Statement of Senator Russ Feingold on Zimbabwe's Transition

For the Congressional Record

October 5, 2009 -- "I held a hearing last week of the Subcommittee on African Affairs to explore U.S. policy options toward Zimbabwe’s transition. The hearing confirmed that far too little progress has been made in implementing the Global Political Agreement signed last year and that abuses continue at an alarming rate. The transition remains incomplete and far from irreversible.

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Yet at the same time, the hearing made clear to me the great potential that this transition holds and the great opportunity for the United States and those who care about Zimbabwe to help advance real reform and recovery. We need to seize this opportunity and look for ways that we can proactively engage and help strengthen the hands of reformers in Zimbabwe’s transitional government.

Just over a year ago, Zimbabwe was in the throes of intense violence carried out by Robert Mugabe and his allies against the opposition MDC’s members, supporters and families. This was a deliberate campaign to hold onto power and subvert the will of the people expressed in the March 29th elections. Once considered a liberator of his people, Mugabe had become one of the most despotic and brutal leaders of the day. And under his watch, the Zimbabwean economy had gone from one of Africa’s most prosperous to one of Africa’s most desperate. By the end of last year, millions of Zimbabweans were at risk of starvation and official estimates put inflation at 231 million percent.

The situation today in Zimbabwe looks quite different, at least on the surface. Last September, with South Africa’s mediation, the parties signed the Global Political Agreement and committed to form a transitional government. Then, after five months of delays, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister and the MDC assumed control of several key ministries. A year before, this would have been inconceivable for most Zimbabweans. Yet, it happened and has brought forth a sense of possibility that has not been there in years. That optimism has been furthered by the success of the new Minister of Finance from MDC, Tendai Biti, in stopping the economic decline and taking initial steps to promote economic growth.

These changes are quite significant, though there is still a long way to go toward restoring the rule of law. Mugabe continues to refuse to implement important aspects of the Global Political Agreement, for example the appointment of new provincial governors and the replacement of the Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General. He and his allies are doing everything they can to maintain their historic patronage system and power structures. Moreover, security forces are largely still operating as instruments of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, condoning land takeovers and harassing MDC and civil society activists. According to Human Rights Watch, the police and army continue to use brutal force to control access to the diamond fields of Marange district in eastern Zimbabwe.

Until we see an end to these abuses and real, irreversible progress on implementation of the Global Political Agreement, I see no reason for the U.S. to repeal sanctions. All of us at the hearing I chaired seemed to be in agreement on that. The European Union has taken the same position after a high-level delegation visited Harare last month. Together, we need to keep the spotlight and the pressure on those who are obstructing implementation of the Global Political Agreement and continuing to perpetrate abuses. And if nothing changes, we should look for ways to ramp up that pressure.

However, keeping the pressure on Mugabe and hardliners is not a sufficient strategy in and of itself to move Zimbabwe’s transition forward. We also need to take steps—both symbolic and substantive—to engage with and empower reformers within the transitional government. I am glad that U.S. is already providing support to the Office of the Prime Minister, and we should look at ways we can provide technical assistance to other ministries that demonstrate a commitment to reform, especially the Ministry of Finance. In addition, shifting our humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe to lay the groundwork for social and economic recovery can help advance the political transition. We should also consider working with like-minded donors to develop a plan and dedicated resources for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery that could be leveraged for genuine democratic reform.

The reality is that the United States is already doing and spending a lot in Zimbabwe, but we need to better target our diplomacy and our resources toward advancing this transition. Over the last few years, our diplomats have been on the frontlines of speaking out against repression and pushing for democratic change in Zimbabwe. With the formation of the transitional government, the playing field has changed. But that does not mean we should retreat to the sidelines and stop trying to proactively advance our goals. We need to keep working with all Zimbabweans who are committed to a peaceful, democratic future to push this transition forward. In the coming months, I look forward to working with the administration to do just that."

Source: Senator Russ Feingold