What:

• The House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations hearing on “Zimbabwe: Prospects for Democracy after the March 2005 Elections”

When:

• 2:00p.m., Thursday, April 21, 2005

Where:

• Room 2172 The Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC

Witnesses:

• Constance Berry Newman, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Africa Affairs at the U.S. State Department; Dr. Greg Mills, Brenthurst Foundation, South Africa; Jeffrey Krilla, International Republican Institute; Shari Bryan, National Democratic Institute; and David Coddington, Catholic Relief Services.

     Zimbabwe remains one of the most troubled countries on the African continent.  Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has referred to Zimbabwe as one of the few remaining countries on ‘the outpost of tyranny.’  President Robert Mugabe’s party, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has been in power for more than 25 years, and emerged from the controversial March 31, 2005 parliamentary elections with a more than a two-thirds majority.  In spite of the South African government’s claims that the elections were free and fair, empirical evidence shows that they were comprehensively rigged.  Independent media organizations were prohibited from covering the election (two British journalists still remain in detention); women representing a civil society organization were beaten and hospitalized for holding a vigil on the day of the election; and the opposition party (MDC) had extremely limited democratic space for campaigning in the run-up to the election.  President Mugabe threatened to quell protests of the election results with the use of force.

     Congressman Smith said, “Creative solutions are needed to solve Zimbabwe’s political, economic, and health crises.  The United States remains a key player and must work with its partners in the region to promote stability, prosperity, and democracy in the entire southern African region.  We must put actions to President Bush’s assertion that ‘the survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.’"

     The Zimbabwean economy has all but collapsed – mostly due to disastrous economic policies imposed by President Mugabe.  Since the election on March 31, shortages of essential goods have resurfaced and price hikes of 100% on staple foods like corn meal, bread, sugar and cooking oil have occurred.  UNAIDs estimates that nearly 4,000 Zimbabweans die each week from HIV-AIDS, statistics based only on reported deaths.  In the run-up to the elections, food distribution was politicized and denied to areas facing dire shortages but traditionally opposed to the Mugabe regime.  Over a third of the country remains on the verge of starvation.  
 
     Thursday’s hearing will examine the prospects for democracy in Zimbabwe, with a focus on the results and conduct of the March 31 parliamentary elections.