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“SENSE OF THE HOUSE REGARDING ONGOING VIOLENCE IN ALGERIA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2357-H2359 on April 28, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENSE OF THE HOUSE REGARDING ONGOING VIOLENCE IN ALGERIA
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 374) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the ongoing violence in Algeria, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 374
Whereas in January 1992 Algeria annulled the second round of parliamentary elections;
Whereas the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which favored the creation of a theocratic state, expected to win in those parliamentary elections;
Whereas the suspension of the Algerian elections in January 1992 triggered an escalation of terrorism;
Whereas the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the armed wing of FIS, started terrorist activities in the wake of the annulled elections, but has since delcared a unilateral ceasefire;
Whereas the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), a nonpolitical radical Islamic movement, has been responsible for carrying out terrorist activities, particularly since the AIS cease-fire;
Whereas the United States Government has listed the GIA as a foreign terrorist organization;
Whereas tens of thousands of Algerians have lost their lives since the onset of the violence in 1992, with hundreds estimated to have lost their lives in the holy month of Ramadan that ended in January 1998;
Whereas the violence perpetrated by terrorists has become increasingly barbaric, leaving thousands of innocent civilians, particularly women and children, dead or injured;
Whereas the Government of Algeria has not agreed to the establishment of an international inquiry into the massacres;
Whereas the democratic process has progressed in Algeria despite the current terrorist activity; and
Whereas the United States has a strong interest in seeing the development of a democratic and peaceful Algeria: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and any other terrorist groups responsible for the atrocities being committed in Algeria;
(2) condemns the perpetrators of violence and other crimes against the fundamental human rights of Algerians;
(3) urges those who continue to engage in violence and the fundamental abuse of human rights to discontinue such activity;
(4) calls on the Government of Algeria to take all necessary and legal steps to prevent violence and stop it once it occurs;
(5) encourages the Government of Algeria to cooperate with the international community to ensure transparency in the investigation and combating of terrorist activity, including the use of objective investigators into the massacres;
(6) acknowledges that the Government of Algeria has made progress toward democratization and urges the government to engage in dialogue with all elements of Algerian society who have renounced violence, in order to further democracy and promote the rule of law;
(7) urges the United States Government to continue to work closely with the Government of Algeria to bring about the development and implementation of political and economic reforms as well as the full restoration of law and order in Algeria;
(8) encourages the European Union and the Government of Algeria to further their cooperation against terrorism; and
(9) encourages the Algerian Government to accept the appointment of a Special Rapporteur by the United Nations or another qualified independent organization to conduct an inquiry into the violations of human rights in Algeria.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 374.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. ROYCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, this resolution makes note of the ongoing crisis in Algeria and condemns the horrific wave of killings there. Throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that begins on December 30 nearly 1,300 innocent Algerians, including women and children, were brutally murdered. Another 100 Algerians were killed earlier this month; and, according to the U.S. State Department Human Rights report, 70,000 Algerian men, women and children have been brutally murdered during the last 6 years, 70,000.
Much of this crisis in Algeria began after the annulled 1992 elections. An attempt at political reform by the government at the time included the legalization of opposition political parties.
One of the parties, the Islamic Salvation Front, or FIS, wanted to create an Islamic state. They were on the brink of a parliamentary victory in January, 1992, when the military forced the President's resignation and annulled the election. The banned FIS has since renounced its violence, but a new group, the radical Armed Islamic Group, or GIA, is a terrorist group that neither the FIS nor the government can control.
These radical Islamic insurgents, many of whom were trained and fought in Afghanistan, call themselves holy warriors and believe that during holy periods like Ramadan their barbarism will be doubly blessed by God. Some of the arbitrary and radical decrees of the GIA state that women who pursue formal education or fail to wear a veil are infidels deserving of having their throats cut. But this violence really extends to any Algerian who fails to join with the GIA. Combating this fanaticism has taxed the Algerian government.
Despite this crisis, Algeria has made some progress toward building democracy, even with the random violence that is bleeding the country. Among the positive measures is a new law that would extend the political and social rights of Algerian women.
Yet the Algerian government has been sharply criticized for human rights abuses and its inability to prevent these terrorist attacks. Because of these concerns and the sheer scale of the killing, pressure has been building on the Algerian government to allow international observers to investigate the massacres. In mid-January, the European Union was permitted to send a delegation of junior ministers to Algeria, but the dialogue was limited. More needs to be done.
Recently, the Algerian government arrested two mayors and 10 other local officials for suspected involvement in the massacre of civilians. Religious and ethnic disputes as well as attempted extortion were cited as reasons for the alleged killings. While some see these arrests as evidence of government involvement in the massacres, others see the arrests as a positive indication of the government fighting killers wherever and whomever they may be, an effort that we need to encourage.
