[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               KOSOVA PEACE AND DEMOCRACY ACT--H.R. 4115

                                 ______


                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 24, 1994

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced H.R. 4115, the Kosova 
Peace and Democracy Act of 1994. This bill would condition lifting of 
sanctions on Serbia upon improvement of conditions in Kosova. I submit 
a copy of that bill to be printed in the Record.

                                 H.R.--

       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 Montinegrins, 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 represion 
     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 
                   YUGOSLAVE 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.

                          ____________________