[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 26 (Thursday, March 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD CROATIA AND THE BALKAN CONFLICT

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a recent speech 
by Peter W. Galbraith, the United States Ambassador to Croatia, 
regarding the conflict in the former Yugoslavia be printed in the 
Record.
  I am pleased to note that since the delivery of Ambassador 
Galbraith's speech last month, the Bosnian Muslims and the Bosnian 
Croats have reached an agreement to establish a Bosnian Federation 
incorporating both groups. In addition, Croatia has agreed to enter 
into a confederation with this Bosnian Federation. I hope that these 
arrangements will end the destructive fighting between Muslims and 
Croats and strengthen the negotiating position of these two groups vis 
a vis the Bosnian Serbs and their patrons in Belgrade.
  Ambassador Galbraith's words sent an appropriately tough message to 
both Serbia and Croatia that the United States and the international 
community will not tolerate any outside intervention in the war in 
Bosnia-Hercegovina that is not authorized by the United Nations. This 
message is in line with an amendment I offered to the fiscal year 1994 
State Department authorization bill calling for international 
sanctions, similar to those now in place against Serbia, to be imposed 
on Croatia if the Croatian leadership continues to condone the 
activities of the Croatian Army inside Bosnia.
  Croatia's decision to join a confederation with a new Bosnian 
Federation represents a positive response to the United States' 
successful strategy of offering incentives to Croatia to reach out to 
the West and work for peace and democracy, while warning Croatia of the 
consequences if it fails to play a constructive role in Bosnia. I 
believe that Ambassador Galbraith's speech provides an excellent 
overview of that policy, and I commend it to my colleagues.
  There being no objection, the speech was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

      United States Policy Toward Croatia and the Balkan Conflict

          (By Peter W. Galbraith, U.S. Ambassador to Croatia)

