[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17059-17077]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN PRO TEMPORE

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). Pursuant to 
House Resolution 247, the Chair announces he will reduce to a minimum 
of 5 minutes the period of time within which a vote by electronic 
device will be taken on each amendment on which the Chair has postponed 
further proceedings.


                  Amendment No. 33 Offered by Bilbray

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The pending business is the demand for a 
recorded vote on amendment No. 33 offered by the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Bilbray) on which further proceedings were postponed 
and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. A recorded vote has been demanded.

[[Page 17060]]

  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 427, 
noes 0, not voting 6, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 327]

                               AYES--427

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crowley
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green (TX)
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hansen
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill (IN)
     Hill (MT)
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     Kuykendall
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Largent
     Larson
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Ose
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Regula
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Strickland
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Talent
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Bateman
     Chenoweth
     Kennedy
     McDermott
     Peterson (PA)
     Towns

                              {time}  1554

  So the amendment was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). The Chair 
understands amendments No. 34 and 35 will not be offered.
  It is now in order to consider amendment No. 36 printed in part B of 
House Report number 106-235.


                Amendment No. 36 Offered by Mr. Doggett

  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment made in order under 
the rule.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Part B amendment No. 36 offered by Mr. Doggett:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following new title:
         TITLE VIII--GULF WAR VETERANS' IRAQI CLAIMS PROTECTION

     SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Gulf War Veterans' Iraqi 
     Claims Protection Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 802. ADJUDICATION OF CLAIMS.

       (a) Claims Against Iraq.--The United States Commission is 
     authorized to receive and determine the validity and amounts 
     of any claims by nationals of the United States against the 
     Government of Iraq. Such claims must be submitted to the 
     United States Commission within the period specified by such 
     Commission by notice published in the Federal Register. The 
     United States Commission shall certify to each claimant the 
     amount determined by the Commission to be payable on the 
     claim under this title.
       (b) Decision Rules.--In deciding claims under subsection 
     (a), the United States Commission shall apply, in the 
     following order--
       (1) applicable substantive law, including international 
     law; and
       (2) applicable principles of justice and equity.
       (c) Priority Claims.--Before deciding any other claim 
     against the Government of Iraq, the United States Commission 
     shall, to the extent practical, decide all pending non-
     commercial claims of active, retired, or reserve members of 
     the United States Armed Forces, retired former members of the 
     United States Armed Forces, and other individuals arising out 
     of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait or out of the 
     1987 attack on the USS Stark.
       (d) Applicability of International Claims Settlement Act.--
     To the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions 
     of this title, the provisions of title I (other than section 
     802(c)) and title VII of the International Claims Settlement 
     Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1621-1627 and 1645-1645o) shall apply 
     with respect to claims under this title.

     SEC. 803. CLAIMS FUNDS.

       (a) Iraq Claims Fund.--The Secretary of the Treasury is 
     authorized to establish in the Treasury of the United States 
     a fund (hereafter in this title referred to as the ``Iraq 
     Claims Fund'') for payment of claims certified under section 
     802(a). The Secretary of the Treasury shall cover into the 
     Iraq Claims Fund such amounts as are allocated to such fund 
     pursuant to subsection (b).
       (b) Allocation of Proceeds From Iraqi Asset Liquidation.--
       (1) In general.--The President shall allocate funds 
     resulting from the liquidation of assets pursuant to section 
     804 in the manner the President determines appropriate 
     between the Iraq Claims Fund and such other accounts as are 
     appropriate for the payment of claims of the United States 
     Government against Iraq, subject to the limitation in 
     paragraph (2).
       (2) Limitation.--The amount allocated pursuant to this 
     subsection for payment of claims of the United States 
     Government against Iraq may not exceed the amount which bears 
     the same relation to the amount allocated to the Iraq Claims 
     Fund pursuant to this subsection as the sum of all certified 
     claims of the United States Government against Iraq bears to 
     the sum of all claims certified under section 802(a). As used 
     in this paragraph, the term ``certified claims of the United 
     States Government against Iraq'' means those claims of the 
     United States Government against Iraq which are determined by 
     the Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdiction of the 
     United Nations Commission and which are determined to be 
     valid, and whose amount has been certified,

[[Page 17061]]

     under such procedures as the President may establish.

     SEC. 804. AUTHORITY TO VEST IRAQI ASSETS.

       The President is authorized to vest and liquidate as much 
     of the assets of the Government of Iraq in the United States 
     that have been blocked pursuant to the International 
     Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) as may 
     be necessary to satisfy claims under section 802(a), claims 
     of the United States Government against Iraq which are 
     determined by the Secretary of State to be outside the 
     jurisdiction of the United Nations Commission, and 
     administrative expenses under section 805.

     SEC. 805. REIMBURSEMENT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

       (a) Deduction.--In order to reimburse the United States 
     Government for its expenses in administering this title, the 
     Secretary of the Treasury shall deduct 1.5 percent of any 
     amount covered into the Iraq Claims Fund to satisfy claims 
     under this title.
       (b) Deductions Treated as Miscellaneous Receipts.--Amounts 
     deducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be deposited in the 
     Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.

     SEC. 806. PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The United States Commission shall certify 
     to the Secretary of the Treasury each award made pursuant to 
     section 802. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make 
     payment, out of the Iraq Claims Fund, in the following order 
     of priority to the extent funds are available in such fund:
       (1) Payment of $10,000 or the principal amount of the 
     award, whichever is less.
       (2) For each claim that has priority under section 802(c), 
     payment of an additional $90,000 toward the unpaid balance of 
     the principal amount of the award.
       (3) Payments from time to time in ratable proportions on 
     account of the unpaid balance of the principal amounts of all 
     awards according to the proportions which the unpaid balance 
     of such awards bear to the total amount in the Iraq Claims 
     Fund that is available for distribution at the time such 
     payments are made.
       (4) After payment has been made of the principal amounts of 
     all such awards, pro rata payments on account of accrued 
     interest on such awards as bear interest.
       (b) Unsatisfied Claims.--Payment of any award made pursuant 
     to this title shall not extinguish any unsatisfied claim, or 
     be construed to have divested any claimant, or the United 
     States on his or her behalf, of any rights against the 
     Government of Iraq with respect to any unsatisfied claim.

     SEC. 807. AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER RECORDS.

       The head of any Executive agency may transfer or otherwise 
     make available to the United States Commission such records 
     and documents relating to claims authorized to be determined 
     under this title as may be required by the United States 
     Commission in carrying out its functions under this title.

     SEC. 808. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; DISPOSITION OF UNUSED 
                   FUNDS.

       (a) Statute of Limitations.--Any demand or claim for 
     payment on account of an award that is certified under this 
     title shall be barred on and after the date that is one year 
     after the date of publication of the notice required by 
     subsection (b).
       (b) Publication of Notice.--
       (1) In general.--At the end of the 9-year period specified 
     in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall publish 
     a notice in the Federal Register detailing the statute of 
     limitations provided for in subsection (a) and identifying 
     the claim numbers of, and the names of the claimants holding, 
     unpaid certified claims.
       (2) Publication date.--The notice required by paragraph (1) 
     shall be published 9 years after the last date on which the 
     Secretary of the Treasury covers into the Iraq Claims Fund 
     amounts allocated to that fund pursuant to section 803(b).
       (c) Disposition of Unused Funds.--
       (1) Disposition.--At the end of the 2-year period beginning 
     on the publication date of the notice required by subsection 
     (b), the Secretary of the Treasury shall dispose of all 
     unused funds described in paragraph (2) by depositing in the 
     Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts any 
     such funds that are not used for payments of certified claims 
     under this title.
       (2) Unused funds.--The unused funds referred to in 
     paragraph (1) are any remaining balance in the Iraq Claims 
     Fund.

     SEC. 809. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this title:
       (1) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has 
     the meaning given that term by section 105 of title 5, United 
     States Code.
       (2) Government of iraq.--The term ``Government of Iraq'' 
     includes agencies, instrumentalities, and entities controlled 
     by that government (including public sector enterprises).
       (3) United nations commission.--The term ``United Nations 
     Commission'' means the United Nations Compensation Commission 
     established pursuant to United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 687 (1991).
       (4) United states commission.--The term ``United States 
     Commission'' means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 
     of the United States.

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 247, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) and a Member opposed will each 
control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Chairman, since 1990, over $1 billion in frozen Iraqi assets 
sitting in American banks have been available to satisfy the just 
claims of American citizens. But almost a decade later, this Congress 
has still not approved legislation that would let Americans collect.
  This amendment would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to vest 
this Iraqi money in an account known as the Iraqi Claims Fund and 
authorize the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to begin the process 
of resolving these claims against that Iraqi money with just one 
stipulation: The first claims to be resolved should be those of our 
Desert Storm and Desert Shield veterans, many of whom have been plagued 
with all the physical ailments that are referred to as Gulf War 
Syndrome.
  Mr. Chairman, these men and women gave their all against an enemy of 
the United States, and now these brave veterans deserve nothing less 
from the government of the United States.
  The House has already gone on record twice to support this objective. 
In 1994, by a vote of 398 to 5, in support of a similar provision in a 
State Department bill, and in 1997, in support of my motion to instruct 
conferees to reject an outrageous Senate provision in the State 
Department authorization bill by a vote of 412 to 5, we stood up at 
those times and declared that the men and women who put their lives on 
the line for our country are second to no one. Now we must do so again.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Skelton), the distinguished ranking member on the Committee on Armed 
Services.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time and allowing me to speak on this very important issue.
  What we do today on this amendment not only draws a lot of attention 
but it sends a sincere and straigthforward message to those young men 
and young women who today find themselves in uniform defending the 
interests of the United States of America.
  The money is there, Mr. Chairman. The fund is there. What is wrong 
with following the precedent that we have already set by voting in this 
House to allow that trust fund to be created from the Iraqi funds in 
order to take care of those young men and young women who might well be 
suffering from the Gulf War Syndrome?
  Saddam Hussein, the country of Iraqi, did very, very wrong, and the 
Americans righted that wrong by getting them out of Kuwait. But in the 
process, those young men and young women, those veterans of that 
conflict, as a result of the toxics that they ingested in themselves, 
became victims. And I certainly think we can follow through and help 
them reclaim what is rightfully theirs; the dollars from that fund.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, if no one is claiming time in opposition 
to this bill, I ask unanimous consent to control the 5 minutes 
allocated for opposition.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). Is there 
objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) is 
recognized for an additional 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the amendment 
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  The intent of this amendment is clear, to give our veterans in the 
Persian Gulf War first priority in seeking

[[Page 17062]]

