Benjamin Gilman: “there is a new beginning in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The old kleptocratic regime of Mobutu Sese Seko is now in…”

“there is a new beginning in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The old kleptocratic regime of Mobutu Sese Seko is now in the ash bin of history and, in many ways, the lives of the Congolese people can only improve. Nevertheless, it is far too early to judge the merits of the new Kabila regime. A delegation led by a former colleague, and now Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson, returned from Kinshasa only a few hours ago. Another delegation from the Agency for International Development is still in the Congo and will not return for 2 more weeks. And right now the administration has no plan for any assistance to the Congo. The Committee on International Relations has not been asked by the administration to waive the Brooke amendment, and many questions remain about human rights and the treatment of the Rwandan Hutu refugee populations. On Sunday, an article in the Washington Post detailed numerous allegations of massacres of innocent civilians by Kabila's troops in eastern Congo. Today, human rights organizations and humanitarian agencies still do not have access to large portions of eastern Congo, the location of many of the refugees. While these questions may all be answered satisfactorily in due time, I do not intend to oppose the amendment at this time. I will note that this is only one stage in the legislative process.”