabwe that forced 
     masses of rural dwellers to urban areas of the country for 
     survival;
       Whereas in some communities that were victimized by the 
     forced demolitions, including Cheru Farm and Killarney Farm 
     where more than 20,000 people lived, Zimbabweans had lived in 
     residences for over 20 years and had well-functioning 
     schools, health and HIV/AIDS clinics, orphanages for AIDS-
     affected children, viable businesses, places of worship, and 
     other amenities;
       Whereas in 1993, the Government of Zimbabwe moved families 
     from Cheru Farms to a new location, Porto Farm, which during 
     Operation Murambatsvina was demolished by Zimbabwean 
     Government forces;
       Whereas government security forces carried out Operation 
     Murambatsvina, and in doing so, beat residents and forced 
     them to destroy their own homes and places of business, 
     though many residents provided permits from municipal 
     authorities granting permission to build their structures;
       Whereas Operation Murambatsvina resulted in the demolition 
     throughout the country of homes, businesses, and religious 
     structures, including a mosque, and an AIDS orphanage and in 
     the intimidation, harassment, and arrest of tens of thousands 
     of people;
       Whereas Operation Murambatsvina cut off many AIDS patients 
     from anti-retroviral medicines which will likely lead to a 
     reversal of their health, resistance to the drugs, and a more 
     virulent form of AIDS in Zimbabwe with potential for 
     spreading throughout the region and worldwide;
       Whereas churches and private citizens sheltering the 
     victims of Operation Murambatsvina were also intimidated, 
     harassed, and arrested for their efforts to provide a safe 
     haven for the victims during Zimbabwe's harsh winter;
       Whereas armed soldiers and police forcibly removed hundreds 
     of homeless people from churches in the city of Bulawayo and 
     banned religious groups from providing humanitarian 
     assistance to those seeking shelter at Hellensvale, a transit 
     camp north of Zimbabwe's second city, and where police 
     arrested and detained religious leaders;
       Whereas a strongly worded statement issued by the Bulawayo 
     clergy stated: ``The removal of the poor, innocent, weak, 
     voiceless and vulnerable members of society by riot police in 
     the middle of the night was uncalled for and unnecessary. It 
     is inhumane, brutal and insensitive, and in total disregard 
     of human rights and dignity. These people are not criminals 
     but bona fide citizens of this nation. It seems the crime 
     they committed is that they are poor.'';
       Whereas the African Commission for Peoples' and Human 
     Rights dispatched an African Union envoy, Bahame Tom 
     Nyanduga, Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Internally 
     Displaced Persons, and Asylum Seekers in Africa to 
     investigate the ongoing demolitions;
       Whereas the Government of Zimbabwe refused to allow the 
     African Union envoy an opportunity to conduct his mission 
     after being accused by the Government of Zimbabwe through its 
     government-controlled media of ``following the agenda of 
     western countries'';
       Whereas the decision to block access to the African Union 
     envoy is representative of a larger pattern of behavior, 
     whereby the Government of Zimbabwe uses violence, 
     intimidation, and demagoguery to subjugate its people, relies 
     on scapegoats to justify the economic, political, and social 
     crises in Zimbabwe, and detains and slanders United States 
     diplomats who challenge the ruinous policies of that 
     government;
       Whereas in response to the crisis, the Secretary-General of 
     the United Nations dispatched a special envoy, Ms. Anna 
     Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations 
     Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), on a factfinding 
     mission to assess the scope and impact of Operation 
     Murambatsvina on the people of Zimbabwe and its consequences 
     for the Zimbabwean Government;
       Whereas the mission of the United Nations special envoy was 
     undertaken between June 26 and July 8, 2005, where she 
     visited the cities of Harare, Headlands, Rusape, Mutare, 
     Gweru, Bulawayo, Hwange, and Victoria Falls and met with 
     victims of Operation Murambatsvina, heard personal testimony 
     from victims, and met with members of the diplomatic 
     community, the Government of Zimbabwe, and international 
     nongovernmental organizations;
       Whereas the United Nations special envoy estimated that 
     approximately 700,000 people in cities across the country 
     have lost either their homes, their source of livelihood, or 
     both, and that a total of 2.4 million people or 18 percent of 
     the population was directly or indirectly affected by 
     Operation Murambatsvina and that the operation would have 
     considerable short-term and long-term impact on social and 
     economic conditions in the country;
       Whereas 40,800 families directly affected by Operation 
     Murambatsvina were headed by women, and 83,530 children under 
     the age of four and 26,600 people age 60 and older were 
     directly affected;
       Whereas President Robert Mugabe described this sudden and 
     extensive operation

[[Page 28402]]

     against thousands of families and business persons in the 
     dead of winter as necessary ``to eliminate hideouts of crime 
     and grime'';
       Whereas the United Nations special envoy is quoted as 
     saying ``the poor are not criminals . . . [t]hey work hard to 
     obtain the little which they have and they should not thus be 
     treated like criminals'';
       Whereas the United Nations special envoy assessed the 
     negative impact of Operation Murambatsvina on shelter, water 
     and sanitation, food and nutrition, basic health services, 
     HIV/AIDS, education, women and girls, refugees and other 
     vulnerable groups;
       Whereas the special envoy concluded that Operation 
     Murambatsvina ``has rendered people homeless and economically 
     destitute on an unprecedented scale; most of the victims were 
     already among the most economically disadvantaged groups in 
     society; and they have now been pushed deeper into poverty 
     and have become even more vulnerable; and the scale of 
     suffering is immense, particularly among widows, single 
     mothers, children, orphans, the elderly and the disabled 
     persons'';
       Whereas at the time of independence, President Robert 
     Mugabe was hailed as a liberator and Zimbabwe showed bright 
     prospects for democracy, economic development, domestic 
     reconciliation, and prosperity;
       Whereas President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party in recent 
     years have turned away from the promises of liberation and 
     become a party that uses state power to deny the people of 
     Zimbabwe the freedoms and prosperity for which they fought 
     and deserve;
       Whereas the rise of urbanization and the informal sector in 
     Zimbabwe has been the direct result of failed economic 
     policies, a bitterly disputed fast track land reform program, 
     unplanned cash handouts to appease war veterans, the costly 
     military intervention in Congo, and persistent drought;
       Whereas before Operation Murambatsvina, unemployment in 
     Zimbabwe was between 70 and 80 percent, the HIV/AIDS 
     prevalence rate was 24 percent, and the inflation rate was 
     164.4 percent (but was as high as 522.8 percent), and 
     currently Zimbabwe has the world's fastest shrinking economy, 
     there is an ongoing fuel crisis in the country, and the 
     Zimbabwean economy had contracted 7 percent; and
       Whereas the staggering suffering brought on by Operation 
     Murambatsvina has been added to the already large-scale 
     humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That--
       (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
       (A) through Operation Murambatsvina, the Government of 
     Zimbabwe has created a humanitarian disaster that has 
     compounded the already existing humanitarian food and 
     economic crises in the country, and the Government of 
     Zimbabwe has insufficient resources to address such crises;
       (B) the Government of Zimbabwe has a duty to protect the 
     economic, social, and political rights of its citizens as 
     guaranteed by the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the African 
     Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights; and
       (C) the Government of Zimbabwe also is subject to the 
     International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
     Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a party, which states in part 
     that ``forced evictions are prima facie incompatible with the 
     provisions of the Covenant and can only be carried out under 
     specific circumstances''; and
       (2) the House of Representatives--
       (A) condemns Operation Murambatsvina as a major 
     humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Government of 
     Zimbabwe's callousness toward its own people, disregard for 
     the rule of law, and lack of planning to move families and 
     businesses to more desirable locations;
       (B) calls on the United Nations, the African Commission for 
     Peoples' and Human Rights, and the African Union to continue 
     efforts to investigate the impact of the demolitions of 
     housing structures and premises from which informal 
     businesses operated and to provide the international 
     community with a viable strategy to address the problems;
       (C) calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to allow 
     international humanitarian organizations access to those 
     affected by the operation who are in need of food, medicine, 
     shelter, sanitation, and water;
       (D) calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to hold accountable 
     those responsible for this egregious injury to the Zimbabwean 
     people, both the decisionmakers of the operation and those 
     who carried out the operation;
       (E) calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to immediately and 
     aggressively implement policies to promote the private sector 
     and create jobs and build housing to accommodate those 
     displaced by the operation;
       (F) calls on the United Nations and the international 
     community to stand by the people of Zimbabwe who have been 
     victimized by their government in this operation and to help 
     them with relief and reconstruction of their lives;
       (G) calls on the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the 
     United States Executive Director at the International 
     Monetary Fund (IMF) to use the voice, vote, and influence of 
     the United States to continue to advocate for further action 
     at the IMF should the Government of Zimbabwe continue to fail 
     to meet its obligations to the IMF;
       (H) condemns President Mugabe's harassment of the United 
     States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, including by threatening the 
     Ambassador's expulsion from the country and asserting that he 
     could ``go to Hell''; and
       (I) calls on President Mugabe to recognize that absent 
     meaningful corrective actions on his part, President Mugabe's 
     legacy will be defined by his responsibility for the ruinous 
     policies and draconian laws that brought untold suffering of 
     his people and the near collapse of Zimbabwe as a nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.