claims against Iraqi assets frozen by our Government during the war.
  This amendment has the strong support of veterans groups, including 
Gulf War veterans. They know that while we can never make up the losses 
that were incurred in the Gulf War, veterans and their families should 
have the assurances that we will continue to seek every chance to 
collect damages against those injuries that they have suffered from.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Edwards) who represents the largest military base in the 
world, Ft. Hood, Texas.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, it is not good enough to honor veterans on 
just Veterans' Day and Memorial Day. It is not good enough to just 
honor veterans with our speeches and our words. It is time we honored 
veterans with our actions.
  Veterans do not need our rhetoric. They need our support. A vote for 
the Doggett amendment today is a vote to put veterans first where they 
should be. We have a clear choice. We can vote to give Desert Storm and 
Desert Shield veterans first claim on $1 billion of frozen Iraqi 
assets, or we can vote to let countries who sold cigarettes to Saddam 
Hussein put their claims before our American veterans.
  We can vote to support those who put their lives on the line fighting 
against Saddam Hussein, or we can vote to support those who made 
profits selling to Saddam Hussein.
  Whose side are we on? That is the question before us. American 
veterans who were on the front lines in fighting against Saddam should 
not be put in the back of the line when Iraqi assets are unfrozen. Vote 
for our veterans. Vote for the Doggett amendment.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the ranking member on the Committee on 
International Relations.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Doggett) for bringing this to the floor. This is the 
right action to take here.
  We ask our military personnel to take the first action in defending 
America's interests, the West's interests, our economic interests, our 
political interests, and our security interests. They should not be 
anyplace else in line but first when it comes to claiming their duly 
deserved compensation.
  This is an excellent amendment. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Doggett) is doing the right thing, and we should unanimously support 
him.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, how much time remains, Mr. Chairman?
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) has 
6 minutes remaining.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself an additional 3 minutes.
  Mr. Chairman, it appears that no one will rise to speak against this 
amendment. I am pleased about that, and I know that our Nation's 
veterans will be pleased about it.
  The Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Gulf Veterans Resource Center 
have been active in supporting this measure. When this measure came 
before the Committee on International Affairs back in 1993, these 
organizations and other veterans organizations spoke out in favor of 
this provision.
  Yet, why is it that with such strong support from veterans, with a 
near unanimous vote of this House in 1994 on a strong bipartisan basis, 
again on my motion in 1997 a strong bipartisan basis, we have not 
provided our veterans with the mechanism to have a chance to get some 
recovery from the frozen assets of Saddam Hussein that are sitting in 
banks right here in the United States?
  It is because there are some who have claims that are competing with 
the veterans and do not want veterans to have a first claim on these 
assets.
  Some of the entities that have registered their claims with regard to 
these assets are the very companies that supplied Saddam Hussein with 
the means to have weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological 
weapons, components that could be used in the development of nuclear 
weaponry, conventional weapons that were made available to Saddam 
Hussein. They now are competing with our veterans.
  Another group of entities that are competing and seem to have played 
a big role in this bill during the last Congress are the major tobacco 
companies. They also have claims. One has a claim of some $12 million.
  Now, I am not suggesting that any of those, even those that supplied 
Saddam Hussein with the means for his war machine, ought not to have 
their day in court or the day before the commission. But I am 
suggesting that before they have their day in court we should at least 
resolve the claims of those who put their lives on the line and some of 
whom actually sacrificed and gave their lives and others of whom will 
be plagued for the rest of their lives, bright young men and women with 
a shining future who now suffer disability as the result of Gulf War 
Syndrome.
  I would say, as to those young men and women who gave their all to 
this country, who put their country first and made this sacrifice, that 
they deserve to have their claims put ahead of the companies that 
supplied weaponry and the means to develop weaponry to Saddam Hussein 
and that they deserve to be placed ahead of the major tobacco companies 
that say they want their claims settled, not that they are left out, 
but that our veterans go first.
  I know that there are others across this Capitol, Mr. Jesse Helms in 
particular, that disagree with this approach. But I believe this House, 
for a third time having spoken out with, I hope, a unanimous voice and 
a recorded vote, will be sending a message that we will not leave our 
veterans behind anymore and that, as we close out this millennium, we 
will finally put our Gulf War veterans first and let them have a claim, 
a legitimate claim, against these assets of Saddam Hussein.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Edwards).
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank the gentleman for his 
efforts.
  I would like to point out that I think it is outrageous if Members do 
not have the courage to come in the light of day on the floor of this 
House to say they oppose the amendment of the gentleman, an effort to 
put veterans first, and yet behind closed doors in conference committee 
this effort seems to be killed.
  I would hope that the silence and opposition to this amendment would 
indicate that this will pass through the conference committee. I hope 
that the veterans organizations in America will be watching this effort 
very, very carefully.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. EDWARDS. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I ask the gentleman to respond to this 
question.
  I believe the gentleman was here on the floor in 1997 when we had our 
motion to instruct. It took up an entire hour of time. Am I not correct 
that, in the course of that debate, only one Member of this entire 
House on either side of the aisle or a Republican colleague of ours 
rose to oppose the motion to instruct and after the debate he voted 
with us in favor of the motion to instruct to tell Jesse Helms and all 
the members of the conference committee do not put veterans last, 
because if we put them last, given the size of the claims of some of 
these companies that helped fuel Saddam Hussein's war machine and 
supplied tobacco to the children and adults of Iraq, if we put the 
veterans down behind them, the veterans will not get a penny; it will 
not be a matter of putting veterans last, it will be a matter of 
putting veterans out and they will never get a dime? Is that not 
correct?
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, that is correct.
  It is my hope, Mr. Chairman, that every major veterans group in 
American will watch like a hawk what happens in conference committee on 
this. It would be unfair and morally wrong to our Nation's veterans to 
take this language out in conference committee.

[[Page 17063]]


  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  The question was taken; and the Chairman pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to House Resolution 247, further proceedings 
on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) will 
be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
  It is now in order to consider Amendment No. 37 printed in Part B of 
House Report 106-235.


                 Amendment No. 37 Offered by Mr. Engel

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Part B amendment No. 37 offered by Mr. Engel:
       Page 84, after line 16, add the following (and conform the 
     table of contents accordingly):

     SEC. 703. KOSOVAR ALBANIAN PRISONERS HELD IN SERBIA.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) At the conclusion of the NATO campaign to halt the 
     Serbian and Yugoslav ethnic cleansing in Kosova, a large, but 
     undetermined number of Kosovar Albanians held in Serbian 
     prisons in Kosova were taken from Kosova before and during 
     the withdrawal of Serbian and Yugoslav police and military 
     forces from Kosova.
       (2) Serbian Justice Minister Dragoljub Jankovic has 
     admitted that 1,860 prisoners were brought to Serbia from 
     Kosova on June 10, 1999, the day Serbian and Yugoslav police 
     and military forces began their withdrawal from Kosova.
       (3) International humanitarian organizations, including the 
     International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Human 
     Rights Watch, have expressed serious concern with the 
     detention of Kosovar Albanians in prisons in Serbia.
       (4) On June 25, 1999, Serbia released 166 of the detained 
     Kosovar Albanian prisoners to the ICRC.
       (5) On July 10, 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly of the 
     Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 
     comprised of parliamentarians from Across Europe, the United 
     States and Canada, adopted a resolution calling upon Serbia 
     and Yugoslavia, in accordance with international humanitarian 
     law, to grant full, immediate and ongoing ICRC access to all 
     prisoners held in relation to the Kosova crisis, to ensure 
     the humane treatment of such prisoners, and to arrange for 
     the release of all such prisoners.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that--
       (1) the Serbian and Yugoslav Governments should immediately 
     account for all Kosovar Albanians held in their prisons and 
     treat them in accordance with all applicable international 
     standards;
       (2) the ICRC should be given full, immediate, and ongoing 
     access to all Kosovar Albanians held in Serbian and Yugoslav 
     prisons; and
       (3) all Kosovar Albanians held in Serbian and Yugoslav 
     prisons should be released and returned to Kosova.

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 247, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) and a Member opposed each will 
control 5 minutes.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time 
in opposition to the Engel amendment although I am not opposed to the 
amendment.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel).
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. Chairman, after the allies won the war in Kosovo, when the 
Serbian forces left Kosovo to go back to Serbia, they kidnapped 
anywhere from 1,800 prisoners, Kosovar Albanian prisoners, to up to 
5,000 Kosovar Albanian prisoners, and took them back to Serbia, away 
from their homes, and jailed them.
  The Serbian justice minister mentions a total of 1,860 Kosovar 
Albanians jailed. But I have from a very respected newspaper, Koha 
Ditore, a list of 5,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners who are now detained 
in jails in Serbia.
  This amendment simply would call on the International Committee of 
the Red Cross to be allowed to visit these prisoners to call for an 
accounting of these prisoners and to give the International Committee 
of the Red Cross access to all Kosovar Albanians detained in Serbian 
prisons.
  It also asks for the release and return to Kosovo of all these people 
and is virtually identical to a resolution that was passed by the OSCE 
recently which contained the same provisions and was the European 
parliamentarians' same request.
  We cannot allow Slobodan Milosevic to capture these people and to 
keep them there as virtual prisoners. It is absolutely important that 
the world community stand up and say that we will not tolerate the 
continued Serbian aggression.
  Mr. Chairman, I include for the Record the list of prisoners and two 
articles, one from the Washington Post and one from the Los Angeles 
Times, which highlights this problem and the problem of the Kosovar 
Albanians who are captured and kidnapped in Serbian prisons.

  The List of Kosovar Prisoners Held in Serbia Taken From Koha Ditore

     City Prison-Pozharevc (Serbia):
       Lutfi Xhaferi, Muhamet Bajrami, Fadil Salihu, Naser Osmani, 
     Rijad Begu, Isak Abazi, Xhemshit Ferati, Shaqir Pllana, Afrim 
     Salihu, Ibrahim Bajrami, Sylejman Bejtullahu, Xhevdet 
     Bejtullahu, Agron Pllana, Nexhat Brahimi, Hazir Peci, Milaim 
     Hajrizi, Fehmi Hasani, Shaban Duraku, Adem Tahiri, Rushit 
     Strana, Isa Aliu, Ferit Pllana, Kaplan Salihu, Sami Hasani, 
     Nuhi Januzi, Behxhet Maloku, Besim Brahimi, Sabit Strana, 
     Rexhep Uka, Hamit Maleta, Ismet Pllana, Xhelal Bejtullahu, 
     Hajrullah Peci, Agim Peci, Ismail Peci, Miftar Gashi, Feti 
     Asllanaj, Sejdi Lahu, Skender Sadiku, Sejdi Zekaj, Fazli 
     Kadriu, Ramadan Bislimi, Skender Haxha, Shaban Zuhranaj, 
     Bajram Rukolli, Imer Haziraj, Xhevat Mustafa, Zani Mustafa, 
     Sabit Arifi, Bexhet Zeneli, Miftar Sahiti, Mustafa Ramadani, 
     Sabri Osmani, Agim Islami, Aziz Islami, Kadri Durguti, Abdyl 
     Klecka, Behajdin Klecka, Burim Ejupi, Sabit Shehu, Zeqir 
     Shehu, Jusuf Kollari, Xhevdet Durguti, Mehdi Kollari, Arben 
     Shala, Destan Nurshaba, Mujedin Korenica, Veton Mulija, Beqir 
     Kollari, Fahredin Dina, Bashkim Hoxha, Arsim Haska, Fadil 
     Isma, Esad Kasapi, Zijadin Miftari, Eshref Klecka, Selami 
     Sharku, Lan Isufaj, Rasim Isufaj, Njazi Isufaj, Naim 
     Hadergjonaj, Rasim Selmanaj, Jahir Agushi, Visar Muriqi, 
     Ragip Ahmeti, Ramadan Gashi, Fatmir Shishani, Agim Leka, 
     Hazir Stoliqi, Gani Ahmetxhekaj, Muje Zekaj, Salih Zariqi, 
     Jakup Rexhepi, Bajram Gashi, Nezir Bajraktari, Mustafe 
     Mehmetaj, Arben Bajraktaraj, Nexhat Dervishaj, Deme Ramosaj, 
     Shaban Mehmetaj, Sadik Haradini, Ramiz Isufaj, Ministet 
     Shala, Ismet Pacarizi, Izet Zenuni, Gani Baqaj, Sali Gashi, 
     Skender Bajraktari, Llmi Zeneli, Xhafer Qufaj, Gezim Zecaj, 
     Bujar Goranci, Muhamet Gashi, Xheme Morina, Florim Zukaj, 
     Asllan Asllani, Shpend Dobrunaj, Luan Ahmetxhekaj, Besnik 
     Ismaili, Xhavit Museshabanaj, Driton Zukaj, Llmi Karaxha, 
     Nikolle Markaj, Uke Golaj, Dervish Zukaj, Rasim Gjota, 
     Skender Hajdari, Ardian Kumnova, Flamur Krasniqi, Isak Hoti, 
     Ramadan Morina, Ismet Krasniqi, Demir Limaj, Lavdim Tetaj, 
     Arsim Krasniqi, Arton Krasniqi, Avni Shala, Hazir Krasniqi, 
     Llir Krasniqi, Fahri Krasniqi, Zhuje Gashi, Muhamed Avdiaj, 
     Bekim Istogu, Azem Buzhala, Faik Topalli, Nysret Hoti, Nazim 
     Zenelaj, Adnan Topalli, Musli Leku, Remzi Morina, Avni Memia, 
     Avdi Kabashi, Ibrahim Ferizi, Visar Demiri, Bekim Rama, Tahir 
     Rraci, Blerim Camaj, Reshat Nurboja, Brahim Gashi, Astrit 
     Elshani, Hasan Verslaku, Avdullah Lushi, Lush Marku, Mustafe 
     Gjocaj, Rrustem Jetishi, Bekim Maci, Asllan Nebihi, Afrim 
     Verslaku, Kujtim Jetishi, Avdyl Maci, Skender Hoxha, Muhamet 
     Kicina, Fadil Avdyli, Bajram Avdyli, Sokol Syla, Hasan 
     Berisha, Luan Mazrreku, Enver Hoxhaj, Ismet Gashi, Zeqir 
     Gashi, Fadil Topalli, Bujar Sylaj, Agim Gashi, Hetem Elshani, 
     Isa Topalli, Flurim Haxhymeri, Haki Haxhimustafa, Beqir 
     Alimusaj, Bajram Shala, Gazmend Zeka, Fadil Jetishi, Isa 
     Shala, Isuf Shala, Ylber Dizdari, Milaim Cekaj, Musa 
     Krasniqi, Ismet Berbati, Ramiz Gjocaj, Deme Batusha, Reshat 
     Suka, Tahir Panxhaj, Syle Salihu, Ismet Isufi, Uke Rexha, 
     Fehmi Kukiqi, Arsllan Selimi, Fetah Shala, Milazim Shehu, 
     Nait Hasani, Riza Alia, Gani Cekaj, Sefedin Morina, Sadri 
     Terdevci, Habib Morina, Elmi Morina, Rexhep Morina, Isa 
     Morina, Lajet Mola, Sylejman Bajgora, Feriz Corri, Raif Hasi, 
     Smail Hasi, Rrahim Limani, Sadik

