[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H8493-H8495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENSE OF CONGRESS CONDEMNING ATROCITIES BY SERBIAN POLICE AND MILITARY 
                   FORCES AGAINST ALBANIANS IN KOSOVA

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 315) expressing the sense of the 
Congress condemning the atrocities by Serbian police and military 
forces against Albanians in Kosova and urging that blocked assets of 
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) under the 
control of the United States and other governments be used to 
compensate the Albanians in Kosova for losses suffered through Serbian 
police and military action, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 315

       Whereas the ethnic Albanian population of the province of 
     Kosova, which makes up the overwhelming majority of the 
     population of that area, has been denied internationally 
     recognized human rights and political rights, including the 
     protection of life, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, 
     and freedom of the press;
       Whereas Serbian police and military forces have engaged in 
     brutal suppression of the Albanian people, and the number of 
     Serbian police and military forces which have been deployed 
     in Kosova is estimated at some 50,000 men;
       Whereas human rights groups have reported and documented 
     instances of Serbian forces conducting abductions and summary 
     executions of innocent ethnic Albanian civilians in reprisal 
     killings that are similar to those conducted by Nazi forces 
     during World War II and are similar to the ethnic cleansing 
     which was carried out by ethnic Serbian troops in Bosnia;
       Whereas Serbian forces have indiscriminately shelled and 
     burned villages, reducing them to rubble, in order to drive 
     out the ethnic Albanian inhabitants, inflicting heavy 
     material losses upon the ethnic Albanians in Kosova;
       Whereas hundreds of ethnic Albanians, including women and 
     children, have been killed and over 200,000 ethnic Albanians 
     have been forced to flee and have become refugees as a result 
     of this Serbian military action;
       Whereas the stubborn denial of human rights and political 
     rights to the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosova by the 
     Government of Serbia has been the major factor in

[[Page H8494]]

     the radicalization of the political situation in the province 
     and made the prospects of a peaceful resolution of the 
     conflict there difficult if not impossible;
       Whereas the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic 
     of Yugoslavia (SFRY) resulted in 5 independent states and the 
     ownership of the blocked assets of the SFRY has yet to be 
     determined and apportioned among the successor states; and
       Whereas the United States and the governments of other 
     countries have blocked the assets of the Federal Republic of 
     Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) as part of the blocked 
     assets of the SFRY: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) deeply deplores and strongly condemns the appalling 
     loss of life and the extensive destruction of property in 
     Kosova that is the consequence of the brutal actions of 
     Serbian police and military forces against the ethnic 
     Albanian population of the province;
       (2) believes that the Government of Serbia is primarily 
     responsible for the loss of life and destruction of property, 
     and thus Serbia should bear the principal burden of providing 
     compensation for the loss of life and for the costs of 
     rebuilding areas which its forces have devastated;
       (3) urges the President and officials he designates to work 
     with the Congress to draft legislation and regulations which 
     will permit the claims of ethnic Albanians from Kosova who 
     have suffered as a consequence of the brutal actions of 
     Serbian police and military forces in Kosova to be 
     considered, without prejudice to the claims of United States 
     nationals, when claims settlement negotiations involving the 
     assets of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
     Montenegro) which the United States has blocked or asserted 
     control over takes place;
       (4) urges that, in drafting such legislation and 
     implementing regulations, special consideration be given to 
     the circumstances of the Government of the Republic of 
     Montenegro and to persons located in and organized under the 
     laws of the Republic of Montenegro;
       (5) urges the President and the Secretary of State to urge 
     all other countries to follow a policy which permits ethnic 
     Albanians who have suffered as a consequence of the brutal 
     actions of Serbian police and military forces in Kosova to 
     make claims against the assets of the Federal Republic of 
     Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) which are in the control 
     of the respective country; and
       (6) requests that a copy of this resolution be transmitted 
     to the President and the Secretary of State by the Clerk of 
     the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on House Concurrent Resolution 315.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, this resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 
315, expresses the well-founded view that Serbia is responsible for the 
mayhem that police and military personnel have inflicted upon the 
unfortunate people of Kosova, and that Serbia should be held 
financially responsible for the damages done to their homes and other 
property of the Albanian citizens of Kosova.
  I commend the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), a 
senior member of our committee, for introducing this measure. I am 
pleased to be listed as an original cosponsor.
  This resolution calls for our President to work with the Congress to 
develop laws and regulations that would make it possible to utilize the 
Serbian blocked assets here in our Nation under the control of our 
government for the purpose of providing restitution to those who have 
suffered property losses as a result of the conflict in Kosova.
  While we recognize that there may be other claimants to these assets, 
we want to put the House on record that Serbia is financially 
accountable for the damages that its police and military have caused 
through unrestrained use of force and willful destruction of housing 
and other property belonging to members of the Albanian community in 
Kosova.
  Just last week I called upon the President to mobilize NATO to issue 
an ultimatum to Milosevic to permit the hundreds of thousands of 
displaced people in Kosova to return to their homes in safety, and to 
permit unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance for these people.
  Winter comes early to Kosova. We can no longer play for time for 
other forms of diplomacy to take effect. Milosevic is completely 
untrustworthy, and the lives of more than 250,000 people in Kosova now 
hang on the credibility of the international community's pledge to 
permit no more Bosnias in the Balkans. We must not wait to act until 
scenes of human misery flash across our TV screens in the next few 
weeks.
  Accordingly, I urge all of our Members of the House to join with the 
sponsors of this resolution in sending a strong message to the Serbian 
leadership that in addition to any legal and political penalties they 
may face, they will also pay a financial penalty for their actions in 
Kosova.
  It is our hope that other governments will undertake similar 
measures, so that the people of Kosova may eventually receive some 
restitution from the government that is directly responsible for their 
suffering and for their tremendous losses.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me first express my thanks and respect to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the chairman of our committee, 
for his strong support of this long overdue measure.
  If I may, Mr. Speaker, I would like to put this whole resolution in 
some historic context. Kosova, an Albanian province of Serbia, was a 
relatively peaceful, poor place until 1989. In 1989, without the 
slightest provocation, Mr. Milosevic destroyed whatever modicum of 
autonomy the people of Kosova had and created of 1,800,000 Albanian 
ethnic Kosovars colonial subjects within their own country.
  I visited Kosova many times during the last decade. It is, without 
any question, Europe's poorest region. It is the only region, Mr. 
Speaker, where you can meet a young man or a young woman in their 
twenties having only one or two or three teeth, because there are no 
dental services available. The grinding poverty of the Albanian ethnic 
population of Kosova is pitiful and heartrending.
  The people of Kosova have been fortunate to have reasonable, 
moderate, peace-loving leadership in the person of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, 
a scholar of great distinction. But he could not get anyplace with the 
dictatorial regime of Milosevic, and gradually an extremist element 
emerged within the Albanian population which started military 
activities.
  In response to this, the Serbian army not only crushed this military 
uprising, but caused over 250,000 civilians, men, women, children, old 
folks, to leave their poor villages, many of them by now destroyed. As 
we speak, Mr. Speaker, over 50,000 civilian Kosovars are hiding in the 
mountains, and last week the first snow fell in Kosova.
  My resolution calls for two things. It calls for the Congress to 
denounce the brutal and inhumane activities of Serbian military and 
paramilitary and police forces against the civilian population of 
Kosova; and secondly, it calls on our government to see to it that 
Serbian assets frozen in this country be used to compensate, to 
whatever extent is feasible, these poor and destitute people, so that 
when they return to their destroyed and devastated villages, they can 
start rebuilding their lives.
  This is the very least that we can do for an innocent, persecuted, 
long-suffering people, 1,800,000 ethnic Albanian Kosovars whose sole 
crime is that they happen to live within the boundaries of the state of 
Serbia. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume 
to my distinguished friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Traficant).
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time 
to me. I also want to thank the distinguished Member for sponsoring 
this

