[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4115 Introduced in House (IH)]
103d CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4115
To condition the lifting of sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro upon
improvements in Kosova, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 23, 1994
Mr. Engel (for himself, Ms. Molinari, Mr. Serrano, Mr. King, Mrs.
Lowey, and Mr. Olver) introduced the following bill; which was referred
jointly to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Banking, Finance and
Urban Affairs, and Public Works and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To condition the lifting of sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro upon
improvements in Kosova, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Kosova Peace and Democracy Act of
1994''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The political rights of the Albanian majority in Kosova
were curtailed in 1989 when the former Yugoslav Government in
Belgrade illegally amended the Yugoslav federal constitution,
revoking Kosova's autonomous status.
(2) In September 1990, a referendum on the question of
independence for Kosova was held in which 87 percent of those
eligible to participate voted, and 99 percent of those voting
supported independence for Kosova.
(3) In May 1992, a Kosovar national parliament was elected
and Dr. Ibrahim Rugova was overwhelmingly elected President of
the Republic of Kosova.
(4) The government in Belgrade has not allowed the new
Kosovar government to assemble on Kosovar territory.
(5) Credible reports of Serbian ``ethnic cleansing'' in
Kosova have been received by the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Human Rights, and Serbian leader Slobodan
Milosevic has called for the transfer of ethnic Albanians from
their homes in Kosova to areas outside of Kosovar territory and
their replacement by Serbs.
(6) Since 1990, tens of thousands of Kosovars of Albanian
origin have been dismissed from their jobs solely on the basis
of their ethnicity.
(7) Reports of brutal beatings of ethnic Albanians in
Kosova by the mostly Serbian police are received almost daily.
(8) The government in Belgrade has severely restricted the
access of ethnic Albanians in Kosova to all levels of education
solely on the basis of their ethnicity.
(9) All forms of the media in Kosova, especially those in
the Albanian language, are strictly controlled by the
government in Belgrade and dissenting political views are
systematically deleted from all forms of the media.
(10) Under the ``Special Measures'' decree adopted in 1991,
the government in Belgrade intentionally undermined the
independent character of the judiciary of Kosova by dismissing
hundreds of ethnic Albanian judges, replacing them with Serbs
or Montenegrins, and changing the official court language to
Serbian, which is not native to the Albanian majority.
(11) Those expressing political views in opposition to the
current government are frequently jailed and tortured while in
prison by Serbian authorities, and occasional deaths of
detainees have been reported.
(12) Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
observers dispatched to Kosova in 1991, were expelled by the
government in Belgrade in July 1993.
(13) Following the departure of such observers, several
international human rights organizations, including Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, and the Helsinki Federation
for Human Rights, have documented an increase in humanitarian
abuses in Kosova.
(14) The economy of Kosova is under severe pressure caused
by the combination of the closing of small businesses by
Serbian authorities and the effect of international sanctions.
(15) Radio Free Europe recently began broadcasts to the
former Yugoslavia in Serbian and Croatian, but not in Albanian.
(16) Congress has provided for the opening of a United
States Information Agency cultural center in Prishtina, Kosova,
in section 223 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, but security conditions have
prevented the establishment of such center.
(17) The closing of the airport in Prishtina, Kosova,
represents an obstacle to the delivery of humanitarian goods
into Kosova and a barrier to a return to normalcy.
