[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 1995
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I hail the indictments issued 
this week by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former 
Yugoslavia. The number of indictments has now grown to 46; more 
significantly, they now include the infamous names of Radovan Karadzic 
and Ratko Mladic, the highest ranking political and military leaders 
among the Bosnian Serb hierarchy in Pale. With their indictment, Chief 
Prosecutor Richard Goldstone has proven himself a man of his word. Upon 
his appointment in July 1994, Goldstone promised to take his 
prosecution where the evidence leads and to bring the most culpable--
those who order and enable others to commit atrocities--within the 
reach of the court. In so doing, his indictments bring us one step 
closer to holding those responsible for the orchestration of the most 
egregious crimes of the Yugoslav War personally responsible for their 
actions.
  To further advance the work of this Court, the United States should 
take two key measures. First, the United States must ensure that the 
Tribunal has the financial resources to bring these cases to trial and 
continue with effective investigations and prosecutions. Although last 
year, during a period of initial start-up, the United States made a $3 
million voluntary contribution to the Tribunal, a subsequent voluntary 
contribution has not been forthcoming. Failure by the United States to 
provide adequate financial support to the Tribunal--at the very time 
the Tribunal's initial investigations are producing meaningful 
results--would send a regrettable sign of weakening U.S. resolve to see 
war criminals held truly accountable. If the Administration will not 
take the lead, Congress should earmark appropriations for the Voluntary 
Fund for the Tribunal, consistent with the authorization in H.R. 1561.
  Second, President Clinton should, once and for all, put to rest the 
notion that amnesty or immunity is a viable option for the architects 
of ethnic cleansing and those charged with genocide; the continued 
silence of top U.S. officials on this matter undermines confidence in 
the U.S. commitment to hold such individuals personally accountable. In 
addition, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine 
Albright, should publicly state American resolve to use our veto, if 
necessary, to ensure that sanctions against Serbia remain in place 
until Belgrade cooperates with the Tribunal by surrendering to the 
Hague indicted criminals present on Serb-controlled territory. Easing 
sanctions throughout the past year has only been followed by Serbia's 
continued support for those responsible for war crimes and violations 
of humanitarian law, including the fall of Srebrinica and Zepa.
  Mr. Speaker, there are those who have long sought to minimize the 
importance of this Tribunal. They have argued that it cannot succeed 
because we will not gain custody of the indicted--and therefore we need 
not try. They have argued that it cannot succeed because it lacks 
resources--and therefore we need not bother to provide it with the 
means to do the job we have given it. And they have argued that it 
cannot succeed because war criminals sit as negotiators--and therefore 
we should merely continue to negotiate with them rather than seek to 
bring them to justice. But even if those indicted this week are never 
brought to trial, this Tribunal has already ensured that they will be 
fugitives for the rest of their lives, subject to international arrest 
warrants wherever they go. Moreover, by identifying individual 
perpetrators, this court may pave the way for the innocent among all 
ethnic groups in this conflict to reconcile the divisions in society 
that these war criminals exploited for their own personal ends.


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