[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5342-H5344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          URGING THE RELEASE OF THREE PRISONERS IN YUGOSLAVIA

  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 144) urging the United States 
Government and the United Nations to undertake urgent and strenuous 
efforts to secure the release of Branko Jelen, Steve Pratt, and Peter 
Wallace, 3 humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia by CARE International, who are being unjustly held as 
prisoners by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 144

       Whereas Branko Jelen, Steve Pratt, and Peter Wallace are 3 
     humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic of 
     Yugoslavia by CARE International, the relief and development 
     organization, providing food, medicines, and fuel to more 
     than 50,000 Serbian refugees in Serbia and to displaced 
     ethnic Albanians in Kosovo;
       Whereas Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace, 2 Australian 
     nationals, were detained on March 31, 1999, and later accused 
     of operating and managing a spy ring and being employed by a 
     spy ring, and Branko Jelen, a citizen of the Federal Republic 
     of Yugoslavia, was arrested 1 week later on the same charges;
       Whereas on March 30, 1999, CARE International received a 
     letter of commendation

[[Page H5343]]

     from the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
     relating to CARE International's humanitarian work in the 
     Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
       Whereas 1 of the 3 men, Steve Pratt, appeared on Serbian 
     television on April 11, 1999, and he was coerced into saying 
     that he had performed covert intelligence activities;
       Whereas the 3 CARE International humanitarian workers were 
     held without access to outsiders for 20 days;
       Whereas on May 29, 1999, a Serbian military court dismissed 
     every element of the original indictment against the 3 CARE 
     International humanitarian workers, but then proceeded to 
     convict the 3 individuals on an entirely new charge of 
     passing on information to a foreign organization, namely CARE 
     International, and sentenced Pratt to 12 years, Jelen to 6 
     years, and Wallace to 4 years;
       Whereas this last charge was introduced at the reading of 
     the verdict, denying lawyers for the 3 CARE International 
     humanitarian workers any opportunity to mount an appropriate 
     defense;
       Whereas it appears the 3 CARE International humanitarian 
     workers were convicted of providing ``situation reports'' to 
     their head office and other CARE International offices around 
     the world, based on legitimately gathered information, 
     necessary to enable CARE International management to plan 
     their humanitarian assistance in a rapidly changing context 
     and to inform CARE International management of the security 
     situation in which their staff were working;
       Whereas the convictions of the 3 CARE International 
     humanitarian workers raise serious questions regarding the 
     ability of humanitarian aid organizations to operate in the 
     Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with implications for their 
     operations in other areas of conflict around the world;
       Whereas the 3 CARE International humanitarian workers are 
     innocent, having committed no crime, and are being held as 
     prisoners unjustly;
       Whereas the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia needs 
     humanitarian workers who feel secure enough to do their work 
     and who are not at risk of going to prison on false charges; 
     and
       Whereas many leaders around the world have raised the issue 
     and sought to free the captives, including United Nations 
     Secretary General Kofi Annan, former South African President 
     Nelson Mandela, Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari, United 
     Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, and the 
     Reverend Jesse Jackson: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) urges the United States Government and the United 
     Nations to undertake urgent and strenuous efforts to secure 
     the release of Branko Jelen, Steve Pratt, and Peter Wallace, 
     3 humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic of 
     Yugoslavia by CARE International; and
       (2) calls upon the Government of the Federal Republic of 
     Yugoslavia to send a positive signal to the international 
     humanitarian community and to give these humanitarian workers 
     their freedom without further delay.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Salmon) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon).
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SALMON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, on March 31, 1999, Serbian authorities 
detained Mr. Steve Pratt, Mr. Peter Wallace of Australia, and Mr. 
Branko Jelen of Serbia who were carrying out their duties as employees 
of CARE/Australia. These men, who were endeavoring to provide 
humanitarian assistance to victims of Serbian aggression in Kosovo, 
were subsequently charged with espionage and are now being unjustly 
held as prisoners in Serbia.
  The detention of these individuals strikes at the very heart of the 
ability of humanitarian and aid organizations such as CARE to operate 
in conflicts such as the one in Kosovo. It is noteworthy that the 
actual charges they were convicted of concerned only the passing of 
situation reports on the conditions in Kosovo to their headquarters in 
order for CARE to be able to determine the needs of the population it 
was attempting to assist and the conditions under which its employees 
were working in Kosovo.
  For the Serb authorities to construe these actions as hostile makes a 
mockery of the terms of their agreement that permitted CARE to operate 
in Serbia in the first place. Indeed, one day prior to the detention of 
its employees, CARE had received a letter from the Yugoslavia 
authorities commending its work.
  The continued imprisonment of these men is an affront to the Prime 
Minister of the entire international community and a threat to the 
ability of international and private organizations to function under 
the difficult circumstance they face in numerous countries around the 
globe.
  We would be remiss if we did not also take note of another detention 
of an individual engaged on a humanitarian mission in North Korea. 
According to accounts in the press, Ms. Karen Hahn was detained some 
weeks ago and has been held incommunicado by the known authorities. The 
welfare of Ms. Hahn is also in our minds as we consider this 
resolution.
  House Concurrent Resolution 144 urges the United States and the 
United Nations to undertake urgent and strenuous efforts to secure the 
release from Serbia of the three imprisoned CARE Australia staffers. I 
urge all members of the House to join me in signalling our demand for 
the release of these individuals and restoration of our confidence that 
organizations such as CARE can continue to operate without harassment 
in the difficult and sometimes dangerous environments that they face 
throughout the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon), 
and I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the 
chairman of the Committee on International Relations, and the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) for their 
support in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 144.
  This resolution serves as a reminder that three humanitarian aid 
workers are now being held unjustly in Yugoslavia. These three CARE 
workers in the organization called CARE were arrested and falsely 
accused of espionage.

