[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               KEEP DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN SRPSKA ON TRACK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2000

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, elections in the Serbian majority entity of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Srpska, next month will put to 
the test the efforts of the international community and the people of 
Bosnia to create lasting and stable reforms and democratic 
institutions. Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, leader of the Party of 
Independent Social Democrats will stand for re-election. Dodik has 
demonstrated a willingness to work for responsible change in Srpska and 
throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  Dodik's main opponent, Mirko Sarovic is a member of the party that 
led the brutal war against the people of Bosnia in the earlier part of 
this decade. Victory for the nationalist forces in next month's 
election would be a stark reversal of the changes we have seen 
throughout the former Yugoslavia. Dodik has strongly endorsed the new 
President of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, while his opponent, has 
decried the free expression of his fellow Serbs.
  Dodik has worked in cooperation with the international community to 
foster economic reforms, and to instill a new spirit of tolerance in 
Srpska that has led to an unprecedented number of minority refugee 
returns to the Republic during the past year. Our U.S. Ambassador, Tom 
Miller, has made it clear that if the opposition to Dodik wins, further 
cooperation by our government will be impossible.
  The people of Srpska have a clear choice as they cast their ballots 
next month: to continue the progress they have made to date through 
their hard work and diligence, or to return to the past with its legacy 
of hardship, repression, and impoverishment. I hope that they consider 
their choices carefully, and make the decision to continue progress and 
hope for a better life for them and their children.

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