[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 96 (Thursday, July 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                 BOSNIA

  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, we had our debate just a few weeks ago on 
the amendment I offered, along with my distinguished colleague from 
Connecticut, Senator Lieberman, a bipartisan amendment, to lift the 
arms embargo on Bosnia. Administration officials argue that a peace 
settlement was at hand. We were told that this time, if the Serbs 
rejected the 51 to 49 percent settlement, the situation would be 
different. We were told that if the Bosnian Serbs rejected the 
settlement, as they did the Vance-Owen plan, this time there would be 
tough consequences. So after high-level, intense, administration 
lobbying including a number of phone calls by the President himself to 
individual Senators who supported our amendment, we lost the vote on a 
tie. And, for the time being, everyone's attention shifted to the so-
called contact group's activities in Geneva.

  Well, what we see today is that, once again, the Bosnian Government 
has signed a peace settlement under pressure from the United States, 
Europe, and Russia. And, once again, the Bosnian Serbs are playing 
deadly games of defiance at the expense of the Bosnian people and the 
credibility of the international community. I hope that the House-
Senate conferees on the defense authorization bill are taking a close 
look at this situation as they begin to discuss the arms embargo 
provision--which was passed by a substantial bipartisan margin in the 
House.
  Cleverly, the Bosnian Serbs did not publicly say ``no.'' They brought 
a secret pink envelope to Geneva. But, any way you package their 
unacceptable conditions, their response is a rejection and not the 
unconditional ``yes'' the contact group expected. Some of the news 
reports indicate that the Russians see something positive in that the 
Bosnian Serbs are still willing to negotiate. Sure, the Bosnian Serbs 
would like to continue negotiations. Negotiations are always handy to 
divert the international community's attention from their activities, 
such as ethnic cleansing in Banja Luka, or their refusal to allow 
supplies into Goradze.
  The fact is that the Bosnian Government--the victim of aggression--
signed an unjust settlement. The fact is that instead of peace we have 
Serbian intransigence and defiance. Let us face it, the Bosnian Serbs 
are still committed to a greater Serbia and they are trying to call the 
contact group's bluff.
  Today, there was news of several planes delivering humanitarian aid 
being hit on their way into Sarajevo airport, including a U.S. C-141--
reportedly an American was injured and the airlift was shut down for 
the second day in a row. This is no surprise to me, nor should it be to 
anyone who has watched the course of this brutal war. After 2\1/2\ 
years of diplomatic handwringing by the so-called great powers and the 
absence of American leadership, we can expect no less. Serbian leaders 
and their forces are getting away with attacks on U.N. forces and 
international relief workers, with ethnic cleansing, and with creating 
a greater Serbia for one reason: because the international community is 
letting them do so--and indeed sanctioning it, albeit in a modified 
form through international negotiations.

  So the real question before us today is whether this time is really 
different, as administration officials claimed before we voted on 
lifting the arms embargo. Can the international community muster enough 
resolve to act decisively? Or will we again see the international 
community sweep Bosnian Serb defiance under the carpet and do what is 
easiest: Pressure the victims into further concessions and ultimately 
into surrender. I am skeptical. So far, what we have heard from the 
U.S. mediator, Chuck Redman, is that the United States is 
``disappointed,'' that the contact group will meet by the end of the 
month to consider the next move--this is dejavu.
  The United States and the other contact group countries made clear on 
numerous occasions, including during the G-7 summit, that there would 
be tough consequences if the Serbs rejected their proposal, including a 
vigorous enforcement of the exclusion zones in Bosnia, which are now 
being blatantly violated by the Serbs, and lifting of the arms embargo 
on the Bosnians.
  Madam President, this vicious circle of denying the Bosnians the 
right to self-defense under the pretense of defending them needs to be 
broken. The administration's credibility is on the line. There is no 
need for further negotiations. What there is need for is United States 
leadership in doing the right thing--in immediately lifting the arms 
embargo on the Bosnians.

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