[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 49 (Monday, April 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1838-H1839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, the American people 
understand separation. They understand the tragedy, the human tragedy, 
of moving families, women and children, and the elderly away from their 
homes.
  One of the things that American people are good at is coming to the 
aid of those who cannot help themselves. The tragedy in Kosovo over the 
last weeks and months has developed into an enormous tragedy, like the 
13-year-old girl

[[Page H1839]]

who was moved from her home, started out with her family, came to a 
fork in the road, and her father and brother went in one direction and 
she and her mother went another. They came to an encampment or a camp 
area and she was separated from her mother.
  The American people understand that a sustained air strike is 
imperative if we are to relieve the pain of separation and the crisis 
that is going on in the former Yugoslavia. This weekend I spent time 
with my constituents, many of whom expressed extreme concern about this 
crisis, questioning, of course, what we should do, but being supportive 
of the idea that Americans had to do something, as we failed to do in 
Rwanda and Burundi. I think now we are aware that ethnic cleansing, the 
murder of innocent civilians, has to stop and cannot be tolerated by 
the world family.
  This weekend I joined the clerical community of my city and and 
prayed for peace. In fact, we have made this week in Houston a week of 
prayer, and we have asked for the respective institutions of religious 
concerns to offer up prayers or callings for peace. We did that this 
weekend, and I enjoyed and welcomed the opportunity to worship at the 
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church this past Sunday, along with members of 
the Muslim community and other faiths, in calling upon and praying for 
peace.
  I believe that as we sustain these air strikes, we should still be 
calling for return to the peace table. Although we must stand firm in 
what we require of Mr. Milosevic, and that is, of course, to allow the 
refugees to return to their homes, to remove the Serbian troops from 
that area, and to allow for peacekeeping troops to go into that area, 
we, part of the NATO allies, must not silence our voices from asking 
for return to the peace tables.
  Seven hundred thousand have been removed from Kosovo. We now hear 
tell of the possibility of enormous atrocities, the killing of very 
many. But I believe that it is extremely important that we do not give 
up on the sustained air strikes, that we stay focused and unified; that 
the American people must be educated and informed about how we need to 
proceed.
  Nothing should be excluded or precluded, but we certainly should not 
move precipitously into the use of ground troops. We have to recognize 
the importance of bringing along a unified position against Mr. 
Milosevic. And certainly we must continue to press for the release of 
the POWs, three young men who should not have been taken in the first 
place, who were part of a U.N. peacekeeping operation, who have been 
taken inappropriately and wrongly by the Serbians.
  I would simply say that the American people can rise to the occasion. 
They have always come to the aid of those in need. This conflict is a 
serious conflict, and any determination on using ground troops should 
be one that is done with the support and cooperation of the American 
people. NATO must remain unified.
  I would ask that our NATO allies would engage all of us in the 
ultimate decisions that are made, and that we, as part of the NATO ally 
operations, be unified in our discussions so that there is not 
division, but there is unification and unity.
  Most of all, I say, we must protect the children and families. We 
cannot afford to have the elderly march miles and miles and miles, 
tormented by being removed from their homes and getting finally to the 
border and dropping dead, which has happened to many of those refugees 
who have been sent from their homes. We cannot have the fathers and 
husbands and brothers being killed randomly, such that they are not 
even having a decent burial.
  America is doing the right thing in joining with its allies in this 
sustained air strike, and we must stand united together as we move to 
make determinations, Madam Speaker, that will help bring peace to that 
region.
  But I do say and call upon the national organizations of religion to 
call for a week of prayer, and also to call for a return to the peace 
talks so we can have peace in the Balkans.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to address the ongoing situation in Kosovo. 
After 20 days of an intensive air war on Yugoslavia, I am pleased that 
the campaign is beginning to see results.
  In its 20th day, the air war has produced results. Serb troops are 
beginning to feel the weight of the NATO air strikes. The air war has 
been successful in hitting both command and control structures and 
inflicting damage on Serb troops in the field. I feel that this body 
must stay the course and make Milosevic capitulate the NATO's terms. We 
must ensure that Milosevic pays a heavy price for his present policy of 
repression against the Kosovar Albanians, to alter his calculation 
about continuing on this course; and seriously, diminish his military 
capacity to exert his will over Kosovo.
  This House has sent an invaluable message to Milosevic that 
aggression does not pay. In using air power we signal our willingness 
to establish a lasting peace in the region.
  Many in this House were critical of the President when he sent our 
troops to Bosnia for peacekeeping operations. But today I feel that 
this was one of the best votes I ever made. Bosnia today is a nation on 
the way to recovery. Its people both Muslim and Christian live in peace 
and security and this is in tshanks in no small part to the men and 
women of our armed forces. It takes courage to make tough decisions and 
stand by one's convictions. We as a nation must be willing to stand 
against oppression and horrible atrocities being committed in the 
Balkans.
  If this House fails to stay the course it would be interpreted as a 
vote of no confidence for our foreign policy in the Balkans. It would 
send confusing signals about our national resolve to persevere to 
friend and foe alike.
  The conflict in Kosovo has caused great human suffering and if left 
unchecked this conflict threatens the peace and stability of Europe. 
Already there is evidence of massive graves in Kosovo and I fear that 
they contain many of the missing ethnic Albanian men.
  Tension in this ethnic Albanian region has been increasing since the 
government of Yugoslavia removed Kosovo's autonomous status. Belgrade's 
decision came without the approval of the people of Kosovo, which has a 
population consisting of 90% ethnic Albanians. Several human rights 
groups report of Serbian forces conducting abductions and summary 
executions. These reprisal killings and the continued human rights 
violations confirm many of our fears.
  The United States and its allies have taken concrete steps to ensure 
that this continued violence in the Kosovo region does not spread to 
Albania, Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. We must continue the sustained 
airstrikes to protect the people of Kosovo from this siege of terror by 
Milosevic.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stay the course in our effort 
to provide a peaceful multi-ethnic democratic Kosovo in which all its 
people live in security.

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