[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______


                   SARAJEVO: OLYMPIC CITY UNDER SIEGE

 Mr. DeCONCINI. Mr. President, exactly 10 years ago the eyes of 
the world were focused on Sarajevo as that city hosted the XIV Winter 
Olympic Games. Ten years later and after nearly 2 years of shelling, 
Sarajevo and its Olympic facilities lay in shambles. The city's stadium 
has been turned into a cemetery, the final resting place for some of 
the over 10,000 Sarajevans killed since the outbreak of fighting in and 
around the Bosnian capital.
  This past weekend we witnessed yet another attack on innocent 
civilians in Sarajevo this one claiming 68 lives and resulting in 
hundreds of injuries. Again we have heard cries of righteous 
indignation over this despicable event.
  But no amount of hand-wringing is going to bring an end to aggression 
and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina spawned by Serb 
ultranationalism. Resolute action is required. The difficult options 
will not get any easier if we allow more time to pass. Will we look 
back a year from now and bemoan the fact that we did not act earlier?
  Over the past 12 months the administration has engaged in endless 
equivocation, talking tough then backing down at the first hint of 
resistance. Officials have repeatedly bemoaned the fact that the West 
missed repeated opportunities to engage early and effectively in ways 
that might have prevented the conflict from deepening. As one who has 
consistently advocated the use of selective NATO airstrikes and the 
lifting of the arms embargo, I couldn't agree more.
  How long will we allow the carnage to go on? As NATO fighters fly 
overhead, the calculated war of Serb aggression and genocide is played 
out with deadly consequences on the ground. There is only one way to 
stop the aggressor--and that is by force. It is time for those NATO 
jets to deliver a clear and long overdue message: we will not allow 
aggression and genocide to continue any longer. The time for 
equivocation is over. As witnesses to genocide, we have a moral 
obligation to intervene. It is time to back up our threats with actions 
in defense of Sarajevo, an Olympic city under siege.

                          ____________________