[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 35 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E360-E361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONDEMNING RESTRICTIONS ON THE MEDIA AND THE CLOSING OF THE SOROS 
                          FOUNDATION IN SERBIA

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, with my distinguished friend and colleague 
from Nebraska, Mr. Bereuter, and the bipartisan support of a number of 
our colleagues, I have introduced a resolution deploring recent actions 
by the Government of Serbia that restrict freedom of the press and 
freedom of expression, deplores the decision of the Serbian Government 
to prevent the Soros Foundation from continuing its democracy-building 
and humanitarian activities in Serbia, and calling upon the Government 
of Serbia to remove immediately these restrictions against freedom of 
the press and the operation of the Soros Foundation.
  Recently, the autocratic President of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, 
closed down the only independent television station in Belgrade. This 
follows the government closure just over 1 year ago of the leading 
independent daily newspaper in the country. Mr. Speaker, this is an 
outrage. As Slobodan Milosevic tries to work his way back into 
acceptance by the civilized world community--and we should encourage 
him to do that--he continues his autocratic and antidemocratic moves 
against the news media in Serbia.
  But, Mr. Speaker, this is not all. The Milosevic government has also 
closed down the Soros Foundation, a humanitarian and charitable 
organization that has done an enormous amount of good for the people of 
Serbia and, indeed, for the peoples of countless other countries. It is 
an organization that has established an outstanding reputation for 
encouraging democratization and the development of open, pluralistic 
civil societies in the former Communist countries of Central and 
Eastern Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union.
  The decision of the Serbian Government to withdraw the registration 
of the internationally renowned Soros Foundation is most likely related 
to the activities of the foundation in encouraging freedom of the press 
and freedom of expression. The Soros Yugoslavia Foundation was 
established in Serbia in 1991. Its board was comprised of prominent 
scholars and intellectuals from different ethnic backgrounds and 
regions. Since its establishment, the foundation has dispersed millions 
of dollars in grants for a variety of programs.
  The programs that most likely earned for the foundation the hostility 
of the Milosevic government were those which it sponsored supporting 
the free media and freedom of expression. Beginning in 1992, the 
foundation initiated a program to support independent media, including 
assisting the start-up of some 40 independent media outlets, restarting 
publications in Albanian, Hungarian, and Slovak languages and 
initiating a major research project on repression in the media.
  The Soros Foundation was also involved in establishing the 
Association of Independent Electronic Media in Serbia and in 
establishing a media center in Belgrade to promote cooperation between 
journalistic associations. Grants were provided to permit many 
journalists in Serbia to attend symposia and workshops abroad and to 
encourage communication between Serbian and foreign journalists. In 
1994 the foundation began support for an independent daily newspaper in 
Belgrade--Nasa Borba--after Serbian Government authorities absorbed 
Borba, previously the most prominent independent newspaper published in 
Belgrade.
  The problem of government control of the media in Serbia is an issue 
of major concern to the United States, Mr. Speaker. The latest issue of 
``County Reports on Human Rights Practices in 1995,'' which was 
released by the Department of State just last week, reflects both the 
conditions in Serbia and the problem this represents for the United 
States. The report on Serbia notes the following:

       An important factor in Milosevic's rise to power and almost 
     total domination of the political process is his control and 
     manipulation of the state-run media. Freedom of the press is 
     greatly circumscribed. The Government discourages independent 
     media and resorts to surveillance, harassment, and even 
     suppression to inhibit the media from reporting its 
     repressive and violent acts.
       Opposition politicians and minority ethnic groups are 
     routinely denied access to the state-run mass media; they are 
     vilified in the government-controlled media, and their 
     positions misrepresented. This year the government-controlled 
     press mounted a campaign against nongovernmental 
     organizations [NGO's] and international humanitarian 
     organizations. In some instances personnel of United Nations 
     and religious organizations were not granted visas to 
     continue their work; in at least one case, the Government 
     revoked the registration of a major NGO.

  Mr. Speaker, the government of Serbia and President Slobodan 
Milosevic need to understand how we in the United States feel about 
these serious issues. They need to understand our firm and unequivocal 
commitment to freedom of the press and to the vital necessity of 
freedom of expression. The resolution that I have introduced with Mr. 
Bereuter is intended to make that clear and unequivocal. It is 
important that we in the Congress reaffirm our commitment to these 
vital democratic principles and that the Government of Serbia know of 
our commitment.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the text of our resolution be placed in the 
Record, and I invite my colleagues to join as cosponsors of this 
resolution to demonstrate our support for freedom of the press and to 
make clear to Serbian authorities our commitment.

                              H. Res. 378

       A resolution deploring recent actions by the government of 
     Serbia that restrict freedom of the press and freedom of 
     expression and prevent the Soros Foundation from continuing 
     its democracy-building and humanitarian activities on its 
     territory and calling upon the government of Serbia to remove 
     immediately restrictions against freedom of the press and the 
     operation of the Soros Foundation.
       Whereas free and independent news media and freedom of 
     expression are fundamental tenets of democracy and are vital 
     to assuring democratic government;
       Whereas democracy can exist only in an environment that is 
     free of any form of state

[[Page E361]]

     control or censorship or official coercion of any kind and 
     where freedom of the press is protected by the rule of law;
       Whereas independent radio and television stations and 
     independent newspapers in Serbia have recently been subjected 
     to restrictions, harassment, intimidation, and closure;
       Whereas the internationally respected humanitarian and 
     philanthropic organization, the Soros Foundation, has been 
     denied the legal authorization to function in Serbia, and one 
     of the principal activities of the Soros Foundation in Serbia 
     has been to provide assistance for regular publication and 
     distribution of independent daily, weekly, and local 
     newspapers and to provide equipment and technical assistance 
     to independent radio and television outlets; and
       Whereas parliamentary elections will take place in Serbia 
     in the near future and the existence of free and independent 
     news media is essential to the proper functioning of 
     democratic elections: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) deplores the recent actions of the government of Serbia 
     that restrict freedom of the press and freedom of expression 
     and hamper civic organizations and democratic opposition 
     groups;
       (2) deplores the actions of the government of Serbia in 
     revoking the legal registration of the Soros Foundation, 
     which therefore prevents the Foundation from further activity 
     in Serbia, and commends the Soros Foundation for its past 
     activities in Serbia and elsewhere in support of freedom of 
     the press, freedom of expression, and the development of 
     democratic institutions;
       (3) calls upon the government of Serbia to remove 
     immediately those restrictions against the independent press 
     and against independent radio and television stations, to 
     remove immediately restrictions that have hampered free 
     activity by civic organizations and democratic opposition 
     groups, and to restore immediately the right of the Soros 
     Foundation to operate fully in Serbia;
       (4) declares that United States economic and other 
     assistance for Serbia and United States support for full 
     participation of Serbia in international financial 
     institutions should be conditioned on the full functioning of 
     independent news media, civic organizations, and democratic 
     opposition groups; and
       (5) requests that the President and the Secretary of State 
     convey to appropriate officials of the governments of Serbia, 
     including President Slobodan Milosevic, the Prime Minister, 
     and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this expression of the 
     views of the Congress.

                          ____________________