Washington, DC — The following is the opening statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (Democrat-Wisconsin), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs Subcommittee, for a hearing on "The Crisis in Zimbabwe and Prospects for Resolution" on July 15, 2008. The remarks are published as prepared for delivery:

“I had hoped that today’s hearing would not be necessary.  The March 29th elections offered a chance to turn the page on what has become a very long and very tragic chapter in Zimbabwe’s history.  Although it fell short of international democratic stands, the African Union observer mission reported that the first presidential election in Zimbabwe expressed the general will of the people.  But it took five weeks, after significant bloodshed and violence, to learn that Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, had won 47.9 percent of the vote, while the incumbent Robert Mugabe won 43.2 percent.

“And then, rather than respecting the will of the people, the Mugabe regime chose - as they have done time and time again - to repress it.  In the weeks after the election, the Mugabe regime launched a deliberate campaign of state-sponsored violence against the MDC’s members, supporters and their families in an attempt to cling to power.  The reports of killings, abductions, torture and sexual violence are staggering.  The MDC reported just last week that 129 of its supporters have been killed, 1,500 detained and another 5,000 remain missing since the March elections.  It is no wonder that Mr. Tsvangirai decided to withdraw from the runoff presidential election on June 27th and take shelter in the Dutch embassy.  Unsurprisingly, in a climate of fear and sheer terror, Mugabe reportedly won 90 percent of the vote.

“Once considered a liberator of his people, Mugabe has become increasingly despotic and his reign increasingly disastrous.  According to the best estimates, Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product has decreased over 40 percent in the last decade, unemployment has risen over 80 percent and inflation is believed to be over 10.5 million percent.  Yes, 10.5 million percent.  Food shortages, land grabs and repression have led more than 4 million people to flee into neighboring countries, destabilizing the wider region.  As Secretary Rice said in April, Mugabe has ‘done more harm to his country than would have been imaginable.’

“There are some who suggest that now is the time for caution to avoid escalating the violence and unleashing civil war.  However, Zimbabwe’s descent has been under way for over a decade and such a wait-and-see approach has only allowed this nightmare to grow.  In 2000, I remarked on the Senate floor that we must act before Zimbabwe’s problems became more complex and deeply entrenched.  Eight years later, this remains the case.

“I respect those who have been involved in genuine efforts to mediate a peaceful settlement in Zimbabwe.  But open-ended dialogue has largely been manipulated by Mugabe and his inner circle.  Any serious negotiations between Mugabe and the opposition party will require a more robust mediation effort, backed by united international support and leverage.  I believe the current mediation team must be expanded beyond South Africa to include representation from regional and international bodies, and I call on the administration to press strongly for this expansion.

“The unwillingness of a few key regional leaders to criticize the regime for its abuses or consider punitive measures against those responsible has been deeply disappointing.  This has led some to speak of a divide between the West and the rest: an unhelpful divide that Mugabe exploits through his rhetoric.  China and Russia’s veto last Friday of a robust UN Security Council resolution imposing an international arms embargo and multilateral sanctions exposed the poisonous nature of this divide.  I am deeply disappointed by their veto, especially considering China’s increasing role on the continent.  I also find it discouraging that this veto was one of the new Russian President’s first actions in Africa. Until we have comprehensive, coordinated action by both regional and international leaders, including a combination of incentives and punitive measures, I fear the situation will only continue to get worse.

“I welcome the efforts of the Bush administration thus far but think more has to be done to overcome this divide as we press for tighter sanctions on those individuals responsible for this crisis.  Now is the time to scale up, not give up on global action.  We must not allow Zimbabwe to fall out of the international spotlight as it has many times before.  On Friday, Senator Isakson and I, along with sixteen of our colleagues, introduced a resolution encouraging the administration’s continued efforts and calling for more robust efforts by all regional and international actors to bolster efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to Zimbabwe’s crisis.  I am pleased that the Senate passed the resolution yesterday.  Today’s hearing will assess the volatile situation there and what is needed to resolve the crisis.  It will explore how U.S. policy can be strengthened to maximize leverage and expedite a negotiated agreement that respects the will of the people.”