       I am delighted to be here with so many of you this evening. 
     I have been asked to say a few words about my impressions of 
     Croatia, and about U.S. policy toward Croatia and the 
     conflict in the Balkans.
       I strongly believe the best way to understand a people, a 
     country, or a difficult situation is to travel to the place, 
     to talk to the people there, and to see the problem 
     firsthand. Thus it is that in my first months as Ambassador, 
     I traveled to as much of Croatia as I possibly could. I went 
     from Vukovar in the east to Prevlaka in the far south. I was 
     of course impressed with the beauty of the countryside, the 
     variety of topography and climate, the magnificence and 
     antiquity of the monuments, and of course the friendliness of 
     the Croatian people. Of course I also saw firsthand the 
     extraordinary destruction visited on Croatia during and after 
     the war for independence.
       In Vukovar I saw a beautiful baroque city that had been 
     systematically and maliciously destroyed. On my last trip 
     there I went to the mass grave site in Ovcara with Ambassador 
     Madeleine Albright, where more than 200 wounded Croatian 
     soldiers ended up murdered in a garbage dump.
       I toured Zadar and Sibenik and saw the ``footprints'' left 
     by different kinds of explosives on historic buildings. I 
     went to Dubrovnik and saw the damage done to a city that is 
     not only Croatia's greatest monument, but also a world 
     architectural treasure. I have seen the homes of thousands of 
     ordinary Croats, in the Dubrovnik area, in the Zadar-Sibenik 
     region, and in the UNPAs which have been blown up, destroying 
     the life work and dreams of so many people.
       From my travels and from the stories I have heard, I have 
     gained a few perspectives on the conflict. First, one must 
     understand that the war in the former Yugoslavia was and is 
     an organized military campaign aimed primarily at civilians. 
     Vukovar was destroyed by the JNA. Dubrovnik was shelled by 
     the Yugoslav Navy in the Adriatic Sea and by Yugoslav Army 
     units around the city. These acts were not the disorganized 
     acts of a civil war; rather, they were clearly and 
     indisputably ordered by Belgrade.
       Similarly, in 1992 as Bosnia-Hercegovina moved 
     democratically toward independence, Belgrade orchestrated a 
     systematic campaign of aggression against the Muslim and 
     Croat people of that country. In planned and carefully 
     executed operations, the JNA, nominally demobilized to form 
     the Bosnian Serb Army, moved into hundreds of communities, 
     herding the men into concentration camps, raping and 
     terrorizing the women, and razing hundreds of thousands of 
     homes. This war, which let me again emphasize is directed and 
     controlled by Belgrade, has produced crimes against humanity 
     on a scale unknown in Europe since World War II.
       The American people have watched the events in Croatia and 
     Bosnia with disbelief and ever-growing horror. As a prominent 
     member of the world community, the United States has, with 
     our partners in Europe and the United Nations, sought to 
     fashion a response to this war. Let me describe the response:
       First, we have clearly identified the aggressor, and have 
     taken severe steps to persuade the aggressor of the folly of 
     its actions. Serbia is now subject to the most severe 
     sanctions ever imposed on a country. its currency has become 
     worthless; its people are mostly unemployed, cold, and 
     immobile; with monthly salaries in the range of 20 DM, Serbia 
     has fallen from a European standard of living to a per capita 
     income at a level below that of Bangladesh. The damage to 
     Serbia is severe and long-lasting.
       Second, we have recognized the new countries to emerge from 
     the former Yugoslavia and we have stressed our commitment to 
     the unity and territorial integrity of these nations. Our 
     goal was to make clear that Serbia could not hope to have 
     Greater Serbia. Even as it sponsored aggression in Bosnia and 
     Croatia, even as it set up rebel republics in Krajina and 
     Srpska, it could not hope that its territorial acquisitions 
     would be accepted, or that its rebel republics would be 
     recognized. Our strategy was, and is, to persuade a Serbia 
     made ever more desperate by sanctions to give up on 
     territorial aspirations that it can never hold.
       Third, the United States has made great efforts to try to 
     mitigate the consequences of the catastrophe for the people 
     of the area. To this end we have contributed more than any 
     other country to the international relief effort. We have 
     initiated air drops that provide the only supplies for 
     isolated communities. And we are trying to alleviate the 
     refugee burden on Croatia and other countries by resettling 
     Bosnians in the United States.
       As a fourth part of our strategy, the United States insists 
     on an end to the killing in Bosnia. To this end, we are 
     prepared to take all necessary steps including now, in the 
     case of Sarajevo, the use of force. For 20 months, the Serbs 
     have lobbed artillery and mortar into Sarajevo. In that time 
     they have probably propelled some 300,000 projectiles 
     containing high explosives onto office buildings, apartment 
     complexes, streets, parks, and so forth. It is not 
     surprising that, after having lobbed nearly enough 
     artillery shells for every man, woman and child in 
     Sarajevo, one mortar round ended up exploding in a crowded 
     market. Saturday's market massacre was no accident; 
     rather, it was the inevitable result of Serb actions.
       While it is hard to see any good in such evil, the tragedy 
     has at least galvanized the international community into 
     action. In this connection, special credit goes to France and 
     Turkey, whose Ambassadors are here, who helped shape the 
     response. The shelling of Sarajevo will cease, either because 
     the Serbs will withdraw their artillery, or because NATO will 
     destroy it.
       The overwhelming proportion of the atrocities in Bosnia has 
     been the result of deliberate Serb policy. In response to 
     this, Serbia is subject to sanctions, and now the Bosnian 
     Serb forces around Sarajevo face possible attack. Sadly, 
     however, the Serbs are not alone in being responsible for 
     atrocities.
       Through the summer and fall, the world focused increasingly 
     on atrocities committed by the HVO in Bosnia. These included:
       (1) the obstruction of convoys, that is, the deliberate 
     effort to starve civilians;
       (2) the detention of prisoners in inhumane conditions;
       (3) artillery and mortar attacks on civilians, particularly 
     in East Mostar;
       (4) isolated massacres such as that at Stupni Do. While 
     recognizing that the Muslim side has also committed 
     atrocities, we take the position that no side can ever be 
     justified in such acts. And, since Croatia supports the HVO, 
     we hold Croatia responsible for the acts of the HVO. But more 