[[Page H8495]]

legislation, which I am a cosponsor of, and for his leadership 
throughout the world for freedom.
  I think if there is some day a dictionary encyclopedia that says, 
what does a Congressman look like, we will see Mr. Bill Natcher and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Tom Lantos). I mean that.
  Also, I thank the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman) for all 
the work he has done. Naturally, I support this resolution. I think it 
is on target.
  I, though, would also like to recommend that my legislation that 
would move Kosova toward an independent state be seriously considered, 
for several reasons. Number one, Milosevic has shown that he is a 
brutal dictator, and the atrocities against ethnic Albanians may in 
fact produce another Bosnia for the world.
  Having said that, I think it is time to look at Kosova. The 
population consists of 90 percent ethnic Albanians, their roots, their 
language, and under the former state of Yugoslavia, they had an 
independent status.
  As much as I support this, I would like to say that ethnic Albanians 
do not just want an opportunity to make a claim against Serbian assets 
in our country, ethnic Albanians want independence, and they are crying 
out for freedom all over this world. I believe our administration is 
trying to keep the lid on, in all fairness. But I believe we can coddle 
this guy Milosevic a little too much, and I think it is time to get 
stern with this man.
  I would just like to recommend to the chairman and distinguished 
leaders of this committee to look at the matter of independence. I 
believe there is no other answer because ethnic Albanians will not 
accept anything else, and I believe if there is to be a tempest in this 
teapot, we should deal with it now. But this certainly is on the right 
track.
  I am proud to join forces with the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos), and I am hoping that the administration and the State 
Department look very carefully at the recommendation coming from the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman), and the rest of the Congress.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
and urge the House to pass it by a unanimous vote.
  This resolution condemns the violence in Kosovo and calls for 
compensation for its victims from the assets of the perpetrators. This 
is the just and right thing to do.
  And while, Mr. Speaker, we must condemn the violence and ethnic 
cleansing, we must do more. As we debate this resolution, Milosevic and 
his thugs are conducting yet another assault against civilians in the 
Drenica region of Kosovo. Reports indicate that 20,000 more refugees 
are fleeing their homes as Serb police and military units continue 
their scorched Earth policy. Hundreds of people, including women and 
children, have been killed since the violence began. More than a 
quarter of a million people--one-sixth of Kosovo's overwhelmingly 
ethnic Albanian population--have been driven from their homes. An 
estimated 50,000 are living in the open, threatened by starvation, 
hypothermia and disease.
  Last week Senator Bob Dole and Assistant Secretary of State John 
Shattuck testified about their recent visit to Kosovo before the 
Helsinki Commission. Senator Dole said that what he saw in Kosovo 
shares many of the worst characteristics of the war in Bosnia, 
including the genocide in Srebrenica. Secretary Shattuck described 
horrendous human rights violations, violations of humanitarian law, and 
acts of punitive destruction on a massive scale.
  Make no mistake about it. This is Bosnia--again. And as we saw in 
Bosnia, the only thing Milosevic responds to is force.
  In December 1992, President Bush warned that if civilians in Kosovo 
were attacked, we would respond with force. President Clinton 
reiterated that warning in March 1993. The international community has 
threatened, NATO has planned contingencies, we have rattled our sabers, 
yet Milosevic and his thugs carry on with impunity.
  I call on the Congress, the administration, and our NATO allies to 
act now to save the people of Kosovo, to halt Milosevic's reign of 
terror and to finally bring a chance for peace to the Balkans.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 
315, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that, I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________