                              {time}  2245

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I begin by commending the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for 
crafting and authoring this resolution. It is very timely and extremely 
important, given the events in Zimbabwe. I would like to point out that 
H. Res. 409 condemns the government of Zimbabwe for its horrendous 
abuses of civil and human rights of its citizens.
  Zimbabwe is a Nation that even recently was an economic success, an 
example to other nations in Africa. However, the serious mismanagement 
of that country's economy has reduced the gross national income to 
levels last seen in 1953. Inflation in Zimbabwe today exceeds 500 
percent.
  When the government of Zimbabwe began its so-called Operation 
Murambatsvina on May 19, it was supposed to be a limited operation to 
end the parallel market but developed into the most destructive 
campaign that country has seen in its post-independence history. Months 
after this vicious campaign, there are estimates of as many as 700,000 
displaced persons, many of whom are living without food, water or 
shelter.
  By all accounts, this operation has made existing social problems 
much worse. Nongovernmental organization representatives have told us 
that now there are 2 million widows, 1.5 million orphans, 500,000 
children with only one surviving parent and 8,000 households headed by 
children.
  While many still recall Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's critical 
role in winning independence for his country, we must hold him 
accountable for the devastation he has more recently brought upon his 
country's citizens, serious, serious crimes and human rights abuses. 
Whatever he has achieved in the past, he is furiously undoing his 
legacy in the present.
  House Resolution 409, which received its due consideration by the 
House International Relations Committee, seeks to shed light on the 
profound suffering that this operation has brought and inflicted upon 
the people of Zimbabwe. It notes that, through this operation, the 
government of Mugabe has created a manmade humanitarian disaster of 
epic proportions, which has only compounded the existing human rights 
and economic crises in Zimbabwe.
  It condemns President Mugabe's harassment of the United States 
Ambassador to Zimbabwe most recently by threatening his expulsion from 
the country and asserting that he could ``go to hell'' in response to 
the Ambassador's efforts to draw attention to the crisis in Zimbabwe.
  H. Con. Res. 409 also states that the government of Zimbabwe has a 
duty to protect its people and calls on that government to immediately 
and aggressively implement policies to promote private sector 
development, create jobs and build housing to benefit those displaced 
by this operation.
  It further asserts that, absent such meaningful corrective measures, 
President Mugabe's legacy will be defined by his responsibility for the 
ruinous policies and draconian laws that have brought untold suffering 
to his people and the near collapse of Zimbabwe as a nation.
  Finally, the resolution calls on the International Monetary Fund to 
take

[[Page 28403]]

further action against the government of Zimbabwe should it continue to 
fail to meet its obligations to the international community.
  My subcommittee held a hearing on Zimbabwe's situation and the U.S. 
policy toward that country last April. We were dissatisfied with the 
state of U.S. engagement. Despite diligent State Department efforts, we 
still lack creative ways to address and resolve this crisis.
  One of the problems in engaging the government is the failure to 
speak with a consistent voice. This resolution may seem harsh to some, 
but it does not even begin to touch what is really going on in that 
once prosperous nation.
  Mr. Speaker, Greg Simpkins is the leader on the subcommittee of our 
Professional Staff, and he led a staff CODEL to Zimbabwe on July 1 
through the 10th. He was joined by Dr. Pearl-Alice Marsh, Senior 
Professional Staff Member for the Committee, and they did an 
extraordinary job in gathering a tremendous amount of information about 
what has really gone on and what the crisis is all about. I submit 
herewith their staff report for inclusion in the Record.

        Staffdel Simpkins Trip Report: Zimbabwe and South Africa

                         (By Gregory Simpkins)


                                SUMMARY

       Staff delegation Simpkins, consisting of myself and Dr. 
     Pearl-Alice Marsh, Senior Professional Staff Member for the 
     House Committee on International Relations, traveled to 
     Zimbabwe and South Africa from 1-10 July 2005. The purpose of 
     this mission was to investigate the situation on the ground 
     in Zimbabwe, especially in light of the recent government 
     actions to destroy allegedly illegal housing and vending 
     operations. The visit to South Africa was to examine programs 
     involving Zimbabwe refugees, speak with members of the 
     Zimbabwe expatriate community and discuss Zimbabwe with 
     members of the South African government, the ruling African 
     National Congress, the Congress of South African Trade Unions 
     and think tanks.
       We thank Ambassador Christopher Dell and his staff in 
     Harare and Ambassador Jendayi Frazer and her staff in 
     Pretoria for their assistance in making our visit productive.
       The report on this operation is the result of our 
     discussions with a wide variety of people in and around 
     Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and in Pretoria and 
     Johannesburg in South Africa (see appendix for list); a 27 
     June 2005 report by the Solidarity Peace Trust, a non-
     governmental organization registered in South Africa, and 
     various published reports and subsequent contacts with 
     sources in Zimbabwe.


