[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 48 (Wednesday, April 4, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3430-S3431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CERTIFICATION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, today I extend my congratulations to
President Vojislav Kostunica, Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and the
Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on their courageous
actions this past weekend in arresting former Yugoslav dictator
Slobodan Milosevic. This important and encouraging development
underscores Belgrade's commitment to making real and significant
progress on certification requirements as outlined in the fiscal year
2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act.
For Belgrade, arresting Milosevic was an important factor in their
ability to achieve certification by the U.S. Therefore, I am pleased
with the decision of President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell
to grant certification to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, FRY. I
share their view that the Government of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia has met the requirements for certification outlined by
Congress last year, and I fully believe they will continue to make
progress in these areas well beyond March 31.
It is clear that the government in Belgrade has taken some difficult
steps in recent weeks to further democratize. The presence of hundreds
of pro-Milosevic demonstrators rallying outside of Milosevic's villa
over the weekend showed that opponents to democratic reform in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia still exist. Despite those who remain in
opposition, it is critical that President Kostunica's government stand
strong in its efforts to promote democracy. To help in that regard, I
believe that the United States should continue to support those in the
FRY who are committed to a new era of peace, stability and democracy in
the Balkans.
As one who has a lengthy personal history with southeastern Europe, I
was pleased with the certification announcement by the State
Department. To me, it was rivaled only by the excitement I felt at the
final outcome of the presidential elections in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia last fall which brought Vojislav Kostunica to the
presidency. For years, I had worked to bring about democratic changes
in the FRY working with opposition leaders to Slobodan Milosevic in
diaspora. Since coming to the Senate, I have made a handful of visits
to the region to get first-hand perspectives on the situation in the
Balkans and I have visited and remain in contact with a number of top
political leaders including President Kostunica, Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Djindjic and U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, William Montgomery. I also have my ``ear to the ground''
via e-mail that I receive on a regular basis from a couple of retired
members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol who are now serving as police
officers in the United Nations' international police force in Kosovo.
Needless to say, I pay attention to what is happening in the region.
To help support the new government of Dr. Kostunica, and as an
incentive for Belgrade to make needed democratic changes, last October
Congress approved $100 million in assistance for Serbia in the fiscal
year 2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. To obtain these funds
after March 31, and ensure access to international financial
institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, the fiscal year 2001
Foreign Operations bill outlined three certification requirements on
the part of President Kostunica's new government: respect for the rule
of law and human rights; implementation of the Dayton Accords; and
cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia.
As I indicated to Secretary of State Colin Powell when I spoke with
him last week, I believe the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has
complied with the spirit of the law outlined by Congress last year. The
recent record of the Kostunica/Djindjic government is very positive,
and it is my view that they have made considerable progress in all
three areas outlined in the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act.
Regarding the rule of law, governments at both the Federal and the
Republic levels in the FRY have taken steps to uphold human rights for
minorities, particularly in southern Serbia. Deputy Prime Minister of
Serbia Nebojsa Covic has worked to give ethnic Albanians in Serbia more
control over their local governments and municipalities. During visits
to Capitol Hill 2 weeks ago, Prime Minister
[[Page S3431]]
Djindjic indicated that the Serbian Government now includes minorities.
U.S. Ambassador Montgomery has indicated in conversations we have had
that President Kostunica and Deputy Prime Minister Covic have worked
well together to make progress on this front, and the Ambassador has
been encouraged by the results that he has seen.
Further human rights progress can be witnessed in the freeing of
Kosovo Albanian prisoners. On February 26, the Serb parliament passed
an amnesty law granting amnesty to more than 100 Kosovar Albanians held
in Serb prisons. Since the end of the war in 1999, more than 1,500 of
2,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners have been released. While I believe the
remaining 500 should be quickly released, especially the Djakovica
group, there has been substantial progress in this area.
