[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 72 (Friday, June 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   THE BLOODSHED IN KOSOVA MUST STOP

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 5, 1998

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, the situation in Kosova, which has been 
tense all year, has taken a recent turn for the worse. The Serbian army 
has undertaken another brutal attack on the ethnic population in 
Kosova.
  More than 39 ethnic Albanians were killed during the last two days in 
May in what was the worst crackdown since the March massacre of 80 
people in Kosova.
  The violent campaign continues, as Serbian forces have carried on a 
five-day operation that targets ethnic villages to the south and west 
of Pristina, the capital of Kosova. In addition to the demolition of 
village after village by air and rocket attacks, Serbian forces have 
laid mine fields in several locations in the southwest. It is clear 
that this has become an ethnic cleansing campaign.
  On June 3rd, there was another surge of refugees in the way of the 
Serb attacks. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over 
2,000 crossed into Albania during that night, adding to the 
humanitarian crisis.
  Women, children, and elderly trekked for days through the mountains. 
Weeping, they described how Serb police burst into their homes, dragged 
them out and told them to ``go to Albania and never return'' and then 
burned their houses before their eyes.
  The latest wave of thousands of refugees and victims of this violent 
campaign of aggression shows us that unless we act now, the situation 
will only grow worse.
  The possibility for a diplomatic solution grows increasingly dim as 
intensified Serbian military efforts reveal Milosevic's determination 
to wipe out the pro-separatist Kosova Liberation Army.
  If we are to prevent another Bosnia from occurring in Kosova, as well 
as prevent chaos from spreading throughout the Balkans, we must 
convince our allies to discontinue the past policy of simply 
threatening, imposing, and then withdrawing sanctions.
  In order to strengthen our position and compel the Serbian government 
to stop the bloodshed, it is necessary to consider military measures as 
well as reinstatement of economic sanctions. Yesterday, the Washington 
Post rightly editorialized that the ``United States can intervene now, 
as it said it would. Or, as in Bosnia, it can be forced to intervene 
later, after much damage has been done and any solution is far more 
difficult.''
  A more dynamic approach is necessary in order to end the violence and 
oppression in Kosova and to allow the people there to determine their 
own future.
  Let us not allow ourselves to be faced with a situation where we did 
too little too late.

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