                        OPERATION MURAMBATSVINA

       On 19 May 2005, the Government of Zimbabwe commenced 
     Operation Murambatsvina. While the Zimbabwean government 
     refers to it as ``Operation Restore Order,'' a literal 
     translation from the Shona language reveals that 
     ``Murambatsvina'' more closely means ``discarding the 
     filth.'' This places the operation in a more accurate 
     context.
       Gideon Gono, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 
     called for an end to the parallel market, and hours later the 
     operation began in Harare and subsequently other urban areas, 
     such as Bulawayo, ostensibly to oust illegal vendors and 
     eliminate illegal structures. Very early on, it became clear 
     that this operation would clean out all vendors and non-
     standard and additional structures whether legal or not. In 
     locations where dozens of vendors had populated longstanding 
     markets that attracted tourists and local people alike, we 
     saw empty spaces. But Operation Murambatsvina did not stop 
     with its urban renewal objective. The operation spread to so-
     called squatters' camps and other rural areas, tearing down 
     structures in which residents had in some cases invested 
     their life savings in order to construct a substantial house 
     with electricity and water.
       Spreading from central business districts to suburbs to 
     farms, this operation eventually evicted even supporters of 
     the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union--Patriotic Front 
     (ZANU-PF) who had seized white-owned commercial farms since 
     2000. Not even membership in the ruling party could save 
     homes from destruction, as police took down houses despite 
     the pleas of residents wearing ZANU-PF t-shirts. As for the 
     veterans of the liberation war, who had claimed credit for 
     assisting the government's land reform process that has so 
     transformed Zimbabwe's economy, they appear to have been 
     wiped out. Now landless and homeless, they apparently have 
     outlived their usefulness to the ruling party. One war 
     veteran reportedly stood in front of a police bulldozer that 
     had torn down his home and pleaded for police to take his 
     life.
       A Zimbabwean employee at the U.S. embassy in Harare told us 
     his supplementary dwelling in the backyard of his property 
     had been built to house some of his children to relieve 
     overcrowding in the main house. Nevertheless, authorities 
     forced him to tear the structure down, despite his holding a 
     legal permit from local authorities. His experience 
     apparently was shared by many other homeowners whose homes 
     were not shacks or shanties and who had locally-provided 
     permits for their construction.
       On June 2nd, BBC News quoted a cobbler (who identified 
     himself as ``Edson'') on his encounter with police who 
     arrived to force him and his fellow vendors from their 
     standard locations in Harare. He told the BBC that the 
     authorities were uninterested in his legal status as a 
     vendor: ``They were very firm and just kept saying: `We don't 
     want you; we don't want you here; we want you to go from this 
     place.'''
       Clearly, this operation was not restricted to illegal 
     vendors or dwellings. We were told that police and supporting 
     forces from youth militias and soldiers were not interested 
     in differentiating between what was legal or illegal. One 
     opposition politician showed us a truck load of youth militia 
     and explained that they had been in government camps and 
     prepared to take actions such as those associated with 
     Operation Murambatsvina. Eyewitnesses reported seeing police 
     looting stalls from which vendors were evicted. Others 
     reported to us that police confiscated property for which 
     residents of homes or shops could not produce satisfactory 
     receipts, even if the goods were personal property and not 
     for sale.
       This operation was cruelly executed. In Bulawayo, Ms. 
     Shingirai Mmpa told us she had been a vendor for nearly 20 
     years in the same location. She recounted how police one day 
     suddenly seized the vegetables she and other women were 
     selling as usual. Police came to her home and tried to make 
     her tear it down. She protested unsuccessfully that she was a 
     renter and did not own the house, and when she proved unable 
     to tear the house down, police got her neighbors to help her 
     do so. They then threatened to fine her 1.5 million Zimbabwe 
     dollars if she didn't dispose of the rubble. Her experience 
     was not unique.
       In Harare, we were told about a grandmother who had been 
     taking care of her grandchildren and other orphans. They 
     lived in a cottage that had been declared illegal and was 
     destroyed. She now faces a bill of five million Zimbabwe 
     dollars for back rent for a cottage that no longer exists and 
     another substantial bill for removing the rubble from the 
     destroyed cottage.
       We witnessed families at the Porta Farms camp whose homes 
     had been utterly destroyed, leaving them to seek refuge, 
     first in the bushes surrounding their former dwellings and 
     then in the ruins on which their homes had stood. We saw beds 
     and furniture sitting in the open, and families living with 
     no food, running water or sanitation facilities. We saw a 
     baby who had been born since the demolition, who had to 
     survive in temperatures that might reach 32 deg. at night. 
     The baby's mother, who had an obvious infection, had to 
     manage without medication from the local clinic that had been 
     managed by New Life Church. It was destroyed along with the 
     other structures.
       The evictions at Porta Farms involved more than a little 
     irony. Most residents of Porta Farms had been moved from 
     Chiuru Farm to keep them out of sight of Queen Elizabeth and 
     other world leaders who attended the 1991 Commonwealth Heads 
     of Government meeting in Harare. Some reportedly had been 
     told that if they paid to install electricity and water that 
     they would be given permits for their homes. Operation 
     Murambatsvina abrogated whatever agreement they may have had 
     with the government.
       We witnessed a similar situation at Kilarney squatters' 
     camp outside Bulawayo. The camp had been established by the 
     white minority Rhodesian government to move poor blacks out 
     of Bulawayo during colonial times. More residents of the camp 
     had been moved by the government of Robert Mugabe in the 
     1980s in the aftermath of the government massacre of Ndebele 
     people in Matabeleland. Now residents were on the move again. 
     This time, the camp was completely razed. Where once 
     thousands of people lived in houses often made of brick and 
     mortar, only ruins remained.
       Porta Farm residents told us that four people died in the 
     destruction of that camp: a child who was run over by a 
     bulldozer, a pregnant woman who died after being thrown into 
     a truck for transport elsewhere and two critically ill people 
     whose treatment was interrupted by the destruction. They were 
     not the only people who did not survive this operation. A 
     policeman was killed in Bulawayo when the wall of a building 
     he was helping to tear down fell on him. He died in the 
     United Bulawayo Hospital. An unknown number of people have 
     died of exposure or starvation or succumbed to untreated 
     medical conditions since Operation Murambatsvina began.
       Estimates range from 300,000 (U.S. embassy) to 700,000 
     (United Nations) displaced persons. An estimated 46,000 
     people have been arrested. More than 300,000 children are 
     unable to attend school due to being displaced or because 
     they have to care for siblings or older relatives in 
     distress. By all accounts, Operation Murambatsvina has 
     exacerbated existing social problems. Non-governmental 
     organization representatives told