[[Page 17064]]

     Limani, Jakup Limani, Agim Nimani, Besnik Heta, Afrim Rucaj, 
     Qamil Pllana, Hashim Mecinaj, Shemsi Shaqiri, Avdush Hysi, 
     Miftar Dobra, Nexhat Ahmeti, Fadil Ajeti, Bahri Istrefi, 
     Bedri Qerimi, Nexhat Mustafa, Izet Miftaraj, Fuat Bucinca, 
     Reci Dosti, Naim Haziri, Sali Azemi, Kenan Hasani, Rifat 
     Dobra, Shaban Rexhepi, Daut Rrahmani, Ali Haradini, Latif 
     Ismaili (minor), Fehmi Jashari, Naim Peci, Gani Arslani, 
     Muharrem Zymeri, Elmaz Hasani, Ukshin Hasani, Hakif Duraku, 
     Sherafedin Hasani, Jashar Istrefi, Rrahman Istrefi, Gani 
     Muja, Rrahman Ahmeti, Ferid Zeneli, Duka Aliu, Nuredin 
     Jashari, Ilmi Jashari, Hajro Brahimi, Fahri Berisha, Naim 
     Pllana, Shkelzen Pllana, Fehmi Pllana, Megdia Pllana, Behxhet 
     Sejdiaj, Faik Sejdiaj, Bekim Sejdiaj, Tafil Prokshi, Shemsi 
     Miftaraj, Ahmet Murati, Dibran Krasniqi, Shefki Tahiri, 
     Shefqet Duraku, Beqir Bialku, Brahim Krasniqi, Mehmet 
     Xhelili, Idriz Klinaku, Ahmet Hasani, Perparim Mustafa, Halil 
     Mustafa, Milazim Mustafaj, Fatos Asllanaj, Enes Kalludra, 
     Hajriz Islami, Ismet Laka, Fazli Ademi, Muje Shabani, Avdyl 
     Sejdiu, Rifat Hasani, Ejup Sejdiu, Nasuf Deliaj, Agim 
     Ahmetaj, Kasem Ahmetaj, Mustafe Ahmetaj, Ekrem Avdiu, 
     Nexhmedin Llausha, Shpend Kopriva, Lulzim Ymeri, Ertan 
     Bislimi, Krenar Telciu, Bashkim Gllogovci, Ilir Hoxha, Luan 
     Sejdiu, Agim Morina, Fehmi Muharremi, Brahim Berisha, Mustafe 
     Berisha, Gani Baliqi, Osman Kastrati, Shaban Cupi, Arben 
     Jahaj, Ardian Haxhaj, Mehmet Memcaj, Agim Lumi, Skender Hoti, 
     Sokol Morina, Fazli Gashi, Besim Kastrati, Sherif Berisha, 
     Shefget Topojani, Naim Krasniqi, Muje Prekuni, Elmi Cujani, 
     Qazim Sejdia, Ali Culiqi, Isak Shabani, Selim Gashi, Shkelzen 
     Zariqi, Agron Tolaj, Hajdin Ramaj, Ismet Gashi, Muhamet Rama, 
     Esat Shehu, Selman Ukehaxhaj, Agim Syla, Hasan Rama, Ramadan 
     Nishori, Hidajim Morina, Sadik Bytyci, Enver Hashani, Besim 
     Rama, Valon Berisha, Nexhat Shulaku, Edmond Dushi, Naser 
     Shurnjaku, Visar Dushi, Agim Hoda, Mustafe Ahmeti, Arsim 
     Bakalli, Menduh Duraku, Muhedin Zeka, Kreshnik Hoda, Admir 
     Pruthi, Nexhmedin Baraku, Mehdi Ferizi, Fisnik Zhaveli, 
     Muhamet Guta, Faik Mustafaj, Selami Curraj, Artan Nasi, Yll 
     Kusari, Yll Ferizi, Peraprim Efendija, Arbnor Koshi, Petrit 
     Vula, Idriz Feta, Jeton Rizniqi, Genc Xhara, Behar Hoti, 
     Qamil Haxhibeqiri, Fahri Hoti, Adnan Hoti, Fatmir Tafarshiku, 
     Shpetim Hoxha, Esat Ahma, Hysen Juniku, Yll Pepa, Erdogan 
     Mati, Shkelzen Nura, Esat Zherka, Shpend Musacana, Adriatik 
     Pula, Labinot Pula, Gezim Sada, Bekim Jota, Emin Delia, Zog 
     Delia, Alb Delia, Yll Delia, As Ahmeti, Yll Kastrati, Adnan 
     Haxhibeqiri, Gazmend Zhubi, Gent Nushi, Enver Dula, Mithat 
     Buza, Bekim Rragomi, Aliriza Truti, Skender Zhina, Petrit 
     Jakupaj, Elmi Tahiri, Agim Muhaxheri, Faton Hoda, Agron Pula, 
     Tahir Kajdomcaj, Florent Trudi, Adriatik Vokshi, Ymri Ahmeti, 
     Armond Koshi, Atli Kryeziu, Dukagjin Pula, Jusuf Brovina, 
     Gani Gexha, Sulejman Brovina, Hasan Halilaj, Halil Guta, 
     Albert Koshi, Fatos Dautaga, Sami Morina, Luan Xheka, Tahir 
     Skenderaj, Bjerem Juniku, Sabit Beqiri, Dijamant Mici, Nexhat 
     Vehapi, Fadil Lushaj, Binak Haxhija, Avdyl Precaj, Xhamajl 
     Thaci, Nazim Morina, Flamur Pana, Fatos Deva, Musat Ukaj, 
     Ardian Tetrica, Driton Aliaga, Bekim Mullahasani, Bashkim 
     Mustafa, Besfort Mullahasani, Driton Ballata, Diamant 
     Manxhuka, Rinor Lama, Fatmir Pruthi, Ferhat Luhani, Bekim 
     Musa, Petrit Kepuska, Mithat Guta, Agim Hasiqi, Gembi 
     Batusha, Hysni Hoda, Hivzi Perolli, Mazllom Grushti, Jeton 
     Bytyci, Bujar Hasiqi, Petrit Sahatqija, Vllaznim Radogoshi, 
     Imer Guta, Shefqet Bokshi, Kastriot Zhubi, Florent Zhubi, 
     Edmond Shtaloja, Burim Dobruna, Isa Axhanela, Driton Xhiha, 
     Hasan Zeneli, Rasim Rexha, Haqif Ilazi, Bilbil Duraku, Sejdi 
     Bellanica, Defrim Rifaj, Nehat Binaku, Enver Berisha, Jakif 
     Mazreku, Hysni Krasniqi, Haki Elshani, Avni Koleci, Shaban 
     Kolgeci, Rexhep Agilaj, Arif Kabashi, Azem Nedrotaj, Xhevat 
     Shukolli, Zaim Catapi, Milaim Kabashi, Xhavit Kolgeci, Maliq 
     Sokoli, Haxhi Ukaj, Ramadan Kokollari, Arben Basha, Feriz 
     Haziri, Sedji Haziraj, Hazir Zenelaj, Xhavit Krasniqi, Milaim 
     Matoshi, Mustafe Kolgeci, Arsim Gashi, Emin Kryeziu, Sherif 
     Ilazi, Arsim Ziba, Defrim Kiqina, Zenel Ademi, Fadil Xhulani, 
     Qamil Rama, Pjeter Cira, Bilbil Shehu, Isuf Bardoshi, Ilir 
     Kortoshi, Osman Tortoshi, Sulo Kuqi, Sulejman Deliu, Gazmend 
     Krasniqi, Zil Qipa, Shaban Rama, Jahe Sadrija, Muharrem 
     Pajaziti, Naser Tahirsylaj, Muhamet Tahiri, Arben Dobani, 
     Besim Zogaj, Xhavit Gashi, Sali Cunaj, Fatmir Kokollari, 
     Nezir Zogaj, Naim Baleci, Agron Borani, Rakip Mirena, Bekim 
     Krasniqi, Rexhep Luzha, Ramiz Bajrami, Ali Gashi, Ramadan 
     Berisha, Abdullah Cunaj, Sinan Bytyci, Shemsi Gallopeni, 
     Shefqet Kabashi, Fazli Pranca, Musli Avdyli, Ibrahim Isufaj, 
     Sulejman Bytyci, Muharrem Qypaj, Ahmet Demiri, Xhafer Shala, 
     Sami Gashi, Agron Berisha, Sahit Ziba, Nijazi Kryeziu, Hasan 
     Shala, Abaz Beqiri, Filip Pjetri, Nazmi Haliti, Agim Ibraj, 
     Haxhi Barjaktari, Ruzhdi Morina, Bashkim Jusufi, Burim 
     Musliu, Hime Shala, Haki Haziraj, Valdet Rama, Gasper 
     Selmanaj, Besnik Kuqi, Adem Kuqi, Jeton Alia, Ademali Metaj, 
