[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 149 (Friday, October 9, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THE DESIGNATION OF A PRESIDENTIAL 
                      SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE BALKANS

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                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 2015

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, today, I am reintroducing a resolution to 
recommend the designation of a Presidential Special Envoy for the 
Balkans.
  In November of 1995 the United States government spearheaded a series 
of peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, that ended more than three years of 
warfare and ethnic cleansing that plagued much of the Balkans region. 
Ultimately, from those talks stemmed the Dayton Peace Accords, which 
essentially established the new-nation state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
However, as time has evolved since Dayton, the U.S. has made uneven 
attempts to continue this important dialogue and revisit the many 
weaknesses in the original Dayton Agreement. As many have said over the 
years, the Dayton Accords solved the war of the 1990s but did not fully 
resolve the Constitutional and governmental needs for this new nation 
state.
  The time has come to lend our services in aid to this important 
region and help Bosnia thaw her ``frozen conflict,'' as it has been 
referred regarding the present situation. This new nation must continue 
to move forward toward full integration into our important western 
alliances. Bosnia and Herzegovina must further develop active and free 
capital markets in order to help secure governmental structures that 
fully protect the economic, political, and religious rights for her 
three recognized constituent peoples--the Croat Bosnians, the Bosniak 
Muslims, and the Serb Bosnians.
  Croat Bosnians have had over the years trouble consistently electing 
a truly representative Croatian to the tri-partite Presidency in 
Sarajevo. In addition, many Croats in Bosnia still do not have full 
ownership of their pre-war properties and are unable to return to their 
homesteads. A country is respected for how it treats its smallest 
constituencies, and in reality the future success of the Croats in 
Bosnia is the glue that will hold Bosnia and Herzegovina together in 
the future.
  While the U.S. has urged the Bosnian government to initiate needed 
revisions themselves, we have witnessed this relatively new nation 
state, which maintains great political and economic potential, actually 
fall back into occasional violent patterns as witnessed in February 
2014.
  As the Representative of the 44th district of California, an area 
steeped in Balkans culture with a very active Croatian American 
community, I have heard firsthand the concerns arising from growing 
general instability and the economic and political difficulties 
experienced by the Croatian Bosnians, the smallest of the three Dayton 
recognized constituent peoples of Bosnia.
  As I have stated before, this region is integral to the future 
success of our interdependent international community and a Europe that 
is whole and prosperous. We have an obligation to support the 
democratic and free market progress that has been hard won over the 
last two decades in the Balkans. The United States and Europe cannot be 
distracted by other regions dominating the news.
  My Resolution will establish a much needed independent Special Envoy 
for the Secretary of State. This Envoy shall fully investigate the 
current state of affairs and provide a comprehensive report to the 
Congress and the Administration. This report will recommend additional 
and alternative methods for assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina in 
developing a fully functional and stable system of government--a system 
that her people so adamantly desire and fully deserve.
  Therefore, I call upon this 114th Congress to designate a special 
Presidential Envoy to evaluate the successes and shortcomings of the 
Dayton Peace Accords, and to provide tangible policy recommendations so 
that we may assist this region to fully establish the security and 
prosperity that its citizens demand for themselves. It is my greatest 
hope that the United States can remain a catalyst for change and 
success in the Balkans, as it illustrated earlier during the era of the 
Dayton Accords.

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