[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1204-H1205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRATULATING THE PEOPLE OF KOSOVA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the people of 
Kosova who next week, on February 17, will be celebrating their first 
anniversary of statehood.
  The people of Kosova, born out of the former Yugoslavia, are among 
the most pro-American people on the face of the earth. I have had the 
pleasure of visiting Kosova many, many times, and I can tell there is 
no country that welcomes Americans as happily as the people of Kosova.
  Last year, I had the great honor to address their parliament, being 
the first foreigner to address the Kosova parliament since their 
independence. I was there with our colleague, the gentlewoman from 
Ohio, Jean Schmidt, and we had a wonderful time.
  There are many problems in Kosova. Unemployment is rampant. There is 
a de facto division of the country which must not stand. But the people 
are going about their business, working as hard as they can to build a 
new nation. More than 50 countries have recognized them, and I have 
urged and will continue to urge every country on the face of the earth 
to recognize the new independent nation of Kosova.
  When Congresswoman Schmidt and I were there, their Constitution was 
formally adopted and turned over, and I

[[Page H1205]]

can tell you that they pattern themselves after what we have done here 
in the United States.
  In 1999, when the then-dictator of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, 
was trying to do his ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosova, the 
United States intervened and bombed and prevented ethnic cleansing from 
happening. And so today, Kosova is a multiethnic society, and will 
continue to be so. And minority rights of Serbs and others must be and 
will be protected, and institutions, religious institutions, 
monasteries, orthodox monasteries must be protected, and will be. I 
know the president and prime minister of Kosova very well and know the 
political leadership, and know that they are all committed to building 
a multiethnic society.
  But problems remain. The Serb officials have occupied the northern 
part of Kosova. The city of Mitrovica is a divided city. The mine in 
the north, Trepca, is occupied by Serb forces, and that must not be 
allowed to stand in the long run. Kosova must not be partitioned, 
whether it is de facto partition or de jure partition. Kosova's borders 
must be respected.
  The United States has a very, very important role to play, and we 
will continue to play that role. First under President Clinton, then 
under President Bush, and now under President Obama, we must continue 
to let the people of Kosova know that the United States stands with 
them every step of the way.
  And when I mentioned that they are a multiethnic society, the 
majority of the population is Muslim. They are secular Muslims, and 
they debunk the theory that somehow the United States is opposed to 
Muslim religion, which of course is not true. And these people 
understand that the United States is the best ally and the strongest 
ally, and will continue to support them.
  As co chair of the Albanian Issues Caucus, along with the gentleman 
from Illinois, Congressman Kirk, I want to say to the people of Kosova 
that we will continue to support them, to be with them, to watch them 
as they build their nation, and the democracy and freedoms that the 
United States stands for and that the people of Kosova stand for will 
always be strengthened.
  And let me say in conclusion, on last February 17, when Kosova 
declared its independence and there were flags all over the capital of 
the Kosova, Prishtina, there were Albanian flags around, there was the 
Kosova flag. But the American flag was being waved more so than any 
other flag in the country. That is still true today.
  The people of Kosova want to continue their great partnership with 
the United States, and I say to the people of Kosova: We will be with 
you, we will stand with you, we will help you build you a new 
democracy, and we will work together and continue to welcome you into 
the league of free nations of the world.
  I again congratulate the people of the Kosova for their 1-year 
anniversary as a free and independent nation.

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