     Naim Balaj, Halit Ndrecaj, Bajram, Bajraj, Xhavit Kacaniku, 
     Naim Zejnaj, Feriz Zabelaj, Nexhat Sylaj, Nuhi Boka, 
     Hajrullah Samadraxha, Naser Kalimoshi, Qazim Krasniqi, Ali 
     Isa, Kadri Jaha, Ymer Krasniqu, Sali Ahmedi, Hajdin Alia, 
     Asllan Lumi, Xhemajl Sallauka, Murat Kabashi, Hamit Buzhala, 
     Lumni Matoshi, Gazmend Bytyci, Xhavit Malaj, Daut Gashi, 
     Zymer Gashi, Mehdi Gashi, Nasuf Gorani, Osman Llugaxhia, 
     Fatmir Berisha, Hasan Istogu, Milaim Kastrati, Rexhep 
     Alimusaj, Abdullah Shala, Uke Kolgeci, Hasan Kuqi, Sali 
     Loshi, Burim Bllaca, Sedat Kolgeci, Albert Kolgeci, Emri 
     Loshi, Sherif Hamza, Uke Thaci, Nazmi Franca, Naim Leku, Riza 
     Krasniqi, Tafe Kurtaj, Ismet Beqiraj, Bahri Beqaj, Sali 
     Maliqaj, Muhedin Nivokazi, Ramadan Zymeraj, Haki Ademaj, 
     Hajzer Hajrullahu, Hekuran Cari, Adem Zenuni, Dul Cunaj, 
     Ferit Tafallari, Sinan Tafilaj, Shaqir Selmanaj, Hasan 
     Sadikaj, Blerim Krasniqi, Maki Begolli, Behar Jetishi, Agim 
     Jetishi, Kastriot Jetishi, Zenel Jetishi, Skender Kelmendi, 
     Nexhat Krasniqi, Bashkim Dvorani, Bekim Mazrreku, Izet 
     Sejfijaj, Rexhep Xhemajli, Xhemajl Muharremi, Ismet Sukaj, 
     Besim Ramaj, Blerim Shala, Adem Morina, Hasan Mulaj, Frasher 
     Shabani, Xhevat Haziri, Ismet Musaj, Fatos Malaj, Haki 
     Mahmutademaj, Kamber Goxholi, Mustafe Shala, Avni Syla, Ahmet 
     Kapitaj, Pashk Quni, Driton Berisha, Luan Bajrami, Selim 
     Sutaj, Riza Tahirukaj, Rexhe Jakupi, Hamdi Hyseni, Mersin 
     Berisha, Nexhdet Kida, Lahe Mataj, Naim Kidaj, Ismet Ademi, 
     Tahir Salihi, Arben Bazi, Arif Ahmeti, Istref Sadrija, Sadik 
     Zeqiri, Bajram Merqa, Gezim Abazi, Sahit Haxhosaj, Idriz 
     Asllanaj, Agim Makolli, Halil Deliu, Bektesh Qahili, Adil 
     Kollari, Avdyl Jetishi, Burim Jetishi, Shkelzen Kida, Skender 
     Cakolli, Qerim Jetishi, Mikel Dodaj, Leke Pevorfi, Brahim 
     Pepshi, Rrahmon Jonuzaj, Fitim Halimi, Behar Jetishi, Bedri 
     Shabanaj, Shkumbin Malaj, Zenel Kurmehaj, Jeton Malaj, Sejdi 
     Begaj, Misin Rexha, Hasan Daloshi, Fatmir Kurtaj, Agim 
     Reqica, Shpetim Krasniqi, Zeqir Leshani, Ylber Topalli, 
     Shefqet Beqa, Besim Zymberi, Qamil Abazi, Brahe Beqiraj, Din 
     Gjoni, Skender Gashi, Shaban Beka, Agron Ramadani, Arif 
     Vokshi, Nebi Tahiri, Skender Racaj, Ilaz Bislimi, Rexhe 
     Gashi, Sabri Arifaj, Nizat Morina, Ahmet Ahmeti, Burim 
     Brovina, Perparim Zejnullahu, Abdurrahman Naha, Artan Morina, 
     Falmur Godeni, Valdet Krasniqi, Adnan Brovina, Fatmir Bytyqi, 
     Mexhit Zenelaj, Rizo Bekiq, Milazim Kolgeci, Vesel Llugaxhia, 
     Arben Llugaxhia, Selim Hasani, Arben Morina, Gani Igalli, 
     Genc Kida, Ajet Ibraj, Muje Ibraj, Tarap Kida, Samat Gati, 
     Leonard Krasniqi, Bashkim Haziraj, Bashkim Kabashi, Caush 
     Sevgja, Ramiz Berisha, Gjon Sefaj, Arsim Kullashi, Hasan 
     Zariqi, Mehmet Rexhaj, Agim Hulaj, Muje Tafilaj, Ramadan 
     Avdiu, Raim Aliu, Isuf Zekaj, Smajl Smajli.
     Prison of Sremska Mitrovica (Serbia):
       Bedri Zymer Shabanaj, Liman Shefki Haxholli, Sami Kamer 
     Ajeti, Rasim Xheladin Muja, Luan Ajet Statovci, Gezim Nazmi 
     Statovci, Enver Hamit Sekiraqa, Bekim Ilmi Istogu, Sylejman 
     Bejtullah Sopjani, Isak Iljaz Kurshumlija, Lek Mihilja 
     Pervulfi, Ragip Syle Ahmeti, Fehim Rustem Vrelaku, Ilmi Musli 
     Karagjani, Bekim Avdulla Mazreku, Agim Sylejman Kelmendi, 
     Rexhep Rushit Musliu, Hysni Rrustem Nursedi, Izet Sadik 
     Sadriu, Faton Zymer Malaj, Muharrem Jahe Krasniqi, Naser 
     Bajram Istogu, Abdyl Jusuf Jetishi, Riza Hajdar Dembogaj, 
     Zeqir A. Pacolli, Gani Asllan Daci, Liman Fazli Aliu, Muhamer 
     Avdiu, Shkumbin S. Malaj, Lah Haxhi Mataj, Sheremet Zenel 
     Ahmeti, Halip Hajrullah Reshica, Bajrush Muharrem Xhemaili, 
     Gent Jakup Nushi, Dem Halil Ranoshaj, Xhemajl Muharrem 
     Muharremi, Xhavit Shaban Mustapani, Ahmet Sefe Ahmeti, 
     Skender Sylejman Gjiha, Fahri Rexhep Ejupi, Bastri Jahim 
     Azemi, Iljaz Gani Gashi, Shefqet Aziz Kosumi, Jakup Hasan 
     Ademi, Behar Kadri Zymeri, Florijan Hilmi Istogu, Habib 
     Shaban Shabani, Shaip Male Berisha, Hasan Ahmet Jashari, 
     Halim Ramadan Musliu, Abullah Haxhi Hoxha, Ajet Liman Zariqi, 
     Agron Beqir Ejupi, Asllan Jusuf Zekaj, Skender Haxhi 
     Kelmendi, Ridvan Shaip Salihu, Rasim Ramadan Zota, Bekim 
     Nevruz Ragipi, Bajram Mustafe Tahi, Uke Mehmet Goxhaj, Halil 
     Hajrullah Nashica, Bajrush Muharrem Gjemaili, Xhemail 
     Muharrem Muharremi, Ahmet Sefa Ahmeti, Fahri Rexhep Ujupi, 
     Iljaz Gani Gashi, Jakup Hasan Ademi, Ergjylent Elbasan Gashi, 
     Arben Ahmet Bajraktari, Adem Jusuf Morina, Nezir Tafil Sh., 
     Bekim Ibrahim Istogu, Afrim Ismet Uka, Drestan Islam Sukaj, 
     Fadil Kosum Gashi, Bujar Xhafer Goranci, Fejzullah Hasim N., 
     Ramiz Ibrahim Isufaj, Avdyl Beqir Kreqka, Imer Bajram Zhushi, 
     Mirsad Vesel Bashota, Izet Sabri Zenuni, Mehmet Rexhep Gashi, 
     Osman Haxhi T., Fejzullah Zenel Abdyli, Bexhet Ise Gashi, 
     Zeqir Abdullahu, Shkeqim Rrahim Selimi, Syle R. Murati, 
     Kujtim H. Sh., Musa Hajriz Gashi, Abedin Mugaj, Osman Isuf 
     Hoti, Ramiz Riza Sopjani, Braim Muharrem Isufi, Muhamet 
     Bexhet Thaci, Azem Hazir Sylejmani, Avdi Zejnullah Ajeti, 
     Sokol Xhafer Jakupi, Xhevat Esat Aziri, Qamil Abaz Abazi, 
     Sinan Sylejman Kelmendi, Kastriot Qazim Jetishi, Beqe Isuf 
     Ukshini, Arber Shefqet Pervuku, Ahmet Mustafe Kapitaj, Besim 
     Muhamet Zymberi, Mexhdet Ramadan Kida, Mustafe Emin Shaqa, 
     Rexhe Brahim Jakupi, Faton

