[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 596 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 596

                 Condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2004

Mr. Burton of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Bell, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Tancredo, 
 Mr. Leach, and Mr. Emanuel) submitted the following resolution; which 
        was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
                 Condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo.

Whereas ethnic violence erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, claiming the lives 
        of 20 individuals, including 8 Kosovo Serbs, 8 Kosovo Albanians, and 4 
        unidentified victims, injuring more than 600 others, and displacing more 
        than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities;
Whereas the violence also resulted in the destruction of more than 500 homes 
        belonging to Kosovo Serbs, Ashkali, and other minorities, and in the 
        destruction of, or damage to, more than 30 churches and monasteries 
        belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church;
Whereas historic mosques in Belgrade and Nis, and an Islamic center in Novi Sad, 
        were also destroyed or damaged;
Whereas in response to the violence, Commander in Chief of the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Forces South, Admiral Gregory Johnson, 
        concluded, ``This kind of activity, which essentially amounts to ethnic 
        cleansing, cannot go on.'';
Whereas Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General James Jones ordered the 
        deployment of NATO's Strategic Reserve Force on March 19, 2004, to calm 
        the violence and end the destruction;
Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Foreign Minister of 
        Serbia and Montenegro Goran Svilanovic met in Washington on March 19, 
        2004, and called for an immediate end to the violence, concurring that 
        no party in Kosovo can be allowed to profit or advance a political 
        agenda through violent measures;
Whereas a stable, secure, and functioning multiethnic society is in the best 
        interest of all people of Kosovo, the broader region of Southeast 
        Europe, and the world;
Whereas it is essential that political leaders in Kosovo support efforts to 
        establish an environment in which all people in Kosovo have freedom of 
        movement and the ability to live free from fear;
Whereas the United States and members of the international community have called 
        on the people of Kosovo to implement 8 standards outlined by the United 
        Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), which are to be met 
        prior to the consideration of the question of final status for Kosovo, 
        including: the existence of effective, representative, and functioning 
        democratic institutions; enforcement of the rule of law; freedom of 
        movement; sustainable returns of refugees and displaced persons, and 
        respect for the rights of communities; creation of a sound basis for a 
        market economy; fair enforcement of property rights; normalized dialogue 
        with Belgrade; and transformation of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) 
        in line with its mandate; and
Whereas it is in the long-term interest of all people of Kosovo that the UNMIK 
        standards are achieved in order to promote peace, stability, and 
        economic development, and to ensure a better future for all people in 
        Kosovo: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) urges all people in Kosovo to immediately stop the 
        violence that erupted on March 17, 2004, that has claimed the 
        lives of over 20 individuals and injured more than 600, end the 
        destruction of homes, churches, and other cultural and 
        religious sites, and cooperate with the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization's Kosovo Force (KFOR), the United Nations Interim 
        Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), and the Kosovo Police to 
        identify for prosecution the perpetrators of violence and the 
        destruction of property;
            (2) expresses its deep condolences to the families of those 
        who have been killed in the recent violence;
            (3) strongly condemns the destruction of personal and 
        religious property in Kosovo, including more than 500 homes 
        belonging to Kosovo Serbs, Ashkali, and other minorities, and 
        of 30 churches and monasteries belonging to the Serbian 
        Orthodox Church, adding to the more than 100 churches that have 
        been destroyed since June 1999;
            (4) strongly condemns the destruction of historic mosques 
        in the cities of Belgrade and Nis, and of an Islamic center in 
        Novi Sad;
            (5) recognizes the commitment made by the Kosovo Assembly 
        to establish a fund for the reconstruction of property, 
        including homes and churches, destroyed during the attacks;
            (6) recognizes the commitment made by Serbian officials to 
        provide funds for the reconstruction of mosques in Belgrade and 
        Nis, and an Islamic center in Novi Sad;
            (7) urges political leaders to fulfill their commitment to 
        rebuild what has been destroyed and to take all possible action 
        to allow the more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities 
        displaced during the violence to return quickly and safely to 
        their homes and communities;
            (8) encourages all political leaders in Kosovo to renounce 
        the use of violence, and to proceed with efforts to establish a 
        secure, peaceful, multiethnic society, which protects the 
        rights of all people in Kosovo, and to take action to proceed 
        with the implementation of the standards, or ``benchmark 
        goals'', outlined by UNMIK;
            (9) strongly recommends that the United Nations review the 
        structure and organization of UNMIK; and
            (10) urges reinvigoration of dialogue between Belgrade and 
        Pristina in an effort to move toward the establishment of a 
        peaceful and secure environment guaranteeing freedom of 
        movement and human rights for all people in Kosovo.
                                 <all>