[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 49 (Monday, April 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE ASSASSINATION OF SLAVKO CURUVIJA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 12, 1999

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday Serbia lost a 
courageous citizen--one committed to an open society, to a free press, 
to reporting the truth. Slavko Curuvija was gunned down in front of his 
Belgrade apartment on Sunday by two men, dressed in black with black 
face masks. Branka Prpa, who was with him at the time, said that the 
murderers were certainly professionals. I extend my deepest condolences 
to her and to all of Slavko's family and friends.
  Slavko Curuvija was editor of the independent Serbian newspaper, The 
Daily Telegraph, as well as the news magazine called The European. 
Though he had ties with Serbia's establishment, this last year he 
sought his own independent course, and became a leading critic of the 
Milosevic regime.
  Mr. Speaker, last December Slavko Curuvija testified before the 
Helsinki Commission which I chair. In his testimony, he said:

       I come from a country where there is no rule of law . . . 
     By making an example out of me, the regime sends a message to 
     all who would oppose it, intimidating and bullying all the 
     independent media in the process . . . The crackdown on my 
     publications and other media organizations has jeopardized 
     the right to free speech in Serbia. The crackdown on the 
     universities jeopardizes another basic human right, freedom 
     of thought. Belgrade University has been deprived of 
     autonomy, its professors have been sacked for failing to sign 
     loyalty oaths, its students jailed for protecting . . . After 
     all his other wars, Slobodan Milosevic appears to be 
     preparing to wage war against his own people in Serbia and 
     Montenegro.

  More recently, on March 8, Slavko Curuvija, was sentenced along with 
two of his journalists to five months in prison by a Belgrade court for 
``spreading false reports with an intention to endanger public order,'' 
dictator-speak for telling the truth. The three remained free on 
appeal. When Milosevic used NATO's action against his forces as an 
excuse to eliminate any remaining independent media, Curuvija chose to 
shut down operations rather than succumb to state censorship. A week 
ago, according to today's Washington Post, a pro-regime newspaper 
accused Curuvija of supporting NATO bombing and said that ``people like 
him'' will neither be ``forgiven nor forgotten.''
  People like Slavko Curuvija, who act upon their rights and freedoms 
and promote the protection of those rights, have fought for what is 
best for their country. Their patriotism is expressed in their 
opposition to a regime which does not want any independent voice, nor 
criticism. They see that Serbia only has a future if it becomes a 
democracy.
  I ask the people of Serbia, and Serbs in this country and around the 
world, to think hard about what has just happened. If this Milosevic 
regime is willing to do this to an independent thinker in Belgrade, a 
Serb, why is it not possible that this same regime can be responsible 
for the genocides in Bosnia and now in Kosovo? Is it worth rallying 
around Milosevic, who is President of Yugoslavia only through 
ruthlessly undemocratic means and who brought this upon Serbia? Can't 
you see that Milosevic, not Curuvija, wants Serbia to be bombed, 
because he believes this will enhance his power and somehow justify 
getting rid of those who advocate freedom? I ask the people of Serbia 
to take a close look around you. Who has isolated you from a Europe 
more free and united than ever before? Who has caused your living 
conditions to be so much less than they had been, or could be? The 
answer should be clear--Slobodan Milosevic. You must no longer allow 
his propaganda to succeed in convincing you otherwise.
  Mr. Speaker, while we may have differences regarding what the U.S. 
role should be in stopping the genocide in Kosovo, we should be able to 
agree on one central point: Slobodan Milosevic is the problem, and he 
must account for his crimes. In my view, the cold-blooded murder of an 
independent journalist, Slavko Curuvija, is the latest crime to add to 
the list.

                          ____________________