[[Page 17065]]

     Vesel Istogu, Bahtir Hamdi Bahtiri, Rexhep Tafil Topalli, 
     Feriz Aziz Kaqili, Isuf Asllan Sylaj, Besim Hasan Jashari, 
     Rrahim Avdi Nika, Florim Sadri Dervishi, Tomorr Haxhi Hoxha, 
     Shaban Haxhi Hoxha, Agim Like Brahimi, Shkelzen Ramadan Kida, 
     Mersin Beqir Berisha, Durak Riza Gerbeshi, Shaban Hamez 
     Frasheri, Bujar Ibrahim Cuni, Beqir Akil Abazi, Kamber Syle 
     Bucolli, Hasan Beqir Mula, Haxhibeqir Masar Ajdini, Avdyl 
     Xhabir Skilferi, Enver Muhamed Dula, Agim Sadri Ceku, Gani 
     Elez Baqaj, Behxhet Kadir Krasniqi, Sabri Bajram Arifaj, 
     Hazir Mustafe Stoliqi, Hysen Abdyl Blakqorri, Idriz Bajram 
     Cufaj, Basri Mehmet Dragusha, Shpetim Feriz Gashi, Arben 
     Jakup Gashi, Zenel Asllan Myftari, Gani Xheme Ahmetgjekaj, 
     Hajredin Hajdar Hyseni, Arton Ruzhdi Bashota, Shpend Fazli 
     Dobruna, Xhemsat Male Shehaj, Avni Brahim Memija, Haki Osman 
     Haziraj, Adnan Ismajl Topalli, Hysni Xhelaladin Dautaj, Bujar 
     Hasan Sylaj, Sylejman Faik Bytyci, Fadil Zenun Xhavitaj, 
     Fazli Myftar Franca, Zijadin Abdullah Blakqorri, Valdet Qazim 
     Jetishi, Nebi Dibran Rama, Fitim Nazmi Halimi, Remzi Idriz 
     Dacolli, Fehmi Zejnullah Uka, Zenel Myftar Jetishi, Nazim 
     Xhavit Halili, Gazmend Mustafe Tahiraj, Halil Sylejman 
     Xhelili, Agim Nure Jetishi, Hilmi Tahir Begolli, Ekrem Zejnel 
     Jusufi, Azem Hasan Hasani, Skender Sokol Topalli, Sevdie 
     Rrahman Muratoviqi, Xhevat, Shaban Tahiri, Sherif Zeqir 
     Demaj, Halil Muhamet Kadrijaj, Nizat Morina, Ylber Shane 
     Kastrati, Mehmet Bane Kelmendi, Luan Selman Ahmetgjekaj, 
     Skender Rame Bajraktari, Arsim Shaban Berisha, Hashim Ramadan 
     Krasniqi, Halil Sahit Lika, Suat Beqir Lushtaku, Refik Hamdi 
     Hasani, Bedri Izet Ademi, Sali Syle Ramaj, Bashkim Mehdi 
     Sadiku, Hysni Sejdi Drenica, Azem Ramadan Jegrova, Afrim 
     Feriz Seferi, Zymer Hamit Toplani, Safet Rexhep Kelmendi, 
     Blerim Sadik Shatri, Behxhet Ymer Rmoku, Rexhep Selim Koca, 
     Rexhe Fazli Gashi, Rasim Muhamet Selmanaj, Enver Ibrahim 
     Thaci, Luan Syle Bajrami, Behar Gani Jetishi, Jeton Zymber 
     Mala, Strellci i eperm, Abedin Mursel Meha, Prekazi ulte, 
     Sahit Musli Pllana, Leskoshiq, Valon Idriz Gashi, Balince, 
     Kline, Besim Muse Ramaj, Prishtina, Nexhat Murat Krasniqi, 
     Negroc, Gllogoc, Bekim Sadri Cikaqi, Doberdelan, Bislim Selan 
     Bajraktari, Klina e eperme, Bashkim Shefqet Diorani, 
     Terstenik, Gllogoc, Isat Selim Shala Barileve, Prishtine, 
     Sali Syle Gashi, Kline, Hysni Rrustem Podrimcaku, Krejkovm 
     Gllogoc, Arben Rize Shabani, Dashevc Skenderaj, Dervish Kadri 
     Zukaj, Peje, Ministet Xhafer Shala, Prizren, Syl Abdullah 
     Abdyli, Likoshan, Skender Smail Asani, Likoshan, Sylejman 
     Sali Bajgora, Hertice Podujeve, Ekrem Selim Leci, Barileve, 
     Fadil Jashar Makolli, Prishtina, Gani Kadri Elshani, Gllogoc, 
     Xhevat Bexhet Podvorica, Dumosh, Podujeve, Abaz llaz 
     Krasniqi, Vucjak, Gllogoc, Muj Halil Zekaj, Cerobreg, Decan 
     Ismet Islam Suljka, Obri Gllogoc, Aziz Ibrahim Hamzaj, 
     Gjinovce Suha Reke, Gazmend Rafret Zhubi, Gjakove, Qerkin 
     Mehmet Brajshori, Sharban Prishtine, Gezim Muhamet Zecaj, 
     Samodrexh, Suhareke, Fatmir Bajram Canolli, Marevc, 
     Prishtine, Selim Sadri Sutaj, Lluka e Eperme, Decan Xhemshir 
     Rafat Aliti, Cikatov, Gllogoc, Alban Muharrem Elshani, 
     Korotic, Gllogoc, Muharrem Gashi, Prishtine, Isuf Haxhi 
     Hadri, Gjakove Skender Beke Mekaj, Nabrgje, Peje, Pashk Pren 
     Cuni, Talibare, Gjakove, Burim Syl Morina, Suhareke, Ramadan 
     Bajram Jakupi, Prapashtice, Safet Balja, Gllareve, Kline, 
     Ramiz Shefki Sylejmani, Koncul Bujanoc, Yenel Haxhi Kolmehaj, 
     Strellci i eperm, Decan, Hasan Mustafe Alija Kraljan, 
     Gjakove, Agron Shaban Prokshi, Brbatovc, Gllogoc, Abdullah 
     Islam Bajraktari, Gllogoc, Arsim Idriz Hasani, Podujeve, 
     Fatmir Ismail Shishani, Dobroshec, Ramiz Shefki Vitia, 
     Marevc, Xhevdet Sherif Murseli, Shtrubullov, Gllogoc, Sadri 
     Idriz, Krasniqi, Makoc, Osman Rrahman Murati, Tupall, 
     Medvegj, Xhevdet Adem Stublla, Alabak, Podujeve, Xhavit 
     Xhafer Ajazi, Dobratin, Brahim Bahtir Grbeshi, Marec, Ali 
     Rrustem Berisha, Graboc, Agim Muse Buzoku, Marec, Bajram 
     Pacolli Marec, Nysret Sadik Sadiku, Veternik, Ilir Idriz 
     Krasniqi, Vrahovc Peje, Yoje Sefer Gashi, Peje, Arsim Isa 
     Krasniqi, Prishtine, Agim Isa Krasniqi, Prishtine, Naser 
     Selim Pajaziti, Orlan Podujeve, Shaban Imer Mehmetaj, Rudice, 
     Kline, Blerim Zeqir Shala, Vucjak Gllogoc, Kadri, Shyqyri 
     Derguti, Rahovec, Arbnor Nexhat Xhemajli, Peje, Remzi Zenel 
     Tetrica, Gjakove, Jahir Sadik Agushi, Drenoc, Avni Sylja, 
     Mulliq, Xhem Sadri Morina, Ratkovc, Florin Zokaj Belege, 
     Decan, Salih Selman Zariqi, Baice, Xhemail Avdi Elshani, 
     Krajkove, Ekrem Shejki Ejupi, Sekirac, Podujeve, Sejdi Tahir 
     Bega, Jezerc, Nezir Rexhep Bajraktari, Radice, Kline, Hasan, 
     Ali Ademi, Karaq, Vushtrri, Nazif Ahmet, Culani, Baice, Neki 
     Selajdin Sadiku, Gjakove, Isuf Smajl Hajrizj, Kecekoll, Avdi 
     Abdullah Vitija, Hajvali, Barsi Bajram Gashi, Vrbica, Gjilan, 
     Ismet Mahmuti, Podujeve, Arif Toskaj, Novo Selle, Peje, 
     Driton Osman Berisha, Gjakove, Avdi Zeqir Pacolli, Marec, 
     Agim Vrshevci, Domanek, Bekim Shala, Trud, Prishtine, Nexhid 
     Hamid Zani, Abedin Mustafe, Mehmeti, Kline e mesme, Ismet 
     Pacarizi, Dragobil, Namon Murati, Topalle, Enver Beselica, 
     Prishtine, Pjeter Buzhalja, Peje, Tefik Shabani, Prishtine, 
     Albert Sadiku, Peje, Mitat Buza, Gjakove, Valdet Halilaj, 
     Trdevc, Haki Mahmut Demaj, Sreoce, Decane, Rrustem Letaj, 
     osekhil, Gjakove, Hazir Krasniqi, Negroc, Mustafe Mehmetaj, 
     Rodice, kline, Tefik Salihu, Trstenik, Fatmir Krasniqi, 
     Lukare, Brahim Beke Pepoci, Dujake, Gjakove, Jakup Rexhepi, 
     Gilogoc, Ramadan Gashim Svrhe, Kline, Visar Muriqi, Peje, 
     Fazli Hajdari, Dobroshec, Besnik Ismaili, Tucevac, Kamenice, 
     llmi Zenili, Petric, Kline, Xhafer Cufaj, Prilep, Decan, 
     Aslan Selim Asllani, Brovine, Gjakove, Predrag Ismail Hasani, 
     Dobruska, Istok, Zija Xhelili, Prelepnica Gjilane, Haki 
     Kastrati, Radost Rahovec, Nikoll Markaj, Radac Gjakove, Naser 
     Shporta, Prizren, Migjen Shala, Truda, Prishtine, Baki 
     kamani, Prishtine, Bekim Begolli, Trnove, Podujeve, Sabit 
     Thaci, Ilapushnik, Faruk Dakaj, Cerovik, Veli Kajtazaj, 
     Prishtine, Nexhmedin Gashi, Hajvali, Shefqet Beqa, Dac, 
     Kacanik, Bujar Maksuti, Prishtine, Muhamet Bega, Jezerc, 
     Ferizaj, Riza Tahirukaj, Luka e eperme, Decan, Hajriz Murati, 
     Shakovice, Rexhep Veseli, Shkup, Abdullah Gjunaji, Konjush, 
     Sali Kautaj, Shillove.
     City Prison of Krushevc (Serbia):
       Veli Zogaj, Agim Qemal Bajrami.
     City Prison of Vranje (Serbia):
       Njazi Hajdari, Besim Ramadani, Fadil Kallaba, Sabit Hoxha, 
     Mubijan Arifi, Ejup Morina, Bekim Bunjaku, Shefik Maksuti, 
     Ziadin Mehmeti, Murat Baralia, Fehmi Lecaj, Naim Shaqiri, 
     Muharrem Bajrami, Xhemajl Xhemajli, Rasim Rulani, Bejtullah 
     Novobrdalia, Jeton Vllasalia, Besim Ahmeti, Shaban Asani, 
     Adem Asani, Ramiz Bajrami, Ahmet Aliu, Zulfi Gashi, Ruzhdi 
     Jashari, Bajram Demiqi, Rrustem Demiqi, Fahri Baftia, Islam 
     Lipovica, Zeqir Morina, Fevzi Lekiqi, Fazil Abdullahu, Xhevat 
     Demiri.
     City Prison of Zajecar (Serbia):
       Braim Mehmet Shala, Cane Nimon Shoshaj, Isat Ramadan 
     Shoshaj, Agim Syle Shoshaj, Fazli Zenel Shoshaj, Kamber Zenel 
     Shoshaj, Vedat Ramadan Shoshaj, Selman Sadik Cekaj, Xhevdet 
     Rama Qorraj, Afrim Avdi Blakaj, Afrim Shaban Alilaj, Mustafa 
     Rrustem Alilaj, Fetah Uke Alilaj, Sali Shaban Asllani, Mentor 
     Dervish Balaj, Fahri Rrustem Balaj, Arbnor Xhelal Bajraktari, 
     Arianit Xhelal Barjaktari, Ilir Avdi Barjaktari, Avni Musa 
     Barjaktari, Muharrem Rexhep Barjaktari, Ibish Musa Pepaj, 
     Agim Halil Berisha, Muhamet Iber Berisha, Aziz Iker Kerisha 
     Xhavit Idriz Berisha, Skender Isa Berisha, Rasim Maxhun 
     Berisha, Mujo Maxhun Berisha, Ramiz Muharrem Berisha, Osman 
     Rame Berisha, Zenun Selim Berisha, Kujtim Smajl Berisha, 
     Shefqet Sokol Berisha, Tahir Musa Berisha, Muharrem Musa 
     Berisha, Driton Ibish Blakaj, Gezim Muharrem Blakaj, Rexho 
     Haxhi Bucollli, Bujar Ismajl Mavraj, Ramiz Emshir 
     Cernovrshanin, Rashid Emshir Cernovrshanin, Bekim Caush 
     Dautaj, Fidan Aziz Dervishaj, Kemajl Hasan Dobra, Shefqet 
     Arif Dreshaj, Arif Bajram Dreshaj, Agim Zymer Dreshaj, Hasim 
     Kadri Dukaj, Avni Kadri Dukaj, Fadil Smajl Berisha, Florent 
     Isa Ukaj, Atdhe Bajram Gashi, Isuf Bajram Gashi, Bashkim Caca 
     Gashi, Jusuf Ibish Gashi, Haxhi Smajl Gashi, Arif Smajl 
     Gashi, Ajet Mujo Gecaj, Armend Ibrahim Grudi, Sadri Muharrem 
     Haxhiaj, Jahe Sali Haxhiaj, Adem Zeqe Halili, Dem Isuf 
     Haradinaj, Armend Shpend Hasaj, Zeqo Adem Hasaj, Afrim Smajl 
     Hasaj, Agron Zenel Hasanaj, Islam Ajet Hysenaj, Isa Smajl 
     Hysenaj, Rrustem Sadri Husaj, Zenel Idriz Husaj, Huharem 
     Sadri Idrizaj, Burim Osman Kabashi, Faruk Isuf Kabashi, Imer 
     Sherif Kelmendi, Milazim Haxhi Kelmendi, Mustafa Jusuf 
     Kelmendi, Fidan Rama Kelmendi, Erzen Ramaden Kelmendi, Safet 
     Rama Kabashi, Agron Avdyl Krasniqi, Gani Tahir Krasniqi, 
     Xhavit Selman Kuqi, Kujtim Mehmet Leka, Labinot Ali Lipoveci, 
     Tahir Adem Madonaj, Ahmet Binak Mahmutaj, Bedri Binak 
     Mahmutaj, Lavdim Beqir Mavraj, Besar Dema Mavraj, Petrit Emin 
     Mavraj, Hamdi Feriz Mavraj, Ragip Januz Mavraj, Fadil Miftar 
     Mavraj, Nazmi Muharem Navraj, Aush Musa Mavraj, Kadri Musa 
     Mavraj, Abedin Nezir Mavraj, Nesret Nezir Mavraj, Muhamet 
     Nezir Mavraj, Hasan Ali Mazrekaj, Rustem Ali Mazrekaj, Rame 
     Selman Mazrekaj, Avni Adem Mehmetaj, Durim Ramadan Mehmetj, 
     Hajdar Ramo Mekaj, Miftar Ramo Mekaj, Smajl Shaban Miftaraj, 
     Selim Binak Morina, Arkin Azem Muqkurtaj, Muhamet Qamil 
     Thaqi, Muhamet Mustaf Qetaj, Shaban Bajram Muriqi, Kaplan 
     Bajram Muriqi, Kaplan Selim Nikqi, Hys Selim Nikqi, Ymer Beko 
     Nitaj, Sefer Beko Nitaj, Besim Ismet Nitaj, Zenel Miftar 
     Nitaj, Zeke Hajdar Osmanaj, Arben Sadri Osmanaj, Shaqir Ahmet 
     Osmanaji, Shaqir Ahmet Osmanaj, Faton Ymer Osmani, Fitim 
     Osman Osmani, Ymer Ukshin Osmani, Xhemaji Justafe Lajiqi, 
     Valdet Muhemet Lekaj, Ramadan Tahir Keimendi, Sulo Qazim 
     Rexhaj, Elzen Ahmet Rexhaj, Agush Muherem Rexhaj, Mehmet Musa 
     Rexhaj, Mustafa Tahir Rexhaj, Agron Zenun Rexhaj, Rexho Ahmet 
     Fetahaj, Qazim Sejdi Sejdijaj, Ahmet Haxhi Sulaj, Shefqet 
     Hasan Thaqi, Ismet Xhemo Tuzi, Azem Xhemo Tuzi, Azem Xhemo 
     Tuzi, Hajim Haki Vranezi, Zeqe Mete Zeqa, Mexhid Mehmed 
     Zeqaj, Aziz Mehmed Zeqaj, Nukman Zeqir Zemaj, Agim Haxhi 
     Zumeri, Vegim Qamil Zuna.

