[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 149 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 149

Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives in response 
 to the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of Serbia, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2003

 Mr. Bereuter (for himself, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Lantos, and Mr. 
 Wexler) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives in response 
 to the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of Serbia, and 
                          for other purposes.

Whereas Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic symbolized the hopes of a new generation 
        of Serbs exhausted by decades of war and turmoil until he was felled by 
        2 sniper bullets in front of his office in the center of Belgrade on 
        Wednesday, March 12, 2003;
Whereas Djindjic's killing was a heinous attack on democracy;
Whereas Zoran Djindjic was born on August 1, 1952, in Bosnia and became 
        politically active during his student years at the University of 
        Belgrade;
Whereas after spending several months in jail for attempting to create an 
        autonomous noncommunist student organization with fellow students from 
        Croatia and Slovenia, Zoran Djindjic moved to Germany, where he earned a 
        doctorate in philosophy under Jurgen Habermas in 1979, and returned to 
        Yugoslavia in 1989 to teach philosophy at Novi Sad University;
Whereas in 1989, Djindjic joined a group of Serb dissident writers and 
        intellectuals to found the Democratic Party;
Whereas one year later, Djindjic was voted the Chairman of the Democratic Party 
        Executive Board and in January 1994, he was elected the party's 
        president;
Whereas Djindjic became a member of the Serbian Parliament in 1990, serving as 
        the party's parliamentary group whip and a member of the Republic's 
        Council at the Federal Parliament 3 years later;
Whereas following 88 days of mass protests over electoral manipulation during 
        local elections in 1996, Zoran Djindjic was elected Belgrade's first 
        noncommunist mayor since World War II;
Whereas Djindjic is widely believed to be the chief strategist and main 
        organizer behind the Yugoslav presidential elections of September 24, 
        2000, and the uprising of October 5, 2000, that resulted in the 
        overthrow and delivery of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic 
        to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), 
        that was investigating atrocities committed during the tragic and 
        violent breakup of Yugoslavia;
Whereas subsequent cooperation with the ICTY has been judged to be less than 
        optimal, but in recent months Prime Minister Djindjic moved forcefully 
        to fight the organized criminal structures that Serbia inherited from 
        the Milosevic era and to arrest war criminals who have remained at 
        large;
Whereas Djindjic is also credited with masterminding the Serbian elections of 
        December 2000, in which the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a 
        coalition of 18 parties spanning a broad range of the political 
        spectrum, won 65 percent of the popular vote;
Whereas the DOS elected Djindjic to be Prime Minister of Serbia on January 25, 
        2001;
Whereas during his 2-year tenure as Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic sought to 
        advance democracy, human rights, free market reforms, and the rule of 
        law;
Whereas Djindjic's leadership raised desperately low living standards and 
        advanced the integration of Serbia into Europe; and
Whereas Prime Minister Djindjic managed to maintain a disparate 17-party 
        coalition government with a narrow majority in order to achieve these 
        urgently needed reforms: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the House of Representatives offers its condolences and 
        deepest sympathy to the people of Serbia and the family of 
        Zoran Djindjic following the assassination of Prime Minister 
        Djindjic;
            (2) the House of Representatives understands that organized 
        criminal groups within Serbian society continue to threaten the 
        free and democratic government of Serbia and Montenegro;
            (3) the House of Representatives recognizes that while 
        implementing necessary reforms and cooperating with the 
        International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia may 
        carry significant risks for the leadership of Serbia and 
        Montenegro, these reforms and this cooperation are necessary 
        and must continue; and
            (4) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the United States should support continued democratic reforms 
        initiated by Zoran Djindjic, should urge his successors to 
        dedicate themselves to continue to support his road to reform, 
        and should pledge to assist Serbia and its new leadership in 
        accomplishing these necessary reforms, including efforts to 
        fight organized crime and corruption.
                                 <all>