                              {time}  1430

  They were wrongly convicted by a Serbian military court and received 
sentences ranging from 4 to 12 years.
  Let me tell a little bit about the background. Steve Pratt and Peter 
Wallace are two Australian nationals who were employees of CARE. They 
were detained on March 31, 1999, and later accused of operating and 
managing a spy ring and being employed by a spy ring. Branko Jelen, who 
is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was arrested 1 week 
later on the same charge.
  A couple of months later, on May 29, 1999, a Serbian military court 
dismissed every element of the original indictment against these three 
CARE International humanitarian workers. But then the court, the same 
day, at the same moment, proceeded to convict these three individuals 
on an entirely new set of charges, namely, as they said, passing on 
information to a foreign organization, namely CARE International; and 
then they sentenced Mr. Pratt to 12 years' imprisonment, Mr. Jelen to 6 
years' imprisonment and Mr. Wallace to 4 years' imprisonment.
  This charge, which they introduced on the day they dismissed all the 
other charges, was introduced at the time they read the verdict. They 
said, ``You are hereby charged with providing information and you are 
hereby sentenced.'' Can my colleagues imagine that? And that was a 
court of law.
  Mr. Speaker, needless to say, it did not provide any opportunity for 
these three individuals to present any defense to the charges that were 
instantaneously imposed upon them along with the sentence.
  It appears that these three CARE workers were convicted simply of 
providing situation reports, a standard in the providing of services by 
CARE International where the workers in the field provide situation 
reports about the security, about the humanitarian needs in the locale 
that they are working in.
  It raises concerns about the ability of any international 
humanitarian relief organization to provide relief services anywhere 
around the world if by merely providing a situation report can get 
someone convicted, albeit without a trial, of spying.
  Leaders around the world, including U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan 
and Finnish President Ahtisaari, have

[[Page H5344]]

 raised this issue and have also sought the release of these men.
  Mr. Speaker, we as the United States Congress and as an American 
people need to let all humanitarian workers around the world know that 
we will fight for them if they ever get unjustly imprisoned. We will 
let Yugoslavia know by the House's action that we demand the immediate 
release of these three international humanitarian workers under the 
employ of CARE, one of the world's largest international relief and 
development organizations.
  I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 144.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, on March 31, 1999, Serbian authorities 
detained Mr. Steve Pratt, Mr. Peter Wallace, of Australia, and Mr. 
Branko Jelen, of Serbia who were carrying out their duties as employees 
of CARE/Australia. These men, who were endeavoring to provide 
humanitarian assistance to victims of Serbian aggression in Kosovo, 
were subsequently charged with espionage and are now being unjustly 
held as prisoners in Serbia.
  The detention of these individuals strikes at the very heart of the 
ability of humanitarian and aid organizations such as CARE to operate 
in conflicts such as the one in Kosovo. It is noteworthy that the 
actual charges they were convicted of concerned only the passing of 
situation reports on the conditions in Kosovo to their headquarters in 
order for CARE to be able to determine the needs of the population it 
was attempting to assist and the conditions under which its employees 
were working in Kosovo.
  For the Serb authorities to construe these actions as hostile makes a 
mockery of the terms of their agreement that permitted CARE to operate 
in Serbia in the first place. Indeed, one day prior to the detention of 
its employees, CARE had received a letter from the Yugoslav authorities 
commending its work. The continued imprisonment of these men is an 
affront to the principles of the entire international community, and a 
threat to the ability of international and private organizations to 
function under the difficult circumstance that they face in numerous 
countries around the globe.
  We would be remiss if we did not also take note of another detention 
of an individual engaged on a humanitarian mission in North Korea. 
According to accounts in the press, Ms. Karen Hahn was detained some 
weeks ago and has been held incommunicado by the North Korean 
authorities. The welfare of Ms. Hahn is also in our minds as we 
consider this resolution.
  H. Con. Res. 144 urges the United States and the United Nations to 
undertake urgent and strenuous efforts to secure the release from 
Serbia of the three imprisoned CARE Australia.
  Accordingly, I ask all members of the House to join in signaling our 
demand for the release of these individuals, and restoration of our 
confidence that organizations such as CARE can continue to operate 
without harassment in the difficult and often dangerous environments 
they face throughout the world.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 
144, which calls attention to the plight of three humanitarian workers 
unjustly imprisoned by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
  Branko Jelen, Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace were employed in 
Yugoslavia by CARE International, providing aid, food, and medicinal 
supplies to refugees in both Serbia and Kosovo. In that capacity, they 
did what CARE International does in all of its international 
humanitarian missions: provide other CARE offices in the area with 
progress reports. CARE International has always used these reports, 
because they are vital to the organization's first-hand knowledge of 
the progress, prospects, and dangers of their many missions. The 
reports are not secret and contain easily obtainable information.
  After learning of these reports in late March, the government of 
Slobodan Milosevic detained Jelen, Pratt, and Wallace, and later 
accused them of engaging in espionage for the U.S. government. In a 
closed military court, they were found guilty of spying, and are 
currently serving sentences of up to 12 years in a Serbian jail.
  Mr. Speaker, these three men are innocent. They were providing 
humanitarian aid to people who were in desperate need.
  We are all familiar with CARE International and similar Non-
Government Organizations, and the extraordinary humanitarian 
contributions they make in the fight to end despair and suffering. 
Today, this House must stand up for this mission. It is imperative that 
the U.S. lead the way in freeing these men and who are guilty of 
nothing more than being courageous humanitarians. I urge all of my 
colleagues to support this important resolution.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. 
Res. 144.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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