[[Page 17066]]


     City Prison of Leskovac (Serbia)
       Ali Hajdin Zeneli, Bekim Syl Kalamoshi, Murtez Dam Islamaj, 
     Shkelzen Selmon Zukaj, Sherif Zeqir Krasniqi, Shaban Binak 
     Thaqi, Shkelzen Xhemaji; Muslijaj, Beqir Arif Beqiraj, Isuf 
     Smajl Ymeri, Kadri Smajl Ymeri, Gazmend Siqan Bajrami, 
     Xhevdet Rem Bajrami, Beqir Tahir Loxhaj, Vllaznim Brahim 
     Perxhexhaj, Agron Ibrahim Koqaku, Binak Mislim Selmonaj, Beke 
     Smajl Selmonaj, Sadik Lush Danaj, Musa Nazir Beqiraj, Nimon 
     Maxhun Zekaj, Islam Miftar Qestaj, Kujtim Ymer Salihaj, 
     Xhafer Meta Maloku, Rexhe Xhemajl Abdulahu, Arif Salih 
     Fetahaj, Skender Ali Mehmeti, Abdulah Sadik Hoxha, Behar Adem 
     Bahri, Shaban Rustem Hadergjonaj, Ndrec Zef Kqiro, Idriz 
     Halil Ramoni, Zef Ndue Markaj, Ali Dervish Curaj, Shaqir Azem 
     Hajdaraj, Fazli Zeke Rexhaj, Kristijan Gjoke Bibiqaj, Brahim 
     Rexhep Salcaj, Nikol Frat Berisha, Islam Rame Qekaj, Isuf 
     Bajram Krasniqi, Isuf Bajram Krasniqi, Shpetim Bajram Hoti, 
     Deme Hasan Bunjaku, Lutfi Zeke Miroci, Smajl Muharem Ramqaj, 
     Haxhi Muharem Zubaj, Zija Rasim Humaj, Xhafer Zenel Lotaj, 
     Bekim Adem Memaj, Riza Rustem Mavraj, Xheme Elez Mavraj, Sami 
     Rame Shala, Him Misin Balaj, Valdet Beqir Barjaktari, Naim 
     Gjon Tuzi, Rame Mehmet Muqaj, Musli Qazim Berisha, Hamdi Elez 
     Mavraj, Arif Deme Neziraj, Afrim Bilal Shabani, Selmon Hisen 
     Osmanaj, Haxhi Duqa Mehmetaj, Izet Nezir Kuqi, Ferad Sali 
     Berisha, Zenel Syle Iberdemaj, Musa Tahir Blakaj, Deme Maxhun 
     Berisha, Nexhmedin Tahir Mavraj, Avni Zenun Balaj, Ilo Shefki 
     Seniku, Zef Pren Bicaj, Deli Mustafe Mavraj, Sali Musa Belaj, 
     Ragip Azem Vranezi, Mahmutaj Rame Nexhaj, Fadil Ramadan 
     Quliqi, Milazim Sadik Blakaj, Iso Rexhep Kelmendi, Xhelo 
     Shaban Shala, Naim Dervish Balaj, Faruk Azem Kelmendi, Riza 
     Rame Ceku, Ismajl Sherif Kelmendi, Nexhat Januz Kabashi, 
     Bajram Rexhep Kelmendi, Nexhdet Isuf Bajramaj, Avni Nimon 
     Shoshaj, Idriz Zeko Blakaj, Halil Sait Gashi, Hamdi Ymer 
     Shoshaj, Blerim Ymer Kelmendi, Hasan Adem Cocaj, Adem 
     Sheremet Berisha, Tahir Isuf Barjaktari, Skender Hasan 
     Shoshaj, Skender Rizo Shabaj, Avdyl Mahmut Husaj, Xhavit Musa 
     Dresh, Arif Cafe Hysaj, Luarez Jusuf Kelmendi, Muhamed Zeke 
     Bajraj, Fadil Binak Qalaj, Florim Deme Gashi, XHafer Deli 
     Gashi, Halil Adem Gashi, Arif Rexhep Gashi, Sejdi Qerim 
     Gashi, Gezim Rame Kabashi, Ise Ali Kabashi, Mustafe Duat 
     Bajramaj, Riza Ibish Ukaj, Flakron Hajdar Nekaj, Blerim 
     Bajram Beqiraj, Qerim Bajram Elshani, Rifat Hasan Nurina, 
     Shaban Osman Gashi, Xheme Rexhep Berisha, Ali Deme Qelaj, 
     Sejdi Binak Ahmeti, Sulejman Sejdi Zekaj, Ismajl Rexhe Zekaj, 
     Abdulla Avdi Zekaj, Ise Rame Tahiraj, Sadri Ali Zekaj, Tahir 
     Rize Alijaj, Valon Osman Zekaj, Zeqir Osman Morina, Rexhep 
     Tahir Kurtaj, Ramadan Avdije Zekaj, Mustafe Feka Nimonaj, 
     Ismajl Shaban Hysa, Bashkim Deme Gashi, Shaban Deme Gashi, 
     Syle Rexhep Bytyqi, Pajzit Hazir Gashi, Xhevat Xhemaj Gashi, 
     Arben Mehmet Gashi, Zenun Bajram Bajrami, Enver Mehmet Gashi, 
     Bajram Zenun Bajrami, Nezir Tahir Gashi, Haser Sadik Gashi, 
     Fadil Daut Gashi, Nimon Nezir Gashi, Mehmet Ibrahim Gashi, 
     Avni Rrustem Mavraj, Mehdi Memet Zeqaj, Driton Bali Hysaj, 
     Hajredin Binak Mavraj, Agim Myftar Abdullahu, Bajram Rame 
     Kelmendi, Sadri Rexhep Kelmendi, Berat Murat Kabashi, Isa 
     Shaban Shabaj, Ramiz Sadik Berisha, Valdet Sali Mavraj, Jahe 
     Elez Mavraj, Mentor Qaush Dautaj, Rrustem Hajdar Mamaj, 
     Florent Ali Lipoveci, Rame Tahir Haziraj, Gazmend Hasan 
     Kameraj, Albert Rexhep Salihi, Bekri Sadik Rrustemaj, Avni 
     Rezi Shala, Nezir Hajdar Latifi, Hasan Jusuf Ukaj, Pjeter 
     Matej Ndrecaj, Pal Pren Ndrecaj, Riza Mete Sadrijaj, Xhafer 
     Musa Zeneli, Rasim Adem Hysenaj, Hasan Puka, Muharem Donaj, 
     Vesel Murta, Bashkim Arif Bajrami, Eduard Rifat Muharemi, Mal 
     Tahir Ajdinaj, Vladimir Momqillo Vrdar, Vladimir Tonko 
     Dupalo, Blerim Uke Hetaj, Suad Etem Hetaj, Shefqet Isuf 
     Osmanaj, Xhafter Isuf Osmanaj, Mehmet Qazim Krasniqi, Qaush 
     Nezir Shpatollaj, Ramadan Ahmet Sopjani, Neset Xhemajl 
     Zhabeli, Esat Ibrahim Zeka, Musa Omer Sinani, Tahir Arslan 
     Mehmetaj, Dede Mark Gecaj, Hamze Gani Luboja.
     City Prison of Nish (Serbia):
       Hasan Zeneli, Ramadan Kokulaj, Arben Basha, Jahir Mazreku, 
     Sejdi Haziraj, Haxhi Ukaj, Ferik Haziri, Mustafe Alimusaj, 
     Hasan Shala, Haqif Ilazi, Enver Berisha, Milaim Kabashi, 
     Hysni Krasniqi, Mexhit Zenelaj, Arif Kabashi, Arsim Kabashi, 
     Defrim Rifaj, Rexhep Aliaj, Hazir Zenelaj, Sejdi Belanica, 
     Bylbyl Duraku, Selim Kadriu, Rizo Gjekiq, Zaim Qatani, Zadin 
     Berisha, Xhavit Krasniqi, Nijazi Kryeqiu, Xhevat Daciq, 
     Sylejman Ziba, Arsim Ziba, Xhemajl Salauka, Murat Kabashi, 
     Arben Llugaxhiu, Arben Kolgeci, Emri Loshi, Arben Morina, 
     Jemin Kryeziu, Hasan Istogu, Milaim Kastrati, Hasan Muqa, 
     Burim Bllaca, Selim Gashani, Uke Ndrecaj, Nazmi Franca, Zymer 
     Gashi, Vesel Llugaxhiu, Uke Kolgeci, Osman Llugazhiu, Mehdi 
     Gashi, Avni Kolgeci, Daut Gashi, Xhevat Shukolli, Agron 
     Perteshi, Maliq Shukolli, Nasuf Dvorani, Mustafe Kolgeci, 
     Naser Hysaj, Sokol Morina, Sherif Berisha, Ismet Krasniqi, 
     Shaban Quipi, Neqir Shala, Hilmi Krasniqi, Arton Krasniqi, 
     Shaban Kolgeci, Hamit Buzhala, Xhavit Mala, Abdullah Shala, 
     Shefqet Topolani, Riza Krasniqi, Sahit Ziba, Gezim Ziba, 
     Asllan Lumi, Skender Hoti, Milazim Kolgeci, Lum Matoshi, Naim 
     Leku, Gani Ibali, Milaim Matoshi, Haki Elshani, Sali Loshi, 
     Uke Thaqi, Xhavit Kolgeci, Gazmend Bytyqi, Sherif Hamza, 
     Sedat Kolgeci, Isa Ismalaj, Ramadan Morina, Asim Morina, 
     Selim Lokaj, Selim Gashi, Demir Limaj, Ali Xhulliqu, Mustafe 
     Berisha, Brahim Berisha, Muhamet Rama, Mehemet Memqia, Agim 
     Lumi, Shkelzen Zllanoga, Halim Shatri, Gani Balia, Isak Hoti, 
     Adrian Haxhaj, Vehbi Mhuarremi, Lavdim Tetaj, Fazli Gashi, 
     Arben Lukaj, Asman Kastrati, Muje Prekupi, Visar Balovci, 
     Ralif Qela, Libum Aliu, Shaban Beka, Arif Vokshi, Agim Sylaj, 
     Ilaz Dugolli, Ilaz Bislimi, Brahe Beqiraj, Agron Ramadani, 
     Enver Dugolli, Ramadan Nisholli, Skender Recaj, Besim Rama, 
     Avdija Mehmedoviq, Dine Gjocaj, Zejnullah Shala, Selman 
     Ukehazhaj, Maliq Muharemoviq, Rexhep Oruqi, Shabedin Asallri, 
     Valon Berisha, Idriz Musliu, Luz Marku, Blerim Camaj, Naim 
     Lushi, Musa Krasniqi, Leonard Krasniqi, Hasan Vrelaku, Ismet 
     Berbati, Isa Shalaj, Arif Vrelaku, Fadil Jetishi, Arbnor 
     Koshi, Hasan Rama, Esat Shehu, Luan Sejdia, Shefqet Vokshi, 
     Elmi Gjulani, Naim Krasniqi, Ismet Alia, Maki Degolli, Hil 
     Qira, Nazim Zenelaj, Artan Hasi, Blerim Krasniqi, Arsim 
     Jullashi, Naser Shunjaku, Meduh Duraku, Faik Mustafa, 
     Kreshnik Hoxha, Fisnik Zhaveli, Bislim Zoqaj, Asllan Selimi, 
     Dylber Beka, Arben Selmoni, Avdi Kabashi, Faton Hoxha, Fatmir 
     Tafarshiku, Asim Bakalli, Filip Pjetri, Shefqet Kabashi, 
     Mithat Zeka, Shpend Ganinmusa, Besnik Mezini, Muhamet Guta, 
     Muhedin Zeka, Jeton Xharra, Nexhmedin Varaku, Lulzim Qerimi, 
     Yll Kusari, Endogand Mati, Mustafe Gjocaj, Agron Dvorani, 
     Bekim Krasniqi, Fadil Topalli, Bashkim Jusufi, Ruzhdi Morina, 
     Huhamet Kiqina, Ylber Dizdari, Astrit Elshani, Rrustem 
     Jetishi, Ramiz Gjocaj, Enver Hoxha, Hekuran Qarri, Rexhep 
     Sejdiu, Jusuf Shala, Hysen Reka, Xhavit Gashi, Naim Baleci, 
     Ismajl Musa, Naser Kalimshi, Isa Alia, Gani Quekaj, Hddin 
     Alia, Esat Afma, Hysen Juniku, Ismet Gashi, Shpejtim Hoxha, 
     Naim Zejna, Hamdi Hareqi, Azem Krasniqi, Hasan Berisha, Selim 
     Qekaj, Sali Hameli, Kadri Jahaj, Naser Qerimi, Ramadan Avdiu, 
     Boge Hereqi, Riza Alia, Jeton Alia, Bekim Maqi, Kujtim 
     Jetishi, Bajram Avdyli, Naim Lulaj, Sami Gashi, Avdyl Maqi, 
     Luan Mazreku, Sami Hasani, Arton Morina, Genc Kida, Sali 
     Mariqi, Bali Beqaj, Nuhi Bokaj, Avdi Rrahmani, Flamur Godeni, 
     Isuf Zekaj, Hajrullah Samadraxha, Gani Gexha, Fatmir Bytyqi, 
     Afrim Caka, Skender Sina, Adnan Brovina, Sylejman Brovina, 
     Agim Muhaxheri, Remzi Krasniqi, Jusuf Brovina, Jahir Shala, 
     Skender Tasholli, Bashkim Berisha, Ymer Krasniqi, Arif Meta, 
     Ismet Beqirai, Tahir Hyseni, Feriz Zabelaj, Fejzi Krasniqi, 
     Sadik Rexhaj, Rrahim Aliu, Fatmir Malaj, Reshat Behluli, 
     Adriatik Vokshi, Flamur Hana, Genc Batusha, Rifat Thaci, 
     Xhemajl Thaci, Dritero Baleta, Befort Mullahasani, Binak 
     Haxhijai, Shefki Frazlijaj, Kastriot Gerkuqu, Tahir 
     Kajdomqai, Florent Rudi, Feriz Bozhdaraj, Driton Aliaga, 
     Hysni Hoxha, Luan Xheka, Bashkim Mustafa, Sabit Lushaj, Rinor 
     Lamaj, Avdyl Ndrecaj, Nazim Morina, Mustaf Ukaj, Ferat 
     Luhani, Jeton Bytyqi, Mazllom Grushi, Hasan Aliaj, Hivzi 
     Perolli, Bujar Hasiqti, Sami Morina, Burim Hasiqi, Ramadan 
     Xhogaj, Adem Morina, Agim Hasiqi, Valdet Krasniqi, Avni 
     Bytyqi, Ardian Tetrica, Naser Mema, Ruzhdi Abazi, Beqir 
     Belani, Azem Buzhala, Merxhan Zhubi, Visar Dushi, Mustaf 
     Ahmeti, Isa Axhanela, Istref Hasani, Halil Ademaj, Hesed 
     Jaija, Ndre Matiqi, Hilmi Hajdari, Kastriot Zhubi, Bajram 
     Mustafa, Adrian Kumnova, Alban Koshi, Admand Shtaloja, Edmond 
     Dushi, Nexhat Shujaku, Driton Xhiha, Burim Dobruna, Agron 
     Lama, Florent Zhubi, Mehdi Ferizi, Yll Ferizi, Agron Syla, 
     Yll Pepa, Sadik Zeqiri, Limon Abazi, Emin Deliu, Shkelzen 
     Nura, Selim Curraj, Lulzim Delia, Burim Zhubi, Petrit Vula, 
     Idriz Pepa, Adnan Koshi, Adratik Pula, Genc Xharra, Fahri 
     Koshi, Jeton Rezniqi, Admir Pruthi, Behar Koshi, Labinot 
     Pula, Genc Sada, Bekim Lota, Llir Lota, Zog Delia, Vllazerim 
     Radogoshi, Ahmet Asllani, Agim Hoda, Istref Sadrija, Fatmir 
     Pruthi, Jusuf Kollari, Zeqir Hyseni, Perparim Zejnullahu, 
     Agim Mehmeti, Nexhat Vehapi, Dijamant Mici, Arben Abazi, 
     Mithat Guta, Fatos Deva, Bekim Musa, Petrit Kepuska, Dijamant 
     Manxhuka, Qamil Beqiri, Tahir Skenderaj, Dukogjin Pula, Agron 
     Pula, Fatos Dautaga, Bruim Brovina, Ymer Guta, Petrit 
     Sahatqiu, Muhamet Zymi, Ahmet Hyseni, Arben Shala.
                                  ____


