[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      STOP THE VIOLENCE IN KOSOVA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 8, 1998

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, for the past two hundred and fifteen days, 
the people of Kosova have endured unfathomable brutality and suffering 
at the hands of Serbian-Yugoslavian authorities.
  Over four hundred thousand ethnic Albanians were forced to leave 
their homes, and more than seven thousand were murdered.
  Tragically, these atrocities are still happening.
  Homes and villages are being burned, and innocent civilians, 
including women and children, are being slaughtered.
  For nine years, Serbia has repressed and harassed the people of 
Kosova.
  Leaders of the Western world were continuously warned about the 
distressful situation in Kosova.
  But the Western world did not heed those warnings.
  In fact, we are still sitting on the sidelines, while we debate what 
to do.
  This indecisive behavior is allowing Slobodan Milosevic to carry out 
his campaign of ethnic cleansing, violating the human rights of the 
people of Kosova.
  The West must act, and if the West does not act, the United States 
must act. We cannot wait.
  We must remember the commitments that have been made to protect 
ethnic Albanians in Kosova.
  We must not stray away from those commitments now, even though it 
means making difficult decisions.
  We brought peace to the people of Bosnia only after we showed 
Milosevic that his brute force would be countered with swift and 
decisive military action.
  Now is the time to make sure he knows he faces the same consequences 
if the violence in Kosova is not put to a stop.
  The people of Kosova are being brutalized, and we must not allow it 
to continue.

                          ____________________