[[Page 28404]]

     us there are now two million widows, 1.5 million orphans, 
     500,000 children with only one surviving parent and 8,000 
     households headed by children.
       The official rate of HIV-AIDS in Zimbabwe is 25%, although 
     it could actually be much higher. The way in which Operation 
     Murambatsvina has been applied is certain to ratchet that 
     percentage up much higher. Some women vendors have reported 
     being required to give sexual favors to get licenses to sell 
     goods. Moreover, with so many women vendors now unable to get 
     a license due to being arrested for having an illegal vending 
     operation, prostitution is likely to soar in coming weeks and 
     months. Heretofore, prostitution was not seen as a major 
     contributor to the rate of HIV-AIDS in Zimbabwe. A higher 
     HIV-AIDS rate also will affect those countries to which 
     Zimbabweans are fleeing.
       The threat of hunger, estimated by the U.S. embassy to be 
     greater than at any time in Zimbabwe's history, will be 
     exacerbated by Operation Murambatsvina. The food deficit was 
     believed to be 1.6 million metric tons prior to the removals 
     and now will rise dramatically. In the face of rising hunger, 
     the government outlawed ``urban farming'' and destroyed 
     gardens in and around cities, despite the fact that many 
     people were growing crops to make up for the lack of 
     available produce in Zimbabwe markets.
       This operation especially is having an ill effect on 
     Zimbabwe's economy. Early into Operation Murambatsvina, the 
     International Monetary Fund was predicting that Zimbabwe's 
     Gross Domestic Product would fall by 7% this year and that 
     inflation would rise to 200%. The country's Central 
     Statistical Office reported in mid-July that inflation had 
     risen nearly 20 percentage points in June to 164.3%. With the 
     almost utter destruction of the informal economy in this 
     operation and no coherent plan on how to restore the 
     thousands of microenterprises that were shut down, the 
     contraction of GDP could more than double. In fact, Center 
     for Global Development researcher Todd Moss is estimating 
     that Zimbabwe's Gross National Income is now down to its 1953 
     level.


                      the destruction's aftermath

       When we spoke to Didymus Mutasa, Minister of National 
     Security, he virtually bragged of having been part of the 
     decision to commence Operation Murambatsvina. He echoed the 
     government position that there were a lot of robberies, 
     prostitution and illegal money changing involved in the 
     informal markets that needed to be curbed. Minister Mutasa 
     added that crime was down significantly (20% by some 
     government estimates) since the operation began. He was 
     adamant that only 40,000 people were involved and that they 
     did not deserve sympathy.
       In fact, the government has told diplomatic missions who 
     had been providing food, blankets and medicines to displaced 
     people to stop. In a June 17th article in the Zimbabwe 
     Independent, senior officials at Zimbabwe's Ministry of 
     Social Welfare were reported to have ordered governors of 
     provinces to block donor groups from distributing food and 
     clothing to displaced people since the article noted that it 
     would ``expose the shortcomings of the controversial 
     campaign.''
       There is opposition within the government to requesting 
     food assistance, despite the estimated 4.5 million 
     Zimbabweans believed to need food this year. Discussions with 
     the World Food Program revolved around the government 
     allowing assistance while not requesting it and limiting the 
     supply of food resources to school feeding programs or 
     through the Grain Marketing Board, which has in the past 
     distributed food using political considerations.
       The government was said to be formulating its own response. 
     One such response is the establishment of several transit 
     camps, such as the one at Caledonia Farm. The conditions at 
     these camps are widely considered to be squalid. According to 
     a July 3rd report in the Times of London, aid workers say an 
     epidemic of diarrhea has broken out at the camp. Conditions 
     were so poor that church leaders we met with refused to allow 
     the displaced people they were caring for to be taken to the 
     camp.
       This concern was confirmed by Lucy Mwanza, a former 
     resident of the Harare suburb of Mbare now living at 
     Caledonia Farm, who told the United Nations Integrated 
     Regional Information Networks, as reported on June 14th: 
     ``All they (the government) did was just to come and dump us 
     here, and we have not heard from them since then. Just like 
     the other families that were brought here, my five children 
     and I were forced to set up two shacks using plastic and 
     cardboard boxes, but the cold is unbearable at night.''
       Father Barnabas Nqindi of the Church of the Ascension in 
     Bulawayo told us he was keeping the more than 100 displaced 
     persons at his church where the community has been generous 
     in helping to provide food and other supplies. Father Nqindi 
     said the transit camps, were too open, lacking proper shelter 
     and the necessary infrastructure to care for residents. He 
     said they were established hastily and remain unorganized. He 
     believes churches will play a major role in ensuring that 
     such camps are ready before people are transferred. Father 
     Nqindi said the churches are concerned about maintaining 
     access to the people once transferred so that they can 
     continue to ensure the necessary services are provided and 
     that eventual settlement of people in the camps is handled 
     humanely.
       Subsequent to our visit to Zimbabwe, baton wielding police 
     in full anti-riot gear reportedly stormed Father Nqindi's 
     church and other Bulawayo area churches, rounded up about 500 
     displaced people and took them to a transit camp about 35 
     kilometers outside the city. According to various reports, 
     the next morning, the people were dispersed, and the camp was 
     dismantled. WorldVision staff members were prevented from 
     distributing food. Only the Red Cross was allowed to provide 
     any assistance. Father Nqindi was briefly arrested, but has 
     been released for now.
       It is the government's intention to transfer many of the 
     people displaced from urban areas to their rural home, if 
     they have one. We saw many trucks carrying furniture leaving 
     cities, presumably on the way back to the original family 
     home. This exodus has been stymied, however, by the lack of 
     fuel in the country. Lacking foreign exchange with which to 
     buy sufficient fuel, the government has been unable to 
     prevent the rapid increase in gasoline prices, which have 
     risen 300% just due to higher world oil prices. In cities, 
     suburbs and more rural areas, lines of empty cars are parked 
     at gasoline stations awaiting word that fuel has arrived.
       The government also intends to build housing for the 
     displaced persons more consistent with reasonable urban 
     planning. Governor Gono told us he is confident that the 
     government can find one trillion Zimbabwe dollars to add to 
     three trillion in funding already identified to begin 
     construction of housing soon. However, the shortage of 
     foreign exchange currently is forcing the government to 
     choose between importing food or fuel, and the level of 
     funding necessary for such a major construction project is 
     far beyond known government revenues. Furthermore, to 
     adequately meet the needs of the many displaced people in a 
     timely manner, the rate of construction would have to exceed 
     any known rate for such a project anywhere in the world.
       The lack of housing, already a problem even for middle-
     class Zimbabweans, is now more acute. Housing prices have now 
     doubled and tripled, outpacing the ability to pay of working 
     families, even households headed by professionals. Some 
     middle-class people were among those whose homes were 
     demolished, and with this worsened housing crisis, the 
     homeless in Zimbabwe now include those who make a good 
     living, but who had the misfortune of losing their homes at 
     the worst possible time.
       One Zimbabwe businessman, who allegedly has a source within 
     President Robert Mugabe's inner circle, told us that the 
     Zimbabwe president, commenting on the results of Operation 
     Murambatsvina reportedly said: ``What a mess!''
       Indeed, many of his countrymen would agree, as they are 
     calling this situation ``the Mugabe tsunami.''


