[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on International Relations be discharged from further consideration of 
the Senate concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 105) expressing the 
sense of the Congress regarding the culpability of Slobodan Milosevic 
for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the former 
Yugoslavia, and for other purposes, and I ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). Is there objection 
to the request of the gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 105

       Whereas there is reason to mark the beginning of the 
     conflict in the former Yugoslavia with Slobodan Milosevic's 
     rise to power beginning in 1987, when he whipped up and 
     exploited extreme nationalism among Serbs, and specifically 
     in Kosovo, including support for violence against non-Serbs 
     who were labeled as threats;
       Whereas there is reason to believe that as President of 
     Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic was responsible for the conception 
     and direction of a war of aggression, the deaths of hundreds 
     of thousands, the torture and rape of tens of thousands and 
     the forced displacement of nearly 3,000,000 people, and that 
     mass rape and forced impregnation were among the tools used 
     to wage this war;
       Whereas ``ethnic cleansing'' has been carried out in the 
     former Yugoslavia in such a consistent and systematic way 
     that it had to be directed by the senior political leadership 
     in Serbia, and Slobodan Milosevic has held such power within 
     Serbia that he is responsible for the conception and 
     direction of this policy;
       Whereas, as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
     (Serbia and Montenegro), Slobodan Milosevic is responsible 
     for the conception and direction of assaults by Yugoslavian 
     and Serbian military, security, special police, and other 
     forces on innocent civilians in Kosovo which have so far 
     resulted in an estimated 300 people dead or missing and the 
     forced displacement of tens of thousands, and such assaults 
     continue;
       Whereas on May 25, 1993, United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 827 created the International Criminal Tribunal 
     for the former Yugoslavia located in The Hague, the 
     Netherlands (hereafter in this resolution referred to as the 
     ``Tribunal''), and gave it jurisdiction over all crimes 
     arising out of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia;
       Whereas this Tribunal has publicly indicted 60 people for 
     war crimes or crimes against humanity arising out of the 
     conflict in the former Yugoslavia and has issued a number of 
     secret indictments that have only been made public upon the 
     apprehension of the indicted persons;
       Whereas it is incumbent upon the United States and all 
     other nations to support the Tribunal, and the United States 
     has done so by providing, since 1992, funding in the amount 
     of $54,000,000 in assessed payments and more than $11,000,000 
     in voluntary and in-kind contributions to the Tribunal and 
     the War Crimes Commission which preceded it, and by supplying 
     information collected by the United States that can aid the 
     Tribunal's investigations, prosecutions, and adjudications;
       Whereas any lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict in 
     the former Yugoslavia must be based upon justice for all, 
     including the most senior officials of the government or 
     governments responsible for conceiving, organizing, 
     initiating, directing, and sustaining the Yugoslav conflict 
     and whose forces have committed war crimes, crimes against 
     humanity and genocide; and
       Whereas Slobodan Milosevic has been the single person who 
     has been in the highest government offices in an aggressor 
     state since before the inception of the conflict in the 
     former Yugoslavia, who has had the power to decide for peace 
     and instead decided for war, who has had the power to 
     minimize illegal actions by subordinates and allies and hold 
     responsible those who committed such actions, but did not, 
     and who is once again directing a campaign of ethnic 
     cleansing against innocent civilians in Kosovo while treating 
     with contempt international efforts to achieve a fair and 
     peaceful settlement to the question of the future status of 
     Kosovo: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the United States should publicly declare that it 
     considers that there is reason to believe that Slobodan 
     Milosevic, President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
     (Serbia and Montenegro), has committed war crimes, crimes 
     against humanity and genocide;
       (2) the United States should make collection of information 
     that can be supplied to the Tribunal for use as evidence to 
     support an indictment and trial of President Slobodan 
     Milosevic for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 
     genocide a high priority;
       (3) any such information concerning President Slobodan 
     Milosevic already collected by the United States should be 
     provided to the Tribunal as soon as possible;
       (4) the United States should provide a fair share of any 
     additional financial or personnel resources that may be 
     required by the Tribunal in order to enable the Tribunal to 
     adequately address preparation for, indictment of, 
     prosecution of, and adjudication of allegations of war crimes 
     and crimes against humanity posed against President Slobodan 
     Milosevic and any other person arising from the conflict in 
     the former Yugoslavia, including in Kosovo;
       (5) the United States should engage with other members of 
     the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other interested 
     states in a discussion of information any such state may hold 
     relating to allegations of war crimes and crimes against 
     humanity posed against President Slobodan Milosevic and any 
     other person arising from the conflict in the former 
     Yugoslavia, including in Kosovo, and press such states to 
     promptly provide all such information to the Tribunal;
       (6) the United States should engage with other members of 
     the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other interested 
     states in a discussion of measures to be taken to apprehend 
     indicted war criminals and persons indicted for crimes 
     against humanity with the objective of concluding a plan of 
     action that will result in these indictees' prompt delivery 
     into the custody of the Tribunal; and
       (7) the United States should urge the Tribunal to promptly 
     review all information relating to President Slobodan 
     Milosevic's possible criminal culpability for conceiving, 
     directing, and sustaining a variety of actions in the former 
     Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, that have had the effect of 
     genocide, of other crimes against humanity, or of war crimes, 
     with a view toward prompt issuance of a public indictment of 
     Milosevic.
       Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy 
     of this resolution to the President.

  The Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  A similar House concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 304) was laid on 
the table.

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