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witnesses at Terrorism Act trials could be detained without charge by the security police, and stipulated instead that such witnesses could be held until the conclusion of the trials at which they were expected to testify. (Some of the trials can take months-indeed years, to conclude.)

These new provisions increase significantly the already considerable extent to which the security police can exert pressure on potential witnesses, by using the threat of almost indefinite detention to obtain the statements they require to secure successful prosecution. Here again, the law provides long term detention without trial which gives the interrogating personnel ample time and opportunity for ill treatment of the detainee. According to reports that Amnesty International has received, torture of detainees is an almost routine procedure of South African security police.

Mrs. FENWICK. Also, who mentioned Professor Bryan Turner? Not one of you?

I wanted to find out if he has been imprisoned or badly treated by South Africa and I thought we ought to know something about him. Well, I will have to go through the entire testimony.

That was not you, Mr. Weinstein?

Mr. WEINSTEIN. NO.

Mr. BONKER. Professor Bryan Turner.

Mr. McGEE. No, we mentioned only one individual and not he. Mrs. FENWICK. Oh, it is a name that was given to us apart from the testimony here. Do any of you know anything about him? It was given to us not by one of you but by someone else.

We will have to follow up.

Mr. MCGEE. We can research and submit something.1

Mrs. FENWICK. Would you try to find out about him and let us know? Professor Bryan, B-r-y-a-n, Turner, University of Durban, apparently unjustly imprisoned by the Government of South Africa.

I wonder if any of you know anything about what is going on in Mozambique. We hear the most different accounts-that they are doing a tremendous and thriving business with South Africa, that they are imprisoning thousands of people, that they are making collective agriculture which is very hard on the people, one after another of these reports. On the other hand, we are told that they are allowing a great deal of free trade out of their ports. One wonders exactly what is happening.

Mr. GASTIL. If I may say, not being in any way an authority on Mozambique, my estimation is that the political system and the elections that they have held have been thoroughly controlled. There has been a good deal of terrorism against people who would attempt to oppose the system. There is nothing like a free press or any free expression in the country that I am aware of. There are reeducation camps in the country, I have no idea how many people are actually there. As to the other points you make such as cooperation with South Africa and trading out of the country, I have heard these stories, too, but they go beyond what I am looking at.

Mrs. FENWICK. I see. Mr. McGee, does Amnesty have anything to say?

Ms. GRANT. The point which I mentioned was not in the testimony. As a country which detains Jehovah's Witnesses, a number fled from Malawi some 5 or 6 years ago and encountered difficulties in Mozam

1 Amnesty currently has no information about the case of Bryan Turner, but will investigate his situation.

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bique and encountered difficulties on a smaller scale and I think there are some detained there.

Mrs. FENWICK. But there are no difficulties of political prisoners or

anything?

Ms. GRANT. They would be such and I believe there are other prisoners but I don't have statistics.

Mrs. FENWICK. You have no reports on them?

Ms. GRANT. I can search through and put in a letter to you whatever we have.

[The information follows:]

Responding to your inquiry about human rights in Mozambique, Amnesty International is concerned about the use of detention without trial. Political detainees, who include not only former political opponents of the ruling Frente de Libertação de Mozambique (FRELIMO), but also a number of Jehovah's Witnesses, are held at Machava Prison in Maputo and at "re-education camps" situated throughout the country. The most notorious of these is Rua Rua Camp, near Mueda in Cabo Delgado Province. A number of "dissident" members of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)—the Rhodesian nationalist movement which operates from Mozambique are also detained, although it is not clear whether they are in the custody of ZANU or the Mozambique authorities. Between early August and mid October 1979, more than 50 Portuguese nationals were released from detention and repatriated to Portugal.

In October 1979, President Samora Machel visited Niassa Province and is reported to have released more than eleven hundred re-educational camp inmates. Press reports suggest that there may have been less public releases of re-education camp inmates in the past year.

Sporadic acts of sabotage in Maputo and other towns, apparently committed by members of the Mozambique National Resistance Group, which opposes the government of President Samora Machel, led, in February 1979, to the introduction of the death penalty. Under a new criminal code issued on 28 February 1979, crimes such as treason and acts of terrorism or sabotage involving loss of life, were made capital offenses. Until that time, Mozambique was unique in Africa in having no death penalty. The first executions under the new law were carried out in Maputo on 1 April 1979 when 10 people convicted of espionage and treason before military revolutionary tribunal were shot by firing squad. Amnesty International, which had earlier appealed to the Mozambique government not to introduce the death penalty, protested against these executions on 3 April 1979. Ten more executions were carried out in mid-April. Eight executions were reported in August and five more took place earlier this month. Among those executed were alleged members of anti-government guerrilla groups.

Mrs. FENWICK. I think it would be interesting because we had completely

Mr. WEINSTEIN. I think that Mozambique is a classic case of how difficult it is to get information with respect to what is going on internally. I think in talking to people, let's say, for parts of America and other places who get letters all the time or meet people coming in and out of Mozambique, one definitely gets the feeling that it is not heaven on Earth and that indeed there are many internal problems.

On the other hand, the same individuals will suggest that all the attacks on Mozambique by Zimbabwean forces indicate certain tensions along a large part of the border and create certain problems for the Government of Mozambique which reacts in different ways. There also have been a number of natural disasters which have dealt Mozambique severe setbacks in terms of the Government trying to do something for the people.

There are also historic and other differences which are part of the legacy of Portuguese rule or misrule or failure to do very much. The current government is trying to pull the country together despite

the ethnic differences, regional differences, and definite ideological differences. So I think that it is probably unfair in a sense to draw up a report card for Mozambique at the present time. On the other hand, there are definite indications from what a number of observers say that there are problems, and as I said from the viewpoint of civil and political rights, political freedoms are almost nonexistent.

Mrs. FENWICK. I see.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. BONKER. Thank you, Mrs. Fenwick.

I have no further questions, but I would like to note, Mr. Gastil, that as chairman of the one subcommittee that oversees human rights conditions, I have often referred to the Freedom House as a credible and objective source of information and a guide to major human rights conditions in various countries. I think, based on your statement today, I am going to have to reevaluate both your process and your conclusions, because I just found too many references in your statement that I think depart from objectivity.

I want to thank each of the witnesses-Mr. Weinstein, Mr. McGee, Mr. Gastil-for your excellent testimony today.

The subcommittees stand adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 5:02 p.m., the subcommittees adjourned.]

APPENDIX 1

TEXT OF MARCH 17, 1980, LETTER TO THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONS FROM SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN BONKER

Hon. BRIAN ATWOOD,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

March 17, 1980.

Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. ATWOOD: On October 31, 1979 a joint hearing was held by the Subcommittee on International Organizations, and the Subcommittee on Africa, regarding human rights conditions in Africa.

In connection with this hearing, the following information has not yet been provided for the record:

1. A list of African countries where human rights violations have grown worse, instead of better.

2. A list of U.S. Embassies in African countries that have a full-time human rights officer, whose sole duty is human rights concerns.

3. An explanation of the resignation of Robert Remole, the human rights officer assigned to the Embassy in Zaire.

4. A list of African countries with the most free press.

I would greatly appreciate receiving the responses to the above questions no later than March 28th.

Sincerely yours,

DON BONKER,

Chairman, Subcommittee on
International Organizations.

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