               [From the Washington Post, July 10, 1999]

                 Among the Missing: Prisoners of Serbia

                           (By William Booth)

       Pozarevac, Yugoslavia.--The most famous prisoner in Serbia 
     shuffled into the deputy warden's office today, her boots 
     missing their laces and her hands clasped behind her back. 
     She was pale and her fingers trembled, but she was defiant 
     and angry.
       Flore Brovina, a middle-aged pediatrician and poet with 
     dyed blond hair, beloved in her native Kosovo but accused of 
     being an enemy of the state by Yugoslav authorities, is among 
     hundreds of ethnic Albanians who were taken from jails in 
     Kosovo in the last days of the war last month and moved to 
     prisons in Serbia.
       Brovina is among the lucky ones; she has been found. Most 
     of the prisoners have yet to

[[Page 17067]]

     be accounted for, and they are among the larger ranks of 
     missing ethnic Albanians whose fate is one of the great human 
     rights mysteries of the Kosovo conflict. Over the three 
     months of war, thousands of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, 
     mostly men of fighting age, were pulled from their homes and 
     from columns of refugees streaming into Albania, Macedonia 
     and Montenegro.
       They vanished without a trace.
       Some were killed, and only the digging in graves and 
     forensic investigations will tell their stories. But many 
     were incarcerated in seven prisons around Kosovo. Many were 
     held without formal charges, allowed under a martial law 
     decree that governed Yugoslavia during the war.
       At war's end, as NATO forces advanced into Kosovo province, 
     some prisoners escaped--how many is unknown. At least 800 
     were marched to the Albanian border and released by Yugoslav 
     security forces. The rest were taken in a long convoy of 
     buses and trucks to Serbia.
       Today, Brovina took a seat before her captors and announced 
     to her first visitor since her arrest in April, ``I do not 
     consider myself a prisoner, but a slave.''
       She said, ``I have only one question: Why am I here?''
       For the next two hours, as the deputy warden and a guard by 
     turns grimaced with shame or anger, disbelief or disgust, 
     Brovina, 50, described her journey through the Serbian 
     criminal justice system, where she is charged with being a 
     terrorist.
       Serbian Justice Minister Dragoljub Jankovic said in an 
     interview this week that his staff has accounted for 1,860 
     prisoners brought to Serbia from Kosovo on June 10, the day 
     Yugoslav forces began withdrawing from the province. The 
     prisons of Kosovo are now empty, and the largest, at Istok, 
     was bombed into rubble--and prisoners killed--by NATO 
     airstrikes in late May.
       According to Jankovic, there are 800 of the missing at the 
     prison here in Pozarevac; 400 in Nis; 330 in Sremska 
     Mitrovica; 180 in Leskovac; 95 in Prokuplje; and 55 in 
     Zajecar. These cities are all in Serbia.
       The minister said he will soon turn over the names and 
     locations, still being tabulated, to the International 
     Committee for the Red Cross.
       The 1,860--or more--brought to Serbia from Kosovo are 
     approximately the same number of missing prisoners 
     circulating among humanitarian groups and lawyers in Serbia 
     and Kosovo, its southern province. But even Jankovic 
     acknowledged the final tally may grow. He said that many 
     prisoners were moved, but their case files and other 
     documentation, including investigative and trial proceedings, 
     were lost in the race by Yugoslav forces and Serbian 
     authorities to withdraw from Kosovo. Serbia is the dominant 
     republic in the Yugoslav federation.
       ``We're doing the best we can under very difficult 
     circumstances,'' Jankovic said.
       The Belgrade government released 166 ethnic Albanian 
     prisoners in June. Jankovic said another 200 would probably 
     be freed soon.
       The chief warden here, Stipe Marusic, said he received 647 
     prisoners from Kosovo on the last day of the war, of which 
     579 were ethnic Albanians, most of whom are not yet convicted 
     of any crime but are listed on his manifests as ``detainees'' 
     or ``under investigation.'' Others are simply prisoners 
     arrested in the last four months by the Serbian special 
     police.
       ``We expect some to be convicted'' of charges of terrorist 
     activities, he said, ``and some to be exchanged.''
       Human rights activists here and in Kosovo have faulted NATO 
     leaders for not including in the peace accords more language 
     about what is to be done with the prisoners.
       Brovina said she believed they were being held as 
     ``bargaining chips,'' and were being ``fattened'' up in 
     Serbian prisons before some are eventually released.
       For weeks, Brovina's lawyer was not sure where she was. The 
     Serbian Ministry of Justice could not find her. Confused 
     about her misspelled name, the authorities said they were 
     looking for a man, Jankovic assisted a reported in finding 
     Brovina. Brovina has been in trouble with Serbian authorities 
     since the early 1990s, when ethnic Albanians in Kosovo began 
     actively resisting a decree by Slobodan Milosevic, who was 
     then president of Serbia, to strip the province of its 
     limited autonomy and bring the majority ethnic Albanian 
     population to heel.
       In the purges that followed, Brovina was fired from her job 
     at the hospital in Pristina, the Kosovo capital, but then 
     founded the League of Albania Women, which sponsored protests 
     against massacres and repression. She also opened a center 
     for vulnerable women and children.
       ``Our slogan was very simple,'' she said. ``It was STOP.'' 
     Brovina said they just wanted peace. But she admitted today 
     that her sympathies clearly lie with the separatist Kosovo 
     Liberation Army, which battled Yugoslav forces for 16 months 
     in an effort to win independence. ``We didn't have anything 
     to do with the KLA.'' Brovina said. ``But if those were our 
     sons, our husbands, our fathers, of course we liked them.''
       Brovina remained in Pristina at the start of the NATO 
     airstrikes on March 24. But on April 20, she was arrested.
       She was taken to he prison in Lipljan, on the outskirts of 
     Pristina. She claims to have seen ethnic Albanian prisoners, 
     arrested under Articles 125 and 136 as terrorist enemies of 
     the state, lying naked on the floor, being beaten with ropes 
     on the genitals in cells in the Lipljan jail.
       She charges that the Yugoslav army erected an antiaircraft 
     battery at the prison. ``We were not prisoners,'' she said. 
     ``We were made targets.''
       Brovina said the prisoners at Lipljan were forced to say 
     ``Long Live Serbia'' before they were allowed to use the 
     toilets. Many complained about the food and the stingy 
     rations, but Brovina and her warden agreed that the whole 
     Kosovo was doing without.
       At the prison here today, two men held in Lipljan gave 
     differing accounts. Neither saw an antiaircraft battery or 
     soldiers, but one man, Hajdari Mursel, 63, a retiree, said he 
     spent two weeks at Lipljan, where the guards ``screwed with 
     us,'' and ``beat people with rubber hoses.''
       All prisoners at Lipljan said that conditions there were 
     much worse than in their new Serbian jails. Indeed, several 
     prisoners went out of their way to say that they were well 
     treated here at Pozarevac.
       ``They have not harassed me in any way,'' said Becir 
     Bilalli, 44, the owner of a small shop. ``I have only one 
     problem now, that I am away from my family, and these charges 
     against me.''
       Bilalli said that he was arrested at a checkpoint outside 
     Kosovska Mitrovica in Kosovo last August. He is charged with 
     terrorist activities. The reason, Bilalli said, is that like 
     many in Kosovo he stood duty with a rifle on his shoulder 
     outside his village at night.
       ``Everybody was on guard in Kosovo,'' he said. Bilalli, 
     like the other prisoners, said he has not communicated with 
     his family since the NATO air war began, and that he does not 
     know where his wife and sons are. They do not know he is in 
     prison in Serbia.
       On the eve of the final withdrawal of all Yugoslav army and 
     security forces from Kosovo on June 10, Brovina and hundreds 
     of other prisoners were loaded onto buses and driven to other 
     parts of Serbia. They were ordered to keep their heads down, 
     Brovina said, and told not to look out of the windows.
       ``We did not know where we were being taken,'' she said. 
     Some prisoners feared they would be taken to a field and 
     shot. Others wore all their clothes so that in event they 
     were beaten, the blows would not be as punishing. There were 
     few women in the prison convoys, Borvina said, but all the 
     young ones feared they might be raped. There were not.
       Many of the 579 ethnic Albanians taken to this prison came 
     from Dubrava prison in the Kosovo town of Istok. Before the 
     war, the Istok prison was the largest, and most modern, in 
     Serbia. Built on the Swedish model, the prison had recreation 
     rooms, a motel for conjugal visits and a decent library.
       Enver Ramadani, 21, who was convicted of racketeering 
     before the war, and confessed today he was indeed guilty of 
     the crime, was at Istok. He called the prison ``super.''
       But that was before the NATO bombing. In late May, Istok 
     prison was hit for five days by NATO airstrikes. The exact 
     number of dead and wounded are still unknown. What is known 
     is that the prison was filled with prisoners, many of them 
     ethnic Albanians detained in the last weeks of the war.
       Initially, Serbian officials said that 44 prisoners and 
     guards were killed. Jankovic, the Serbian justice minister, 
     said his latest information is that only six were killed, and 
     196 wounded, 20 seriously.
       Ramadani said that he saw 30 dead bodies in the prison 
     yard, covered from the sun by blankets. For five days, NATO 
     bombed, and he described a scene from hell: The guards fled 
     into the woods, leaving the prisoners to fend for themselves. 
     They raided the kitchens. They hid from the bombs down 
     manholes into the sewers, packed like rats, waiting for the 
     concussions to end. He said that many were wounded and were 
     treated by ``so-called doctors'' among them, who did the best 
     they could. There was blood everywhere.
       Ramadani did not see prisoners executed by Serbian security 
     forces, although reporters who returned to Istok saw bullet 
     holes in the walls and bloody mattresses, where heads would 
     have lain.
       Jankovic said that for the five days of the bombing, his 
     people were not in charge. He does not know what happened 
     during the bombardment, and seemed to suggest that if any 
     atrocities occurred, it was others--special police, 
     paramilitaries--who were responsible. NATO officials stated 
     that the site was a legitimate military target. ``That was a 
     military barrack, and we attacked it twice,'' said NATO 
     spokesman Jamie Shea after the initial bombings. ``Whether 
     the Serbs were using it to house other people--that's a 
     different thing.''
       Husnija, an ethnic Albanian attorney working in Serbia and 
     Brovina's newly appointed lawyer, said that one of the most 
     disturbing things he has uncovered is that during the war, 
     Serb prisoners in Kosovo were moved north to Serbia, while 
     ethnic Albanians incarcerated in Serbia were moved to Kosovo. 
     He does not know why.
       Natasa Kandic, a human rights attorney based in Belgrade, 
     said that she initially feared that many of the missing were 
     dead.