Offers of humanitarian assistance to the victims of this tragedy have been made to the Algerian government. So far, they have been rejected. This resolution cites assistance that could be provided to the Algerian people in their time of need. Given the arrests of local officials, maybe the Algerian government will reconsider its opposition to outside assistance. The United States has an interest in seeing an end to the suffering and the building of democracy in Algeria.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues on the Subcommittee on Africa for their work on addressing the Algerian crisis. We held a hearing in February in which we heard differing views of this situation. That hearing helped two Members craft this resolution, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Alcee Hastings).
Unfortunately, Mr. Chabot of Ohio could not be with us at this time due to the death of his father. The funeral was this morning, and he is expected back in Washington later today.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished Chairman of the Africa subcommittee, the gentleman from California, Mr. Royce, for his exemplary leadership. He and the top-notch staff of the subcommittee have worked tirelessly to ensure that human rights issues in all of Africa are adequately addressed by the Congress.
I want to express a special thank you to the chief co-sponsor of this resolution, my good friend from Florida, Alcee Hastings. Mr. Hastings has provided invaluable counsel and assistance during this process and I very much appreciate the hard work of he and his very able staff.
I also want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Payne, the Ranking Member, Mr. Menendez, and the gentleman from California, Mr. Rohrabacher, for their invaluable contributions to this bi-partisan resolution.
Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of Algerians--many of them women and children--have lost their lives since violent terrorist attacks began in 1992. Hundreds more perished during the holy month of Ramadan that ended just a few weeks ago. As many as 120 people--including 32 children under the age of 2--were killed by axe-wielding assailants during the last weekend in March.
This resolution strongly condemns the perpetrators--the Armed Islamic Group, or GIA, and any other terrorist groups responsible for the atrocities committed in Algeria, and urges those who continue to engage in violence and the fundamental abuse of human rights to discontinue such activity immediately.
The legislation, while acknowledging that the Government of Algeria has made progress toward democratization, calls on the Government to take all necessary and legal steps to prevent violence and stop it once it occurs, and encourages the Government to cooperate with the international community to ensure transparency in the combating of terrorist activity.
Additionally, H. Res. 374 encourages the European Union and the Government of Algeria to further their mutual cooperation against terrorism. And, at the suggestion of Mr. Menendez, encourages the Algerian Government to accept the appointment of a Special Rapporteur by the United Nations or another qualified independent organization, to conduct an inquiry into the violations of human rights in Algeria.
Mr. Speaker, I want to again thank the distinguished Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee, Mr. Royce, as well our esteemed Chairman of the full International Relations Committee, Mr. Gilman, for their support in this effort. I believe it is a very timely resolution. I hope it will be helpful in bringing an end to the senseless tragedies. And I urge my colleagues to support it.
I urge adoption of the resolution.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and offer my condolences to my colleague and cosponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) whose father passed. I regret very much that Mr. Chabot, who was the spearhead for our resolution, is unable to be here.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my continued support for H. Res. 374 offered in response to the ongoing spiral of violence in Algeria. That violence was very adequately described by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and I thank him for that and will expedite my remarks in that regard.
Pointedly, this legislation strongly condemns those who continue to perpetrate acts of violence and other crimes against humanity and violations of fundamental human rights.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Algeria is not only an internal problem but one that should concern the world. These acts of violence continue to target innocent civilians. As the torture continues, relatives of the so-called disappeared are still wondering if their loved ones are dead or alive. Children continue to be hacked to death; and, very recently, as the gentleman from California pointed out, it has been reported that women have been raped before their throats are cut; and even a four-month-old baby was slaughtered.
Mr. Speaker, 6 years of this tragedy have left tens of thousands of civilians dead. Six years of violence is too long for us to remain silent to this vast human rights crisis which has sporadically grabbed international attention. We, as legislators, truly are, here in our House, democratic leaders of the world.
We must also heed the call of the world's citizens who are seeking peace and social justice, which are the principles that we adhere to, those principles being life, liberty and the rule of law, and we have to do that whether it is in Algeria or in Bosnia or Rwanda. Thus, Mr. Speaker, we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the plight of these Algerian victims.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize the efforts of the Algerian government in providing housing and financial support for displaced people and encourage them to continue to build on existing cooperation with humanitarian organizations, as the gentleman has pointed out and has been offered.
I also acknowledge that Algeria has made some modicum of progress toward a multi-party democracy and toward a freer press, and it is rather encouraging to see that Algerian authorities have begun to allow some Algerian newspapers to publish reports for the first time. However, I would like to encourage the Algerian government under international law to allow and to cooperate with a fact-finding mission by the United Nations special rapporteur. This would be an initial step to address the situation and to ensure long-term transparency and scrutiny.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Algeria is not something abstract. It is all about saving lives. I believe that this particular course of action that we embark on here today will assist in ending the ongoing conflicts in Algeria, and I would urge the Chair and other Members, particularly of the Subcommittee on Africa, to consider visiting Algeria under appropriate circumstances so that we may firsthand work in cooperation with the necessary mediation that might come by way of international involvement.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa for the outstanding work that he has done, and I rise in support of H. Res. 374.
