Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday issued the following statement:
“The deepening political crisis in Zimbabwe is a growing concern that needs attention from the United States and the international community. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, withdrew from a Presidential runoff that was to be held this week, calling the process an ‘illegitimate sham.’ President Mugabe continues to take violent and politically repressive actions that would have ensured that elections would not have been free or fair. Mr. Tsvangirai has been arrested five times, his party’s general secretary, Tendai Biti, is currently being detained, approximately 86 activists from the Movement for Democratic Change have been murdered, thousands have been forced from their homes by ruling party militias, and domestic and international elections monitors were greatly reduced.
Last year I introduced S.1500, Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Zimbabwe Act, to try to prevent such developments. The Act called on the Secretary of State to provide Congress a briefing on the strategy of the United States for engagement with Zimbabwe. The Act also would have appropriated up to $10,000,000 to defend and protect the human rights of the people of Zimbabwe, and to support democracy and governance activities, including free, fair, and peaceful elections.
The U.S. and the international community must do more to bring about peaceful, democratic change in Zimbabwe and to hold Mr. Mugabe accountable for his actions. I strongly encourage Secretary of State Rice to take up the issue of Zimbabwe’s political crisis in the United Nations Security Council. The United States must also work with members of the African Union and the South African Development Community, who all have a vital interest in preventing a catastrophe in the region, to collectively work to resolve the crisis peacefully and in a manner that respects the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”