(18) The President has explicitly warned the government in
Belgrade that ``in the event of conflict in Kosova caused by
Serbian action, the United States will be prepared to employ
military force against the Serbs in Kosova and in Serbia
proper.''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) ``ethnic cleansing'' and other acts of repression
against the citizens of Kosova by the government in Belgrade
must be halted immediately;
(2) members of the elected government of Kosova should be
allowed to assemble and exercise their legitimate mandate as
elected representatives of the people of Kosova;
(3) all individuals in Kosova whose employment was
terminated on the basis of their ethnicity should be reinstated
to their previous positions immediately;
(4) the education system in Kosova should be reopened to
all residents of Kosova regardless of ethnicity, and the
majority ethnic Albanian population should be allowed to be
educated in its native tongue;
(5) all decrees undermining the autonomous and indigenous
character of the Kosovar bar and judiciary should be reversed;
(6) the right of the press and all forms of media in
Kosova, including those in the Albanian language, relating to
freedom of expression should be respected;
(7) Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
observers, expelled by the government in Belgrade in July 1993,
should be readmitted to Kosova and their numbers expanded;
(8) the United Nations should dispatch observers to Kosova
to monitor human rights and to limit violence;
(9) the airport in Prishtina, Kosova should be reopened;
(10) the United States Information Agency should open a
cultural center in Prishtina, Kosova, as provided in section
223 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years
1992 and 1993, as soon as possible;
(11) the ``no-fly-zone'', currently covering Bosnia, should
be expanded to cover Kosova;
(12) the United States should reiterate warnings to the
government in Belgrade that it is prepared to respond with all
necessary means in the event that Serbia expands the military
conflict into Kosova; and
(13) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should develop
plans to halt the spread of the Balkan conflict to Kosova.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON LIFTING OF SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA AND
MONTENEGRO UNTIL CERTAIN CONDITIONS MET.
(a) Codification of Executive Branch Sanctions.--The sanctions
imposed on Serbia and Montenegro, as in effect on the date of the
enactment of this Act, that were imposed by or pursuant to the
following directives of the executive branch shall (except as provided
under subsection (e)) remain in effect until the President certifies to
the Congress that the conditions described in subsection (d) have been
met:
(1) Executive Order 12808 of May 30, 1992, as continued in
effect on May 25, 1993.
(2) Executive Order 12810 of June 5, 1992.
(3) Executive Order 12831 of January 15, 1993.
(4) Executive Order 12846 of April 25, 1993.
(5) Department of State Public Notice 1427, effective July
11, 1991.
(6) Proclamation 6389 of December 5, 1991 (56 Fed. Register
64467).
(7) Department of Transportation Order 92-5-38 of May 20,
1992.
(8) Federal Aviation Administration action of June 19, 1992
(14 C.F.R. Part 91).
(b) Prohibition on Assistance.--No funds appropriated or otherwise
made available by law may be obligated or expended on behalf of the
government of Serbia or the government of Montenegro until the
President certifies to the Congress that the conditions described in
subsection (d) have been met.
(c) International Financial Institutions.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director of each
international financial institution to use the voice and vote of the
United States to oppose any assistance from that institution to the
government of Serbia or the government of Montenegro, except for basic
human needs, until the President certifies to the Congress that the
conditions described in subsection (d) have been met.
(d) Conditions Described.--The conditions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) There is substantial progress toward the restoration of
the independent identity and autonomy of Kosova.
(2) There is substantial improvement in the human rights
situation in Kosova, including improvement in those factors
listed in paragraphs (5) through (11) of section 2.
(3) International human rights observers are allowed to
return to Kosova.
(4) The elected government of Kosova is permitted to meet
and carry out its legitimate mandate as elected representatives
of the people of Kosova.
(e) Waiver Authority.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive or modify the
application, in whole or in part, of any sanction described in
subsection (a), the prohibition in subsection (b), or the
requirement in subsection (c).
(2) Certification.--Such a waiver or modification may only
be effective upon certification by the President to Congress
that the President has determined that the waiver or
modification is necessary--
(A) to meet emergency humanitarian needs; or
(B) to achieve a negotiated settlement of the
conflict in Kosova that is acceptable to the parties.
SEC. 5. PROGRAMMING BY RADIO FREE EUROPE AND RADIO LIBERTY IN THE
ALBANIAN LANGUAGE TO KOSOVA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC
OF MACEDONIA, AND OTHER AREAS.
Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Chairman of the Board for International Broadcasting shall submit
to the Congress a plan, together with a detailed budget, for the
establishment of a surrogate home service under the auspices of Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty for Albanian populations living in Kosova and
other areas of the former Yugoslavia. Such service shall be in the
Albanian language and shall be broadcast not less than one hour per
day.
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