                 RATIONALE FOR OPERATION MURAMBATASVINA

       With such devastation to the Zimbabwe population and to the 
     country's economy, one wonders why Operation Murambatsvina 
     was undertaken in the first place. Of the many reasons 
     offered by sources to whom we spoke, opposition party Member 
     of Parliament David Coltart offered four reasons that 
     encompass what others have suggested as well.
       The ZANU-PF government used Operation Murambatsvina as a 
     tool to punish its political opponents. There certainly seems 
     to be some truth to this contention since this operation 
     began in urban areas that had not traditionally voted for 
     President Mugabe or his party. In the March 2005 elections, 
     ZANU-PF won only one urban seat. Mr. Coltart and others see 
     the government's actions as purely retribution for the 
     communities that did not vote for the ruling party. However, 
     as mentioned earlier, this operation spread from the urban to 
     the suburban to the rural areas and punished even ZANU-PF 
     supporters. Whatever the initial rationale for this 
     operation, it seems to have gotten out of hand and fallen 
     victim to a melange of agendas. Some ZANU-PF communities 
     apparently didn't vote in appropriate numbers in March, and 
     the so-called war veterans had served their purpose. Still, 
     the response of many ZANU-PF officials indicated that whoever 
     was targeted by this operation was not to be pitied or 
     helped.
       The ZANU-PF government feared an urban uprising and used 
     Operation Murambatsvina to clean out potential armed 
     opponents. Mr. Coltart and others pointed out that the ZANU-
     PF government has mishandled the economy so badly that unrest 
     is growing, especially with a 70% unemployment rate. The 
     financial crisis is deep and becoming insurmountable without 
     outside help that may not be forthcoming. Some sources 
     reported that youth, whose unemployment is near universal, 
     were becoming particularly restive, and some have said there 
     were efforts to obtain weapons by urban youth. I must 
     emphasize that this report is not broadly corroborated. 
     Nevertheless, the Central Intelligence Organization is aware 
     of sentiments, and due to their widespread infiltration of 
     organizations and movements throughout Zimbabwe, they are 
     aware of the

[[Page 28405]]

     so-called ``pub talk.'' Depopulating urban poor areas and 
     destroying the dissatisfied war veterans likely does provide 
     some protection against those willing and able to rise up in 
     armed opposition to the government.
       The ZANU-PF government was convinced that a vast pool of 
     foreign exchange was tied up in the parallel market and used 
     Operation Murambatsvina to obtain this currency. As discussed 
     earlier, the government has mishandled the economy to a 
     disastrous extent, and according to Dr. Tony Hawkins, 
     economics professor at the University of Zimbabwe's School of 
     Business, there is no turnaround in sight. Dr. Hawkins said 
     the central bank is printing money and distributing it, but 
     this is only exacerbating the inflationary spiral the country 
     is experiencing. The government was widely reported to have 
     raided hotels in search of significant amounts of foreign 
     currency, which was not found in the expected amounts. 
     Businesspeople confirmed that their successful Indian 
     colleagues had their homes and businesses raided--again in 
     search of supposed foreign exchange pools that for the most 
     part were not found. The effort to locate and seize large 
     amounts of foreign exchange from the informal sector also has 
     generally failed to turn up enough foreign exchange to 
     justify the raids.
       The ZANU-PF government used Operation Murambatsvina as a 
     tool of social engineering to turn the country into a feudal 
     society that is easier to control. With its continual call 
     for displaced people to return to their rural roots, the 
     government seems to want to bring people back to the rural 
     areas where they rule through appointed headmen. Many of the 
     dispersed people no longer have a home in the rural area, 
     never came from the rural areas or are foreign-born. Given 
     the control headmen have in these areas, the displaced who 
     relocate to rural areas will have to be ``vetted,'' meaning 
     that they will have to pass a political litmus test to get 
     land, work or food assistance until they can get established. 
     At the Fountain of Hope Church we visited in Harare, young 
     men were told to keep all the necessary identification on 
     them because if they got picked up by police without it, they 
     could be shipped off to work on a farm. If the commercial 
     farming industry is to be revived, Zimbabwe will need an 
     infusion of farm workers, and the displaced (and possibly 
     forced) could provide a pliable rural workforce.


                      INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FORCES

       In considering how to deal with this complex and troubling 
     situation in Zimbabwe, it is useful to consider those actors 
     who could be of use in addressing this crisis. They consist 
     of internal and external forces.

                            Internal Forces

       There are four primary domestic actors in Zimbabwe:
       ZANU-PF: The ruling party is home to competing interests 
     that are becoming increasingly restive. There are the 
     loyalists, such as Didymus Mutasa; the pragmatists, such as 
     Vice President Joyce Mujuru and her influential husband 
     Simon, and the potential reformers, such as Speaker of 
     Parliament John Nkomo and Gideon Gono. Make no mistake about 
     it: all these figures and those allied with them arrive at 
     decisions based on how they are personally affected. 
     Independent Member of Parliament Jonathan Moyo was once a 
     member of Mugabe's inner circle, but he is now a proclaimed 
     reformer, likely based on his ouster from the ruling party as 
     much as his natural pragmatism.
       The hardliners in ZANU-PF are just about unreachable. 
     However, there are elements within the ruling party who might 
     be amenable to working toward a better path for Zimbabwe's 
     future if discussions were initiated through all available 
     channels. ZANU-PF central committee member and former Member 
     of Parliament Pearson Mbalekwa publicly split from the party, 
     and at least 10 other party MPs are said to be considering a 
     similar move. Of course, the rapid seizure of Mbalekwa's 
     assets is a reminder to potential defectors of what is in 
     store if they leave the party. Mr. Moyo has managed to 
     survive life after ZANU-PF, so it is not impossible to carry 
     on successfully after leaving the party if one is as clever 
     as he is. One also must keep in mind that those loyal ZANU-PF 
     leaders involved in business ventures know they cannot 
     withstand the growing isolationism Mugabe's policies are 
     bringing on Zimbabwe.
       MDC: The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 
     has been almost absent from the fray involving Operation 
     Murambatsvina. When we spoke with top officials from the 
     party, they seemed not to fully understand the political 
     necessity of identifying with their constituents by spending 
     time with them in their misery, helping to bring shelter or 
     food or just helping them clean up the rubble that had been 
     their homes. While thousands were suffering the after-effects 
     of Operation Murambatsvina, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was 
     in South Africa for the release of his autobiography.
       This party also is in some turmoil. Mr. Tsvangirai has been 
     quoted as wanting to get rid of his fellow top party leaders, 
     although he has denied this. He would have some reason to 
     question their loyalty, though, since party Vice President 
     Gibson Sibanda and Secretary-General Welshman Ncube met with 
     Mugabe while Mr. Tsvangirai was in Nigeria meeting with 
     Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. There are some who 
     believe this party could split between the so-called activist 
     wing, led by former labor leader Tsvangirai and the 
     parliamentary wing, led by Mr. Ncube and Mr. Sibanda. The 
     party lacks a strong base among civil society, labor or the 
     churches because of its failure to bring all these 
     stakeholders into their political calculations, and MDC has 
     not adequately supported those civil actions that have taken 
     place. With a tarnished reputation abroad caused by their 
     past linkages to white farmers providing their funding, this 
     party needs to reconceptualize its approach if it is to live 
     up to its potential and plays significant role in Zimbabwe.
       Civil society: We met with a number of NGOs, and the most 
     impressive was Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). While much of 
     the population seems unwilling or unable to respond pro 
     actively to the crisis in their country, the members of WOZA 
     put themselves on the line by protesting peacefully against 
     government repression. Other NGOs are trying to respond in 
     their own way, monitoring the political process, providing 
     help for the homeless, offering services to victims of HIV-
     AIDS and defending the rights of Zimbabweans in court. 
     However, other Africans who have fought for their freedom, 
     particularly in South Africa, look down on Zimbabweans, who 
     are seen as too passive in the struggle for their freedom. 
     WOZA members have suffered beatings and arrests to stand up 
     for the rights of all Zimbabweans.
       Despite the fact that the Congress of South African Trade 
     Unions (COSATU) reached out to labor in Zimbabwe and even 
     continued to reach out in the face of repeated expulsions 
     from the country, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions 
     (formerly headed by Mr. Tsvangirai) has not played a strong 
     role in the battle for Zimbabwe's future. Strikes have 
     fizzled because of a lack of commitment by either civil 
     society leaders or opposition party leaders. The prospect of 
     facing a brutal police reaction seems to have frozen efforts 
     to legally, peacefully oppose government actions.
       Churches: I have separated churches out from civil society 
     because until quite recently, most churches have declined to 
     get involved in issues of political rights in favor of 
     sticking with a focus on spiritual needs. Operation 
     Murambatsvina led many churches and church leaders to alter 
     their focus to include feeding and sheltering people. The 
     government's heavy-handed evacuation of displaced people from 
     churches and removal to an uncertain fate may spark a more 
     activist role by churches. The accompanying arrests of 
     ministers merely trying to meet the needs of people may cause 
     more churches to challenge the political status quo and 
     sharpen their criticism in sermons. Even some of the 
     hardliners, such as Minister Mutasa, have demonstrated 
     concerns about their spiritual future, and stronger preaching 
     against cruel and undemocratic government actions could help 
     wear them down as similar tactics began to do with white 
     racists in the American south during the civil rights 
     movement.

