[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 135 (Friday, August 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12344-S12345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          A MESSAGE TO CROATIA

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I wish to encourage President Clinton to 
ensure that Croatia's recent military offensive in Krajina will not 
result in wide scale human rights violations or lead to a wider war.
  At first glance, it may appear counterintuitive to criticize Croatia 
for its victory over the Serbs, who it is generally agreed, were the 
original aggressors. ``Finally,'' it is natural to think, ``someone is 
willing to stand up to the Serbs.'' While I am in no way questioning 
Croatia's legitimate right to the nearly one third of its territory 
that had been controlled by the Serbs, I do believe we need to look a 
bit deeper.
  While I sympathize completely with Croatia's now fulfilled desire to 
recover its territory, I am deeply concerned and disappointed by 
Croatia's military foray into Krajina. Croatia eschewed diplomacy and 
pursued a military campaign instead of diplomatic negotiations which 
had a good chance of success. In so doing, the Croatian Army has 
apparently in some cases, abused civilians as well as U.N. personnel. 
This much is for certain: Croatia has unleashed the largest single 
refugee flow in the 4-year-old conflicts in former Yugoslavia.
  I am equally concerned about what comes next. What will happen to the 
tens of thousands of newly created refugees? How will Croatia treat the 
civilians left behind? How solid is Croatia's commitment to its Bosnian 
allies? What are Croatia's intentions with regard to an overall 
peaceful settlement? I believe that we should make clear to Croatia 
that we expect their actions in these areas to be transparent, 
forthcoming, and respectful of human rights.
  We do, after all, have significant leverage. Croatia's leaders want 
to integrate Croatia into the rest of Europe. They want to rebuild the 
parts of Croatia damaged by the war and to see Croatia thrive 
economically. That, of course, will require a good deal of 
international support. I believe that we should make it clear to 
Croatia's leaders that if they wish to achieve these goals, they will 
have to take on certain responsibilities. They will have to 

[[Page S 12345]]
prove that Croatia is a country that respects the human rights of all 
people living in Croatia; that Croatia lives up to its international 
commitments, particularly the Washington Agreement of March 1994; and 
that Croatia is committed to a peaceful solution to both the Bosnian 
and Croatian conflicts.
  I agree with President Clinton that the Croatian victory could 
provide a window of opportunity to resolve the Bosnian and Croat 
conflicts diplomatically. Whether or not that occurs, however, will 
depend to a very large part on Croatia. Accordingly, we must let 
Croatia know what we expect.


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