[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 78 (Thursday, May 27, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3707-H3708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONTINUATION OF EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF 
 YUGOSLAVIA (SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO)--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                     UNITED STATES (H. DOC. 106-75)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) 
provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, 
prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President 
publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a 
notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the 
anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the 
enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication, stating that 
the emergency declared with respect to the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) is to continue in effect beyond May 
30, 1999, and the emergency declared with respect to the situation in 
Kosovo is to continue in effect beyond June 9, 1999.
  On December 27, 1995, I issued Presidential Determination 96-7, 
directing the Secretary of the Treasury, inter alia, to suspend the 
application of sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
(Serbia and Montenegro) and to continue to block property previously 
blocked until provision is made to address claims or encumbrances, 
including the claims of the other successor states of the former 
Yugoslavia. This sanctions relief, in conformity with United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1022 of November 22, 1995 (hereinafter the 
``Resolution''), was an essential factor motivating Serbia and 
Montenegro's acceptance of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina initialed by the parties in Dayton, Ohio, on 
November 21, 1995, and signed in Paris, France, on December 14, 1995 
(hereinafter the ``Peace Agreement''). The sanctions imposed on the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) were accordingly 
suspended prospectively, effective January 16, 1996. Sanctions imposed 
on the Bosnian Serb forces and authorities and on the territory that 
they control within Bosnia and Herzegovina were subsequently suspended 
prospectively, effective May 10, 1996, also in conformity with the 
Peace Agreement and the Resolution.
  Sanctions against both the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
Montenegro) and the Bosnian Serbs

[[Page H3708]]

were subsequently terminated by United Nations Security Council 
Resolution 1074 of October 1, 1996. This termination, however, did not 
end the requirement of the Resolution that blocked those funds and 
assets that are subject to claims and encumbrances remain blocked, 
until unblocked in accordance with applicable law. Until the status of 
all remaining blocked property is resolved, the Peace Agreement 
implemented, and the terms of the Resolution met, this situation 
continues to pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the 
national security, foreign policy interests, and the economy of the 
United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is 
necessary to maintain in force these emergency authorities beyond May 
30, 1999.
  On June 9, 1998, I issued Executive Order 13088, ``Blocking Property 
of the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
Montenegro), the Republic of Serbia, and the Republic of Montenegro, 
and Prohibiting New Investment in the Republic of Serbia in Response to 
the Situation in Kosovo.'' Since then, the government of President 
Milosevic has rejected the international community's efforts to find a 
peaceful settlement for the crisis in Kosovo and has launched a massive 
campaign of ethnic cleansing that has displaced a large percentage of 
the population and been accompanied by an increasing number of 
atrocities. President Milosevic's brutal assault against the people of 
Kosovo and his complete disregard for the requirements of the 
international community pose a threat to regional peace and stability.
  President Milosevic's actions continue to pose a continuing unusual 
and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy 
interests, and the economy of the United States. For these reasons, I 
have determined that it is necessary to maintain in force these 
emergency authorities beyond June 9, 1999.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, May 27, 1999.

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