                            External forces

       There are four categories of external forces that could 
     impact the situation in Zimbabwe:
       International community: Thus far, neither the United 
     States nor the United Kingdom has been effective in making a 
     positive impact on the situation in Zimbabwe since 
     independence. The British, as the former colonial power, have 
     had to work through the resentment of a government to which 
     it ceded power. The United States has had to deal with the 
     resentment of former guerillas who were never supported in 
     the struggle against white minority rule. President Mugabe 
     and his loyalists have a long memory for resentment, and in 
     many ways, they live in the past, fixated on the wrongs they 
     feel were done to them in the 1960s, 1970s and even since 
     independence.
       The European Union and nations such as Australia have 
     placed sanctions on Zimbabwe, but much of the rest of the 
     international community apparently has felt that the problems 
     of Zimbabwe are the responsibility of the former colonial 
     power and have shown little patience for engagement with a 
     difficult Zimbabwe regime that has too often fashioned its 
     own reality in its interactions with the rest of the world. 
     Of late, the Mugabe government has ``looked East'' to 
     Malaysia and China for salvation from an international 
     community that has pressed that government to respect the 
     rule of law and make governance and economic reforms. Even 
     now, the Zimbabwe government is appealing to China and 
     Malaysia to save it from an international community that has 
     no faith in its willingness to reform and has lost patience 
     with its cavalier attitude toward the rights and welfare of 
     its people.
       International institutions: The United Nations has 
     condemned various actions by the Government of Zimbabwe over 
     the years, but has done so seemingly reluctantly and 
     ineffectively. It's most recent efforts in Zimbabwe, however, 
     were handled carefully, and hopefully will be its most 
     important contribution to Zimbabwe ever. By sending an envoy 
     whose portfolio was resettlement, the UN appeared to accept 
     the government's rationale that Operation Murambatsvina was

[[Page 28406]]

     a legitimate, if clumsy, exercise. That allowed Ms. Anna 
     Tibaijuka to not only enter the country, but examine the 
     situation at length with few restrictions. Her report accused 
     excoriated Operation Murambatsvina as a ``disastrous 
     venture'' and accused the ZANU-PF government of creating a 
     ``humanitarian crisis of immense proportions.''
       In contrast, the African Union's initial reaction to the 
     growing Zimbabwe crisis was to reflexively reject calls to 
     pressure the Zimbabwe government to end its evictions, 
     destruction and arrests. AU spokesman Desmond Orjiako told 
     BBC News on June 6th that ``If the government that they 
     elected says they are restoring order by their actions, I 
     don't think it would be proper for us to go interfering in 
     their internal legislation.'' Evidently, the enormity of this 
     operation finally convinced AU leaders to take action, but it 
     was so hastily put together that it failed to appropriately 
     prepare the way for its envoy. As a result, Mr. Bahamas Tom 
     Nyandunga, a member of the AU Commission on Human and 
     People's Rights, was confined to his hotel for several days 
     before being expelled from Zimbabwe during Ms. Tibaijuka's 
     mission. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund will 
     consider expelling Zimbabwe at an August meeting for failing 
     to make any reasonable attempt to honor its loan obligations.
       African community: The AU, as of this writing, has not 
     reacted publicly to the rejection of its envoy. The 
     organization's bureaucrats are likely lamenting the failure 
     to follow protocols in dispatching their envoy and accepting 
     Zimbabwe's right to reject an envoy forced on them in 
     violation of the government's sovereignty. African housing 
     ministers, meeting during our visit, accepted Zimbabwe's 
     explanation of the reason or Operation Murambatsvina. 
     Moreover, African government have been known to engage in 
     similar mass evictions, such as Kenya's recent eviction of as 
     many as 30,000 people from homes they constructed in the Mau 
     Forest.
       South Africa's quiet diplomacy has failed to move either 
     the Zimbabweans or their fellow Southern African Development 
     Community nations. Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia have even 
     complimented the Zimbabwe government and dismissed criticism. 
     Meanwhile, an African coalition of civil society groups, in 
     five news conferences held across the continent, has appealed 
     to the AU and the UN to stop Operation Murambatsvina. Mr. 
     Reuel Khoza, chairman of the New Partnership for Africa's 
     Development (NEPAD) has criticized the AU for ``shirking its 
     responsibility'' in comments to Business Day on June 29th, 
     calling on the AU to be ``more outspoken'' in condemning the 
     actions of the Mugabe government. The South Africans seem to 
     have heard the message. In its conditions for funding a 
     financial bailout of the Zimbabwe government, it is requiring 
     a resumption of discussions on cooperation between ZANUPF and 
     MDC, economic and governance reforms and renewed respect for 
     rule of law. South African government officials told us 
     Africans were waiting for the UN report. Now that it has 
     blasted the Zimbabwe government's actions, all eyes are on 
     Africa for its reaction.
       African Diaspora: People of African descent throughout the 
     world are often overlooked as regards the influence they 
     could have in bringing to an end the cover under which 
     African despots often operate. By invoking colonialism, neo-
     colonialism and racism, Zimbabwe and other African nations 
     deflect criticism as efforts by the white international power 
     structure to either diminish their authority or impugn the 
     capability of black leadership. In reality, however, African 
     leaders such as President Mugabe have shown repeatedly that 
     they do not rule in the interest of their countrymen. When 
     Mugabe had the white commercial farms seized, he did not turn 
     the land over to the black farm workers who knew how to till 
     the land. When black professionals merely tried to defend the 
     legal rights of the average Zimbabwean, they were beaten and 
     jailed. When poor black workers tried to create acceptable 
     shelter until they could afford better dwellings, the 
     government destroyed their homes and put their lives in 
     limbo.
       African-Americans have a long history of trying to defend 
     the interests of African people. In the 1930s, African-
     Americans were the leading edge of the movement to save 
     Ethiopia from Italian conquest. Through the 1940s, 1950s and 
     1960s, African-Americans led the liberation struggle for 
     African nations struggling to break free from colonial rule. 
     Many African-Americans, including members of the 
     Congressional Black Caucus, supported Zimbabwe's liberation 
     struggle even when the U.S. government did not. Caucus 
     members and African-American opinion leaders have shown 
     interest in positively intervening in the Zimbabwe crisis to 
     benefit that country's people. This is an untapped resource 
     that should be utilized for the benefit of Zimbabweans and 
     other African people who need all the help they can get.


