[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 122 (Tuesday, August 23, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE PEACE IN BOSNIA AND 
HERZEGOVINA--COMMUNICATION FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. 
                           DOC. NO. 103-296)

  The SPEAKER laid before the House the following communication from 
the President of the United States; which was read, referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and ordered to be printed:

                                              The White House,

                                      Washington, August 22, 1994.
     Hon. Thomas S. Foley,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: I last reported to the Congress on April 
     12 on our support for the United Nations and North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization (NATO) efforts to achieve peace and 
     security in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I am informing you today of 
     recent developments in these efforts, including the use of 
     United States combat aircraft on August 5 to attack Bosnian 
     Serb heavy weapons in the Sarajevo heavy weapons exclusion 
     zone.
       Since the adoption of United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 713 on September 25, 1991, the United Nations has 
     actively sought solutions to the humanitarian and ethnic 
     crisis in the former Yugoslavia. Under United Nations 
     Security Council Resolution 824 (May 6, 1993), certain parts 
     of Bosnia-Herzegovina have been established as safe areas. 
     Sarajevo is specifically designated a safe area that should 
     be ``free from armed attacks and from any other hostile 
     act.''
       A mortar attack on Sarajevo on February 4, 1994, caused 
     numerous civilian casualties, including some 68 deaths. The 
     United Nations Secretary General thereafter requested NATO to 
     authorize, at his request, air operations against artillery 
     or mortar positions determined by the United Nations 
     Protection Forces (UNPROFOR) to have been involved in attacks 
     on civilians.
       On February 9, 1994, NATO responded to the Secretary 
     General's request by authorizing air operations, if needed, 
     using agreed coordination procedures with UNPROFOR. The North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization's decision set a deadline for 
     the withdrawal of heavy weapons within 20 kilometers of the 
     center of Sarajevo or for the regrouping and placement of 
     such weapons under United Nations control. As of February 21, 
     1994, all heavy weapons found within the Sarajevo exclusion 
     zone, unless controlled by UNPROFOR, would be subject to NATO 
     air strikes. In response to the NATO ultimatum, heavy weapons 
     were removed from the exclusion zone or placed in collection 
     sites under UNPROFOR control.
       On August 5, 1994, Bosnian Serb forces entered an UNPROFOR 
     heavy weapons collection site near the town of Ilidza and 
     removed several heavy weapons--a tank, two armored personnel 
     carriers, and a 30mm anti-aircraft system. An UNPROFOR 
     helicopter dispatched to monitor the situation was fired upon 
     and was forced to make an emergency landing. UNPROFOR troops 
     were unsuccessful in attempting to regain custody of the 
     weapons. As a result, UNPROFOR requested assistance from NATO 
     forces in finding the weapons so they could be retrieved or 
     destroyed. NATO responded by making various French, Dutch, 
     British, and U.S. aircraft available for air strikes, if 
     necessary.
       Unable to locate the specific weapons removed from the 
     collection site, UNPROFOR and NATO decided to proceed against 
     other targets in the Sarajevo exclusion zone. Accordingly, on 
     August 5, a U.S. A-10 aircraft strafed a Bosnian Serb M-18 
     76mm self-propelled antitank gun located inside the exclusion 
     zone. No U.S. personnel were injured or killed nor was U.S. 
     equipment damaged in connection with this action. Later on 
     August 5, the Bosnian Serbs called the UNPROFOR Commander, 
     General Rose, and asked him to call off the attacks. They 
     offered to return the heavy weapons that they had taken from 
     the storage site. General Rose agreed and the weapons were 
     returned to UNPROFOR's control.
       I took these actions in conjunction with our allies in 
     order to carry out the NATO decision and to answer UNPROFOR's 
     request for assistance. As I earlier reported to you, our 
     continued efforts are intended to assist the parties to reach 
     a negotiated settlement to the conflict. I have directed the 
     participation by U.S. Armed Forces in this effort pursuant to 
     my constitutional authority to conduct the foreign relations 
     of the United States and as Commander in Chief and Chief 
     Executive.
       I am grateful for the continuing support the Congress has 
     provided, and I look forward to continued cooperation with 
     you in this endeavor. I shall communicate with you further 
     regarding our efforts for peace and stability in the region.
           Sincerely,
     William J. Clinton.

                          ____________________