[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 155 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE DAYTON AGREEMENT'S TENTH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 6, 2005

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, the tenth anniversary of the Dayton 
``General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina'' is 
being commemorated here in Washington, in Dayton, Ohio, and in various 
European capitals.
  Despite its shortcomings, the Dayton Agreement has, in fact, formed 
the basis for maintaining peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and building 
a country devastated by a horrible conflict that included atrocities on 
a scale not seen in Europe since World War II. The very fact that 
discussions now center on moving beyond the confinement of Dayton's 
provisions through constitutional reform is a confirmation of the 
agreement's success. This success, as is widely known, did not come 
easily but required constant pressure from the international community.
  One area of particular concern to me has been the necessity, 
recognized in Dayton, to cooperate fully with the International 
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, located in The Hague and 
commonly known as ICTY, in order to punish those responsible for war 
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Officials in Republika 
Srpska, one of the two political entities into which Dayton divided 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, have been particularly recalcitrant in this 
regard, and most persons captured in this entity have been through the 
efforts of NATO-led peacekeeping units. Officials in Serbia have also 
resisted cooperating with The Hague in transferring indictees and 
providing access to evidence and witnesses.
  Fortunately, a combination of outside pressure--including 
conditionality on assistance and on Euro-Atlantic and European 
integration--and increasing revelations of the true nature of the 
Milosevic regime and its activities have led to considerable 
improvements in the last year. Many more individuals have now been 
taken into custody. Both in Bosnia and in Serbia, it is increasingly 
recognized that cooperation with international tribunal will not go 
away as a demand of the international community. Some go a step further 
and note that the same criminal circles which harbor persons indicted 
for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide also undermine 
democratic institutions and thwart economic recovery. Some, but too 
few, also see it as a moral necessity to recognize the horrors that 
were committed in name of the nation.
  I applaud the efforts of those brave persons representing non-
governmental organizations who have helped to document the atrocities 
which have taken place and increased public awareness of what really 
happened. I am also pleased to know that, ten years after Dayton, a War 
Crimes Chamber in the Courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been 
established and, with continued assistance, will relieve ICTY's work 
load and continue its work as necessary. Together, prosecuting war 
crimes will provide justice to the victims, strengthen the rule of law 
in the region, and hopefully serve to deter future war criminals from 
committing crimes against humanity.
  There would be added enthusiasm for commemorating Dayton, however, if 
it were coupled with the arrest and transfer of Ratko Mladic and 
Radovan Karadzic, who have been indicted by ICTY particularly for their 
responsibility regarding the genocide at Srebrenica in July 1995. The 
House commemorated the anniversary of that horrific event in which 
almost 8,000 individuals, mostly men and boys, were massacred in the 
days following an assault on the undeclared ``safe haven.'' Other at-
large indictees also must be arrested and transferred.
  I therefore use this time, the commemoration of the Dayton Agreement 
signed ten years ago, to call upon those authorities in Serbia and in 
the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina to do the right 
thing, apprehend the remaining indicted persons, transfer them, and 
erase this as an outstanding issue not only in our bilateral relations 
but as an obstacle to integration. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I call 
upon my colleagues to continue to support efforts that require 
consideration of ICTY cooperation as a determinant of U.S. policy.

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