                            RECOMMENDATIONS

       American policy toward Zimbabwe has been unable to make any 
     significant impact on that country's government and has had a 
     hostile relationship with the Mugabe government since 
     independence. Given the factors as presented earlier, I would 
     suggest the following coordinated strategy to restructure 
     U.S. policy:
       (1) Provide humanitarian assistance to the fullest extent 
     possible to the many displaced people. Even though the Mugabe 
     government would be unlikely to receive humanitarian 
     assistance directly from the United States, it is in the 
     interest of the people of Zimbabwe to funnel such help 
     through the World Food Programme or any other available 
     conduit to meet the housing, food, medical and other needs of 
     the people of Zimbabwe. This assistance must be provided as 
     swiftly as possible, and revulsion as bailing the Zimbabwe 
     government out of the crisis it has created must not prevent 
     a rapid response to this crisis.
       (2) Maintain civil society throughout the current crisis 
     and enhance their ability to serve the needs of the people. 
     President Mugabe last year declined to sign a restrictive law 
     that would virtually tie the hands of NGOs by restricting 
     their international funding, but the law is expected to be 
     revived. Therefore, all U.S. efforts to maintain Zimbabwe 
     civil society must be undertaken to build their capacity to 
     defend the rights and interests of Zimbabwe's people. This 
     should take the form of increased funding, as possible, for 
     Zimbabwe NGOs, as well as technical assistance. As for labor 
     and the churches, facilitating ongoing contacts with 
     counterparts in other countries will be vital in enhancing 
     their ability to carry out the increasingly necessary task of 
     safeguarding the welfare of Zimbabwe's people. Funding is 
     included in current authorization and appropriations bills.
       (3) Provide support for efforts to inform the Zimbabwean 
     people and the world community about events in Zimbabwe. The 
     established media has been hampered in the effort to film and 
     report on what happens in Zimbabwe. To offset this 
     limitation, the U.S. government has funded ``guerilla media'' 
     to film and report on Operation Murambatsvina and other 
     actions taken against Zimbabwe's people. Such support must 
     not only continue, but be expanded. In addition to equipment 
     and funding to support guerilla media inside Zimbabwe, 
     support must be extended to SW Radio, which has broadcast by 
     shortwave (now medium wave) into Zimbabwe from London. 
     Moreover, the popular and effective Voice of American 
     broadcasts must continue and expand as needed.
       (4) Work with the Zimbabwe business community at home and 
     abroad to build their capacity to survive the economic crisis 
     and strive toward improving the country's economic situation. 
     With the dismantling of the formal economy and the recent 
     destruction of the informal sector, efforts to rebuild both 
     the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, as well as a 
     legalized small and micro-business sector, will be vital in 
     enabling Zimbabweans to survive beyond what aid can provide, 
     accumulate wealth sufficient to escape poverty and produce 
     tax revenues for a reformed public sector. That will mean 
     encouraging the legalization of vendors under a rational, 
     equitable policy, in addition to the reform of the country's 
     investment policies so that expatriate Zimbabweans, South 
     Africans and other investors will feel more certain about the 
     commercial environment. Such investment would be an 
     encouragement to reformist and pragmatic elements of ZANU-PF.
       (5) Help legislators in the ruling party and the opposition 
     party engage on issues of mutual concern. South Africa is 
     encouraging talks between the ruling and opposition parties. 
     The most likely basis for commonality now is in finding ways 
     to rebuild the country's economy. Rather than tackling 
     controversial political issues initially, working together to 
     save the economy could build a basis for broader cooperation, 
     especially since governance and economic reforms will be 
     inevitable if Zimbabwe's economy is to be revived. U.S. 
     resumption of USAID-funded programs to facilitate such 
     parliamentary working relationships would be a helpful 
     contribution to this process.
       (6) Engage African nations, through their governments and 
     people, to stimulate African efforts to help resolve the 
     Zimbabwe crisis. African leaders are loathe be seen as being 
     forced by the developed world to castigate one of their own. 
     However, with the help of the Diaspora, especially African- 
     Americans, a successful way forward may be found to support 
     good governance and economic policies that build the capacity 
     of all Zimbabweans to escape poverty and not just make 
     selected citizens wealthy. This effort could include 
     encouragement of a team of respected African elders who could 
     speak with President Mugabe about necessary changes, 
     including his retirement. It also should include an effort to 
     work through the African Union and civil society across the 
     continent to promote a just solution to the current crisis.
       (7) Selectively engage government officials and ruling 
     party legislators to find ways to end the current crisis and 
     move the country toward true democracy and economic freedom. 
     By lumping all of Zimbabwe's leaders in the same category, 
     there are no channels for discussions about how to use the 
     levers of power to reverse Zimbabwe's current slide. The 
     Zimbabwe Democracy Economic Recovery Act of 2001 allows for a 
     selective waiver of the visa sanctions such that cooperative

[[Page 28407]]

     elements of ZANU-PF could be allowed into the United States 
     for discussions, or if a visit to the U.S. would pose a 
     problem for such ZANU-PF officials, then meetings could and 
     should be arranged in more neutral settings. However and 
     wherever these talks take place, they must be held if a way 
     forward is to be found. Isolating the entire ruling party and 
     government gives no encouragement for any officials to change 
     their behavior or the direction of the country.
       Zimbabwe has been a persistent problem for U.S. 
     policymakers. It is time for the executive and legislative 
     branches to devise a mutually agreeable, coordinated policy 
     to bring Zimbabwe into ranks of African nations who have 
     developed political and economic stability and help that 
     nation avoid the certain fate of becoming a failed state if 
     its course is not changed soon. Such an eventuality will not 
     only have a tragically negative impact on that nation's 
     population, but also will be a tremendous burden for the 
     entire southern African region. It also will represent yet 
     another missed opportunity for Africa to seize available 
     opportunities to make advancements in the global economy.


                                APPENDIX

       The following are the people we met during the staff 
     delegation visit.