Regarding implementation of the Dayton Accords, the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia and the Republika Srpska have entered into a special
relations agreement between the two which makes Belgrade's assistance
to the RS military consistent with the Dayton Accords. In addition,
President Kostunica has, on a number of occasions, publically declared
his support for the Dayton Accords, the peace agreement reached at the
end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the FRY and Bosnia have
established diplomatic relations. Prime Minister Djindjic also
indicated to me during our meeting that the government will cut off
pensions to RS army officers.
Regarding cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, President Kostunica's
government has reopened a War Crimes Tribunal office in Belgrade, and
the government helped to facilitate the extradition to the Hague of
indicted war criminals Blagoje Simic and Milomir Stakic. In addition,
after Justice Minister of the FRY Momcilo Grubac and Serbian Justice
Minister Vladan Batic met with the Chief Prosecutor of the Hague, Carla
Del Ponte, she described their talks as a sign of ``good progress.''
When I met with Ms. Del Ponte following the Presidential elections last
September, she indicated that the cooperation of the new government,
not custody of Milosevic himself, was the Tribunal's first priority.
President Kostunica's government has taken a number of additional steps
in this area, drafting a memo of understanding on how the government
will cooperate with the Hague and writing a new measure to change the
current law in the FRY that prohibits citizens from being extradited.
The arrest of Milosevic on Sunday, April 1, is an additional factor
illustrating the government's commitment to following through with its
promises to take action and cooperate with the Tribunal.
I cannot overstate the importance of the Bush administration's
decision to grant certification to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
By doing so, they have allowed the FRY government access to much-needed
support from the IMF, World Bank and international financial
institutions. This will help the government deal with a staggering
number of outstanding and pressing emergency situations. For instance:
the country's economy is failing, there is ongoing violence in the
Presevo Valley, there is a nationwide energy crisis complete with
rolling blackouts, there are calls for an independent Montenegro led by
Montenegro's President Djukanovic, and they still have 800,000 refugees
from Croatia and Bosnia, and 200,000 refugees from Kosovo.
President Kostunica and Prime Minister Djindjic are in a fragile
political situation, which demands that they proceed with caution in
their democratic reform efforts, especially with regard to Milosevic.
Serb radical parties, including those with ties to Slobodan Milosevic,
Vojislav Seselj and Zeljko ``Arkan'' Raznatovic, claimed nearly 30
percent of the vote in the December 2000 parliamentary elections, and
the coalition government is partly dependent on the inclusion of the
Montenegrin Socialist Peoples Party, led by Predrag Bulatovic, who also
back Milosevic. Outside the realm of government, there are some Serbs
who would like to see the United States walk away from the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia due to anti-American sentiment following the
1999 bombing campaign.
As I came to the decision to recommend certification, I carefully
considered the political realities with which the new FRY government is
faced. These realities became especially clear last weekend as
Milosevic supporters, including members of the Serb Parliament, rallied
outside of Milosevic's villa to protest his arrest. In my view, and in
the view of many who follow what goes on in the Balkans, President
Kostunica and his government offer a remarkable opportunity for
beneficial change in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. While they
have only been in office a short time, Dr. Kostunica has been President
for 6 months, while Prime Minister Djindjic and the Parliament in
Serbia have been in office for just 2 months, I have positive feelings
about the direction they are leading the nation.
The qualified certification of the FRY guarantees that the United
States still has leverage over the FRY if they fail to make good on
their certification requirements. As the Bush Administration has
indicated, U.S. support for an international donors' conference,
scheduled to take place this summer, is contingent upon the FRY's
continued cooperation with the Hague. Congress has additional funding
leverage that may be exercised in the fiscal year 2002 appropriations
process, as well as its oversight and approval authority of the State
Department's spending plans in the FRY.
In closing, I applaud the progress that has been made in the FRY
during this historic period of democratic transition. I am pleased that
President Bush has chosen to recognize the efforts that President
Kostunica has undertaken to move towards democracy by continuing U.S.
assistance to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I believe U.S.
support will serve as a stabilizing force as the new government
continues to promote a new era of peace in southeast Europe.
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