I am disappointed that, after gaining independence from France many years ago, Algeria is again plagued with some of the same old travesty. After colonialism ended in 1962, the French did little to prepare Algeria for independence. When the French left, mosques were reopened, people started learning Arabic again and feeling good about the religion of Islam.
While this past year marked the first legislative and local election since 1992, it also turned into the bloodiest year in the longstanding political strife of power. As we look back, the cancelling or annulling of the elections may not have seemed to be the right course of action. However, it should be noted that the desire to maintain Islamic domination and to radically change the food and clothing habits of the people was thwarted by most of Algerian citizens in 1992. Yet this explanation can be summed up by saying that the democracy cannot benefit if those that desire it want to end it once they are in power.
It is common knowledge that the first armed Islamic groups were organized by veterans of the war in Afghanistan and trained in Pakistan. Today, the GIA still receives weapons and money from outside sources including Pakistani Islamists, Iran and Sudan.
Let me just say that I was disturbed by the news of two mayors from neighboring towns being arrested for carrying out extrajudicial executions. This concerned me because it comes just after the meeting by the United Nation's Human Rights Commission report that suggests that a special envoy should go to the region.
As we seek to formulate U.S. policy toward Algeria, we must remember that Algeria has helped with the Iran hostage crisis in 1982, continues to assist the resettlement of refugees and helped with the Iraqi problem in which absolutely no one in the Arab world would consent to, not even Saudi Arabia at the time.
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In conclusion, we must not confuse the nonviolent Islamists with Islamic fundamentalism. I think that this political war to win at all costs has alienated the very people on whose behalf the struggle was designed to help.
Let me once again thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) for trying to constructively deal with this crisis.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, since our committee marked up this resolution earlier this month, scores of Algerians, mostly civilians, have been killed in a barbaric civil war. Last night, Mr. Speaker, 40 Algerians had their throats cut by fundamentalist rebels. The massacre coincided with the feast of the Moslem New Year.
The horror of this violence is unimaginable. Since 1992, over 65,000 Algerians have been killed. It is vital that the Congress speak out on this issue. The resolution before us today I think sends the right message, Mr. Speaker. This resolution rightly calls on the Government of Algeria to allow neutral, independent international investigators to examine the violence that has racked Algeria since 1992. There should be no mistake, my colleagues, that the thrust of this resolution is to strongly condemn the Armed Islamic Group and the other terrorists inside Algeria who have slaughtered, in a barbaric fashion, tens of thousands of innocent Algerians. There is no place in this world for such atrocities.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) for bringing the resolution before us today, and in addition, I want to thank the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) of the Subcommittee on Africa, who have done such an excellent job of finding consensus to what could have been very difficult issues. Again, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for introducing this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to adopt it.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This is a balanced statement of the U.S. House of Representatives' views of the troubling situation in Algeria. It takes into consideration the democratic progress being made by the Algerian Government, but does not ignore human rights concerns involving the government either. I call on my colleagues to make a positive statement on the crisis in Algeria at this crucial time in this country's history.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, violence has become an integral part of life in Algeria--it consumes the country and it has temporarily derailed the future of what should be a vibrant Nation, politically and economically. Since 1992, as many as 80,000 people have died and thousands of others have been injured.
While socio-economic development will help the people of Algeria rebuild their lives, the government must also commit itself to stopping the massacres. The recent arrests of local officials and commanders of pro-government militia groups in Algeria on charges of carrying out massacres of civilians gives cause to those of us who have called for independent rapporteur to address the situation in Algeria.
In March, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus sent a letter to Secretary Albright in which we asked that the United States introduce a resolution a the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to appoint a Special Rapporteur for Algeria. Unfortunately, the United States decided against offering such a resolution. This resolution does call for such a rapporteur.
The United States and the international community have attempted to reach out to Algeria, to offer assistance and guidance, but they have been largely rebuked.
While the Algerian Government has made progress and increased transparency through the recent arrests, Algeria's efforts to handle this crisis have been largely ineffective. Progress will require Algeria opening up to the world. This means allowing the U.N. and other bodies to look at what is happening inside Algeria. Since the fundamentalists are accountable to no one, the onus for action, by necessity lies with the Algerian government.
Only the Algerian Government can start the process which will make 1998 the last year of bloodshed and the first year in many of peace, stability and reconciliation in Algeria.
I want to thank my colleagues for offering this resolution.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this important resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 374, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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