[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 138 (Saturday, October 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2002-E2003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPPORT FOR THE NEW SERBIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 27, 2000

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, as a member and former Chairman of the 
Helsinki Commission, I have followed Yugoslavia's violent demise this 
past decade very closely, by traveling there, by meeting officials from 
there here in Washington, by participating in dozens of Commission 
hearings on various aspects of the conflict.
  Throughout this period, it has been obvious that, whatever ethnic 
animosities might have existed beforehand, the horrific aggression 
against innocent populations and, yes, genocide, was instigated by 
Slobodan Milosevic, deliberately, in order to maintain and enhance his 
power in Serbia. As his nationalist agenda was belatedly but forcefully 
rejected by the international community under U.S. leadership, 
Milosevic increasingly resorted to repression at home, against the 
people of Serbia. There has been opposition to Milosevic for a long 
time, but only this month did the people, the political opposition and 
independent forces join together and say ``enough is enough.'' I 
congratulate those brave Serbs who stood up to a regime that has lied 
to them, cheated them and denied them their rights for over a decade.
  The changes taking place in Serbia are, however, good not only for 
Serbs but for all people in the region. Other problems exist, but, with 
Milosevic out of the way, the stage is set for long-term stability an 
economic recovery in southeastern Europe. It is now possible to make 
the progress we all want so that our troops, doing critical work there, 
can come home with mission accomplished. Whatever we felt about the 
deployment in the first place, we should all be able to agree on that.
  For this reason, I support the decision of the President to provide 
quick support to the new Yugoslav President, Vojislav Kostunica, and 
his colleagues. The Conference Report on Foreign Operations 
Appropriations for fiscal year 2001 similarly reflects the general 
consensus that assistance needs to be provided to Yugoslavia quickly in 
order to solidify the gains being made by the Democratic Opposition of 
Serbia. The country is in a state of transition, and there is no 
question about the need to send a positive message.
  Such a message, however, does not preclude a cautionary message. I 
believe there is a need to place some conditionality on assistance. 
Cooperation with the Tribunal in The Hague prosecuting war crimes, 
ending the support for nationalists in neighboring Bosnia and promoting 
the rule of law and tolerance
  I agree that we should be flexible, and the conference report 
reflects a good compromise on the application of conditions. That said, 
I would like to make the following points. First, the large amount now 
allocated for Serbia should not come at the expense of ongoing funding 
for Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and others in the 
region who have worked with the international community all along, 
undertook major burdens themselves

[[Page E2003]]

and need this assistance. Second, the five month window which exists 
before the conditions are applied should not lead to throwing all of 
this money at Belgrade rapidly beforehand, because the conditions may 
not be met. I could see this happening next February, in the event that 
insufficient progress has been achieved by that time. Let's hope that 
progress will take place allowing for certification in accordance with 
this bill. Third, progress in the rule of law must include addressing 
the hundreds of ethnic Albanians currently in Serbian prisons and 
encouraging president Kostunica to continue to look for ways to resolve 
this issue.
  In conclusion, I believe a case can be made that the reformists 
coming into power at this time may not be able to surrender Slobodan 
Milosevic to the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Sooner 
or later, however, they will need to do so. To do otherwise would not 
only be an injustice to the literally millions of victims in the former 
Yugoslavia. It would send the absolutely wrong message to Croatia, 
Bosnia and Montenegro all of whom are cooperating with the Tribunal. It 
would delay the time by which the people of Serbia will have to reckon 
with the hideous atrocities committed in their name this past decade, a 
reckoning which will be absolutely necessary for Serbia to make 
significant progress in building a society in which the rule of law is 
respected and tolerance of others is embedded.
  It is important when discussing these issues to recall that there are 
also indictees beyond Milosevic living in Serbia. Let us recall exactly 
what these people are alleged to have done. Three individuals living 
now in Serbia were directly responsible for pulling over 200 people out 
of a hospital in Vukovar, Croatia, after the city had been surrendered 
and guarantees of safety were made, beating them severely and then 
executing them en masse in a field in late 1991. Another individual, 
the well known Ratko Mladic, was at the scene when as many as 7,000 
Bosnians were similarly executed after being taken from the so-called 
``safe haven'' of Srebrenica in 1995. Even if one could find some way 
to justify the conflicts surrounding these incidents--which I 
personally cannot do, but maybe some can--these acts were nevertheless 
heinous crimes, and we cannot put accountability for them at risk.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to read the indictments 
issued by the Tribunal, particularly the indictments of those 
responsible for the massacres in Vukovar and Srebrenica. They are 
available at <www.un.org/icty.indictment>. It is too easy to put the 
issue of the Tribunal to the side in light of foreign policy 
objectives, but, if you read what happened, I believe you will agree 
that justice must remain a pillar of our policy in the Balkans.

                          ____________________