Washington, DC — By a unanimous vote, Tuesday night, the Senate passed the "Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Act of 2001." Last week, the bill passed the House of Representatives, also by unanimous consent.
In retaliation for "the deliberate breakdown of the rule of law." the legislation imposes punitive "personal" sanctions - including travel restrictions to the United States - on President Robert Mugabe, his cabinet ministers, other government officials and members of their immediate families Such sanctions are extremely rare and have been historically reserved for war-criminals and dictators.
The bill halts bilateral trade between Zimbabwe and the United States and bars the U.S. government from dealing with the Zimbabwe government.
The legislation also doubles funding for "democracy programs" in Zimbabwe and calls for U.S. support for election observers to the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for March 2002.
Once the U.S. President and Congress believe that democracy and the rule of law have been restored, suspended assistance would restart and an initial US$20m would be allocated for alternative land reform programs.
Though critical of Mugabe's policies, ministers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) who were in Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare on Monday to evaluate the country's land program, backed away from supporting the Congressional action, which was then pending. "Sanctions would cause untold suffering to scores of Zimbabweans and others in the region," said Malawi's Foreign Minister, Lillian Patel.
Zimbabwe's collapsing economy has already threatened the health of its neighbors' economies. "There can be no sanctions smart enough to affect Zimbabweans alone. Our destinies are intertwined," Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge told his SADC counterparts.
The bill will now be sent to President Bush for signing. "Now that Congress has given the bill its overwhelming support. I fully expect the President to move quickly to make it law," said Senator Bill Frist (R-TN), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.