     fundamentally, these acts have provided no benefit to the HVO 
     or to Croatia. They have made no difference whatsoever to the 
     military balance in Bosnia. But they have cost the Bosnian 
     Croats sympathy that they might otherwise enjoy, and they 
     have severely damaged Croatia's international reputation. I 
     recognize that the Government of Croatia has taken some steps 
     to improve the conduct of the HVO, but it is imperative that 
     all such self-destructive behavior stop.
       At the same time as we are taking steps to save lives, we 
     have not ignored the peace process. We have encouraged all 
     the parties to the conflict in Bosnia to resolve their 
     differences at the negotiating table. The only lasting peace 
     will be one which the parties voluntarily accept. Therefore, 
     we will not pressure the Bosnian Government, as the war's 
     principal victim, to make concessions. And we recognize that 
     the greatest concessions must be made by the aggressors, that 
     is, the Serbs.
       Because of the importance of a negotiated outcome, we have 
     not undertaken a new diplomatic initiative to find a 
     solution. Ambassador Redman was here in Croatia today and 
     tomorrow in Croatia with new ideas and new approaches. We see 
     Croatia's role as critical to the peace process and to a 
     viable outcome in Bosnia-Hercegovina. If it chooses to become 
     our partner in finding an end to this war, Croatia will take 
     a big step on the way to becoming our partner in the Western 
     community.
       In addition, we recognize there can be no lasting peace 
     without justice. Unspeakable crimes have been committed in 
     Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina. Our sensibilities as human 
     beings demand justice. But the demand for justice is not 
     merely a matter of conscience. Throughout the world, others 
     in comparable conditions elsewhere might come to believe they 
     too could ethnically cleanse without any adverse 
     consequences.
       But most importantly, unless individuals are held 
     responsible for their crimes, people in this part of the 
     Balkans will continue to attribute collective guilt to whole 
     nations. Let me emphasize it is individual Serbs, and not the 
     Serbian people, who are responsible for the bulk of the 
     atrocities. However, unless we punish these individual Serbs 
     (and also those Croats and Muslims that have committed war 
     crimes), the cycle of violence is likely to continue. For all 
     these reasons, the United States will vigorously pursue the 
     prosecution and punishment of those who have committed war 
     crimes. We have pledged more than $28 million in cash and 
     in kind contributions to the United Nations War Crimes 
     Tribunal. We may not immediately lay our hands on every 
     criminal; but they must know they will be hunted for the 
     rest of their lives.
       Even though we are today focused on the peace process in 
     Bosnia, we recognize there can be no lasting peace without 
     the peaceful reintegration of the Krajina into Croatia. For 
     this reason I have stressed from the moment I presented my 
     credentials our support for the territorial integrity of 
     Croatia. We have also worked to link the lifting of sanctions 
     on Serbia to a resolution of the Krajina problem. Our 
     strategy is simple: we seek to persuade Serbia to give up 
     territory that the world will never allow it to have.
       Unfortunately, our strategy has been significantly 
     undermined by the Government of Croatia. While insisting on 
     respect for its territorial integrity and the reintegration 
     of the Krajina, Croatia has worked to undermine the unity and 
     territorial integrity of Bosnia-Hercegovina. By supporting 
     the HVO materially and through the direct intervention of the 
     Croatian Army, Croatia is promoting secession in Bosnia and 
     has helped create a rebel regime.
       As a result, Croatia is losing the international sympathy 
     that it justly deserves as a victim of aggression and for its 
     generosity in serving as host to nearly 600,000 refugees and 
     displaced persons. It is stunning to me that Croatia should 
     find itself in the situation where the Security Council would 
     be threatening sanctions. Yet this is where Croatia's Bosnia 
     policy has led.
       But most incomprehensibly, Croatia's actions have served to 
     undermine the very principles in which Croatia has an 
     enormous stake: territorial integrity and non-recognition of 
     gains from ethnic cleansing. How can Croatia reasonably 
     expect the international community to support its demand for 
     Serb withdrawal from Croatia when its army is in the 
     sovereign state of Bosnia-Hercegovina? How can Croatia expect 
     the international community to expend vast resources to 
     uphold Croatia's frontiers when it seeks to violate those of 
     another country?
       Our ability to work with Croatia for the reintegration of 
     Krajina will depend significantly on Croatia's willingness to 
     protect fully the human rights of its Serbian population. As 
     the recent State Department Human Rights Report indicates, 
     Serbs in Croatia have had serious problems. These include the 
     destruction of Serb homes in free Croatia, people fired from 
     their jobs because of their ethnicity, as well as isolated 
     killings such as occurred at the Medak pocket.
       As a democratic state, Croatia offers the only viable 
     future for the people of the Krajina, both those living there 
     now and those who have been forcibly expelled. But in order 
     for this to occur, Croatia must reaffirm its commitment to 
     the individual human rights of all its citizens. This means 
     not just in law, but in fact. Only by following the highest 
     standards of human rights can Croatia hope to persuade the 
     Krajina Serbs that they have a real future, free of fear, 
     within Croatia.
       Croatia is a new democracy. It has special links to the 
     United States. As the moderator pointed out, there is the 
     historic link. Dubrovnik was the first State to recognize our 
     new country, and it was the stone (and stone masons) from the 
     island of Brac that built our White House. Our country is 
     enriched by the presence of some two million Americans of 
     Croatian origin. And your country benefits from the 
     contributions that many Croat Americans are now making to an 
     independent Croatia.
       We believe both the United States and Croatia would benefit 
     from a close relationship. We would like to work with Croatia 
     to repair the damage of war, to protect its environment, to 
     assist in the transition to free markets, and to build 
     enduring democratic institutions. To do all these things, 
     however, we must first end the tragic and bloody conflict in 
     the former Yugoslavia. Croatia is the key to any peace 
     settlement. And for Croatia to be our partner in the peace 
     effort, it must adhere to the highest standards of law. 
     Working with Croatia to this end is the centerpiece of U.S. 
     policy.

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