                                Zimbabwe

       Hon. Tendai Biti--MDC Member of Parliament
       Nikki Blythe-Wood--The Travel Company
       Norberto Celestino--International Organization for 
     Migration
       Nigel Chanakira--Success Motivation Institute
       Hon. David Coltart--MDC Member of Parliament
       Lynde Frances--The Centre
       Dr. Gideon Gono--Governor, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
       Valerie Guarnieri--United Nations World Food Programme
       Dr. Tony Hawkins--University of Zimbabwe School of Business
       Munyaradzi Kereke--Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
       Bishop Trevor Manhanga, Bishop of the Pentacostal 
     Assemblies of Zimbabwe
       Isabella Matambandzo--Open Society Initiative for Southern 
     Africa
       Dr. Reginald Matchaba-Hove--Zimbabwe Election Support 
     Network
       Hon. Priscilla Mishairambwi--MDC Member of Parliament
       Shingirai Mmpa--Women of Zimbabwe Arise
       Hon. Jonathan Moyo--Independent Member of Parliament
       Kilton Moyo--WorldVision
       Jonah Mudehwe--National Association of Non-Governmental 
     Organizations
       Bishop Patrick Mutume, Auxiliary Bishop for the Catholic 
     Diocese of Mutare
       Hon. Didymus Mutasa--Minister for State Security
       Priscilla Mutembwa--Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group
       Welshman Ncube--MDC Secretary General and Member of 
     Parliament
       Fr. Barnabas Nqindi--Pastor, Church of the Ascension
       Yvonne Nxumalo--Western Union
       Florence Sachikonye--Sachara (clothing manufacturer)
       Otto Saki--Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
       Dr. Peter Kagwanja--International Crisis Group
       Dr. Anna Tibaijuka--UN Habitat--Special Envoy
       Daniel Wang'ang'a--WorldVision
       Jenny Williams--Women of Zimbabwe Arise
       Mari Yamashita--United Nations--Africa Division

                              South Africa

       Simon Boshielo--COSATU
       Richard Cornwell--Institute for Security Studies
       Ross Herbert--South African Institute of International 
     Affairs
       Paul Fagan--International Republican Institute
       Tim Hughes--South African Institute of International 
     Affairs
       Dr. Peter Kagwanja--International Crisis Group
       Dr. Bane Maleke--Development Bank of Southern Africa
       Chris Maroleng--Institute for Security Studies
       Strive Masiyiwa--ECONET Wireless
       Andrew Meldrum--The Guardian/The Observer
       Fr. Richard Menatsi--Southern African Catholic Bishops' 
     Conference
       Kgalema Motlanthe--ANC Secretary General
       Piers Pigou--Zimbabwe Torture Victims/Survivors Project
       Matshidoso Raphadu--South Africa Department of Foreign 
     Affairs
       Dr. Piet Viljoen--Development Bank of Southern Africa

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, as the sponsor of this resolution, I would first like to 
express my appreciation to Chairman Henry Hyde for his strong support 
for this measure and for his help in getting it to the floor. I also 
wish to thank my colleagues for their cosponsorship and concerns 
expressed for the people of Zimbabwe.
  Mr. Speaker, for over two decades, the United States has tried to 
influence the government of Zimbabwe in the right direction. Many in 
this body supported the liberation of Zimbabwe from the oppressive, 
colonial rule of Ian Smith's Rhodesia.
  And for years after independence, Zimbabwe's political leaders made 
great progress for their people in education, economic development, and 
agricultural production. Until a few years ago, Zimbabwe was considered 
the breadbasket of southern Africa.
  But, Mr. Speaker, all of that changed in 2000 when President Robert 
Mugabe and his party realized they were losing their monopoly on 
political power, and changed from being a government of liberation to 
one of tyranny and ruthless oppression.
  In 2001, Congress passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery 
Act establishing sanctions on specific individuals who had grossly 
mismanaged the Zimbabwean economy, instituted draconian legislation in 
opposition to the rule of law, and used violence to suppress civil 
society and political opponents during their elections.
  In that legislation, Mr. Speaker, we also provided incentives for 
Zimbabwe's leaders to return to the rule of law, to create new 
political space, and to pursue economic policies that would benefit 
their citizens.
  Instead of responding to our incentives, conditioned only on their 
respect for the rule of law and economic common sense, Zimbabwe's 
leadership lashed out even more strongly against its own citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, the event this past spring, called ``Operation `Throw 
Out the Trash','' by the Mugabe regime, has taken the government of 
Zimbabwe to a new low. When a government begins to describe its own 
citizens as ``trash,'' it has lost its sense of purpose and become an 
enemy to its people.
  Mr. Speaker, I have monitored carefully the situation in Zimbabwe and 
want to share with you some of the devastation documented by the United 
Nations, our own Agency for International Development, and Zimbabwean 
human rights organizations.
  First, Operation ``Throw Out the Trash'' occurred as the Zimbabwean 
economy is in a chronic state of decline. Inflation is well over 300 
percent. At a time when 70 percent of Zimbabweans are unemployed, food 
for a family of six can increase by 160 percent in one month alone. 
Compounding these economic woes is the HIV/AIDS crisis. Mr. Speaker, 
one-quarter of Zimbabweans is infected with HIV/AIDS.
  With complete disregard for the suffering of its people, the Mugabe's 
regime launched ``Operation Throw Out the Trash'' on May 25, 2005, and 
within a few weeks, displaced 700,000 individuals from their homes or 
businesses or both, and indirectly affected 2.4 million people. Of the 
700,000 directly displaced, an estimated 172,200 were living with HIV/
AIDS.
  To carry-out the Operation, the government ordered individuals to 
tear down their own homes and businesses, then loaded men, women and 
children onto trucks, and dumped them in transit camps outside the 
cities with no shelter, food, clothing, medicine, or sanitation.
  This occurred during the dead of Zimbabwe's winter where night 
temperatures can fall to freezing. During the Operation, babies were 
born in the cold winter air and the weak and frail died from exposure.
  Mr. Speaker, ``Operation Throw Out the Trash'' devastated the most 
vulnerable in Zimbabwean society including the elderly, the mentally 
ill, the physically challenged, malnourished children, and the 
chronically ill.
  Most devastated, perhaps, were individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The 
Operation indiscriminately tore down health clinics where individual 
received voluntary counseling and testing. Patients on antiretroviral 
treatment were cut off from their doctors and medicines, while home-
based care programs for HIV/AIDS patients were decimated.
  Most shocking, the Operation destroyed several HIV/AIDS orphanages 
where the children, who had lost both parents and had no family 
caretakers, also were living with HIV/AIDS.
  In response to an international outcry, the U.N. Secretary General 
appointed a Special Envoy to assess the situation and report on ways to 
address the conditions of those affected.
  The Special Envoy reported that the Zimbabwe government's purported 
effort to clamp down on illegal dwellings and illicit activities, was 
carried out in an indiscriminate

[[Page 28408]]

and unjustified manner and with disregard for national and 
international law.
  She called for bringing those immediately responsible to account and 
for immediate reparations to those who had lost property and their 
livelihood.
  Mr. Speaker, on top of this grave injury to his people, Mugabe lashed 
out recently at U.S. Ambassador Christopher Dell, who simply told the 
truth about the regime in power. Ambassador Dell stated the simple fact 
that Zimbabwe's current crisis is due to economic mismanagement and 
corrupt rule.
  Mr. Speaker, we must reinforce Ambassador Dell's message by passing 
this resolution today.
  This resolution sends a clear message to President Mugabe and his 
tyrannical government that we will speak out against his ruling party's 
harsh abuse of its citizens and condemn any actions that harm innocent 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, before I close, I want to commend our U.S. AID staff 
members for their efforts to provide emergency shelter, food, clothing, 
blankets, and medicine to Mugabe's victims of ``Operation Throw out the 
Trash.'' The Mission Director, Paul Weisenfeld, and his team, worked 
around the clock with local partners to provide relief for the affected 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to express my deep appreciation to my good friend 
and distinguished colleague, Pearl-Alice Marsh, for the extraordinary 
job she has done in connection with this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Reichert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 409, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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