[[Page 17068]]

     Now, she believes they are in prisons around Serbia. That is 
     not good, she said, but it is better than the missing being 
     found in mass graves.
                                  ____


               [From the Los Angeles Times, July 9, 1999]

            Detainees Lost in Maze of Yugoslav Prison System

                           (By Mark Fineman)

       Belgrade, Yugoslavia.--When they boarded the Fati Tours bus 
     from Slovenia to Kosovo last July, Baljaj Naim, Zogaj Enver 
     and Hrecaj Haljit were much like the 51 other ethnic Albanian 
     passengers.
       Like the others, the three men were contract workers going 
     home--their pockets full of hard-earned construction wages--
     to wives, children and parents they hadn't seen for months.
       But nearly a year after all the workers were detained at a 
     Serbian police checkpoint in Kosovo on suspicion of being 
     terrorists, the three men and 12 others still haven't made it 
     home.
       After a torturous eight months of trials and appeals that 
     moved them from prison to prison, the 15 men--who were 
     convicted on vague terrorist charges just weeks before NATO 
     launched its air war March 24--personify the problem now 
     known simply as ``the prisoners.''
       They are among an estimated 2,000 ethnic Albanian detainees 
     and convicts who, the Yugoslav government acknowledges, were 
     in Kosovo's prisons during NATO's air war. An undetermined 
     number of those prisoners were moved to jails elsewhere in 
     Serbia during the final weeks of the conflict.
       The fate of imprisoned ethnic Albanians is moving to center 
     stage in the aftermath of NATO's war on Yugoslavia. And the 
     saga of the men from the bus, say their lawyers here, 
     epitomizes their advocates' frustrated search for justice.
       Eight of the 15 passengers, missing since May, finally 
     turned up this week in a Serbian prison in Nis. The other 
     seven--including Naim, Enver and Haljit--simple vanished in 
     the chaos and killing that was Kosovo during and after NATO's 
     11-week air war. They are among hundreds of prisoners whose 
     fate is unknown.
       On Thursday, the head of an International Committee of the 
     Red Cross delegation, which interviewed its first 330 ethnic 
     Albanian prisoners in Serbia this week, said tracing the rest 
     and resolving their cases rank among the most enduring and 
     confounding problems of the postwar period.
       ``It's Benedictine work,'' Dominique Dufour said. ``This 
     will probably keep us busy for many, many years to come.''
       Compounding the problem, he and other Western officials 
     said, is the fact that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
     and Yugoslav officials never addressed the issue of the 
     ethnic Albanian prisoners when they negotiated the withdrawal 
     of Yugoslav troops from Kosovo last month.
       ``The attitude of the Serbian government about these 
     Albanian prisoners is, `We are holding a number of Yugoslav 
     citizens detained within Yugoslavia and still being detained 
     within Yugoslavia for crimes committed in Yugoslavia,' '' 
     explained Dufour, who stressed that the Justice Ministry of 
     Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia, has been 
     cooperating in the effort to trace them.
       ``So now, in their eyes, you're talking about some form of 
     amnesty,'' Dufour said. ``But there was no agreement reached 
     between the Western powers and Yugoslavia regarding these 
     prisoners, and there probably needs to be.''
       Human rights workers in Kosovo and elsewhere in Serbia say 
     that, in addition to prisoners who were formally charged 
     before and during the air war, Serbian authorities searching 
     for members and supporters of the separatist Kosovo 
     Liberation Army, or KLA, plucked hundreds of ethnic Albanian 
     refugees out of the columns of those fleeing last spring and 
     detained them despite having little or no known documentation 
     of a crime.
       Serbian authorities have, in fact, released about 1,000 of 
     those prisoners in recent weeks: About 800 were freed near 
     the Albanian border last month as Yugoslav troops withdrew 
     from the province, and 166 prisoners were turned over to the 
     Red Cross here this month.
       The Yugoslav government says the issue is further 
     complicated by the rapid withdrawal from the province last 
     month of Yugoslav troops, court personnel and judicial staff, 
     which left prisoners' court files in disarray.
       But Dufour and others working to resolve the issue say 
     that, in most of the cases involving ethnic Albanian 
     prisoners who were removed from Kosovo or are missing, 
     Serbian authorities kept detailed records of court 
     proceedings and prisoner transfers. Justice Ministry 
     officials, defense lawyers and the Red Cross are working to 
     reconstruct the records.
       Extensive court records exist in the case of the 15 
     ``terrorists'' seized from the Fati Tours bus.
       The records obtained by The Times, help illustrate just why 
     so many ethnic Albanians landed in prisons in the first 
     place. Combined with witness accounts during the war and 
     other documents here, the records also indicate that NATO 
     might have helped obscure the fate of those prisoners and 
     hundreds of other missing ethnic Albanians when its warplanes 
     bombed Kosovo's largest prison, in the town of Istok, at the 
     height of the air war.
       For the Fati 15, returning last year to the province with 
     pockets filled with wages, the nightmare began when they 
     reached a Serbian police checkpoint in the city of Podujevo 
     on July 20 during heavy fighting between Yugoslav forces and 
     KLA rebels.
       Here's how the Serbian judge, who found all 15 guilty after 
     a four-day trial in February, described in this final 
     judgment what happened next:
       ``Police stopped them. They checked the passengers and 
     luggage and found on them the hard currency. [Police] 
     immediately understood that it was being carried to Kosovo, 
     that they were bound to join the terrorist organization [KLA] 
     to buy arms and ammunition for the hard currency. They were 
     escorted to Pristina . . . and arrests ensued.''
       After an investigation that lasted months--during which 
     Serbia's justice minister labeled the 15 passengers 
     ``terrorists'' in an article that appeared in a state-run 
     newspaper months before the trial--prosecutors dropped all 
     charges against 39 other passengers and released them.
       For the remaining 15, the court record shows, not a single 
     witness testified against them during their trial in the 
     Serbian city of Prokuplje, about 120 miles southeast of 
     Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia and Serbia. No hard 
     evidence was introduced linking them to the KLA, and the 
     judge wrote that his guilty finding was based on the $56,000 
     worth of German marks the men carried, the fact that they 
     were construction workers who left Slovenia at the height of 
     that former Yugoslav republic's building season, and that 
     they were ``smuggling'' the money into Yugoslavia ``in their 
     pockets.''
       In his appeal to Serbia's Supreme Court in April, the 
     passengers' Belgrade-based ethnic Albanian lawyer, Husniya 
     Bitic, called the verdict ``totally upside down . . . an 
     attack on the legal system and the state . . . a political 
     pamphlet or a speech of some political leader at one of his 
     [Serbian] nationalist rallies.''
       Bitic stressed in his Supreme Court brief that few of the 
     54 passengers knew each other when they boarded the bus; that 
     witnesses told the court that the cash was for the workers 
     families and for the families of their co-workers; that the 
     money had come from performing legitimate construction work; 
     and that the bus was on a regularly scheduled, twice-weekly 
     route.
       ``Had such a verdict been delivered somewhere in 
     Afghanistan [or] Papua New Guinea . . . perhaps it may be 
     said this was being done by people who know nothing of the 
     law,'' Bitic stated in the appeal. ``But for such a verdict 
     to be passed in the middle of civilized Europe . . . this we 
     could not expect.''
       That was in April, after NATO had begun bombing Yugoslavia. 
     The court rejected the appeal, and the 15 men continued to 
     serve sentences ranging from 3\1/2\ to 4 years.
       Then the real trouble started.
       ``Until April 23, those 15 people were in Prokuplje,'' 
     Bitic said here Wednesday. ``On April 26, they moved them to 
     Istok. And on June 10, all prisons in Kosovo were deserted. 
     Until today, I've only found eight of them in prison in Nis. 
     I'm still searching for the others.''
       Given what happened at Istok's Dubrava penitentiary on May 
     19, it's a miracle Bitic managed to find the eight. NATO 
     bombed the prison several times that day, and foreign 
     journalists who visited the scene between bombing runs 
     described tense, hellish scenes of prison guards struggling 
     to control about 1,000 inmates after the bombs killed 19 
     inmates and guards, breached the prison wall and left the 
     facility's records in ruin.
       When asked that day why NATO had bombed the modern, 
     Swedish-built prison complex, which was widely known 
     throughout Europe as one of the continent's largest such 
     facilities, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea replied: ``That was a 
     military barracks, and we attacked it twice. . . . Whether 
     the Serbs were using it to house other people--that's a 
     different thing.''
       But the overwhelming majority of the 1,004 inmates that 
     Serbian authorities and the Red Cross say were being held in 
     Dubrava when the bombs fell were ethnic Albanians. Most of 
     them were like the Fati 15, charged or convicted under 
     counter-terrorism laws. Western reporters and camera crews 
     who visited the abandoned prison after the Yugoslav 
     withdrawal found bullet-pocked walls, bloodied bedclothes and 
     other signs of possible reprisals by prison guards.
       An Italian film crew also found 94 fresh, unmarked graves a 
     few miles from the prison, where unconfirmed reports persist 
     among villagers of an unsuccessful prison break and a 
     massacre of inmates after the NATO bombardment.
       For Bitic, who is in touch almost daily with relatives of 
     the missing seven, their case is ``a tremendous weight on my 
     back. What will I tell the family? Well, at least for now, 
     we're still looking.''

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I strongly support the Engel amendment.
  Only last week we passed a resolution calling on Mr. Milosevic to 
release

[[Page 17069]]

the humanitarian workers for the CARE organization. Those workers had 
his thugs arrested and convicted.
  It is also reported that Milosevic's troops have imprisoned up to 
2,000 citizens of Kosovo inside Serbia long after the war's end. Those 
prisoners must be released. Serb authorities must provide the Red Cross 
access to those prisoners and then turn them over to the custody of the 
U.N.
  Our committee is going to be taking a long look at the manner in 
which Milosevic has been holding on to power and ways in which we can 
help to bring the Democratic opposition to power through elections in 
Serbia.
  The world now knows Milosevic is a war criminal, and the list of his 
crimes will only grow as the investigations and investigators continue 
their work in Kosovo.
  This amendment serves notice that we are watching what is happening 
with regard to the 2,000 prisoners that he is holding. Accordingly, I 
urge our colleagues to fully support the Engel amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Moran).

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New 
York for yielding me the time, but more importantly for his leadership 
on this issue. This is an important amendment. I would hope that it 
would pass unanimously.
  The gentleman from New York has mentioned a list of 5,000 people who 
are unaccounted for. We know the ruthless, lawless way in which the 
Serbian military, paramilitary and police have treated Kosovar 
Albanians. But these 5,000 people are represented by families, 
thousands of people who do not know whether their loved ones have been 
executed in any number of the brutal massacres that we know have 
occurred in Kosovo or whether they are being held in prison.
  If we allow access by the International Committee of the Red Cross, 
we will at least enable the parents, the families, to know what might 
have happened to their loved ones. It also means that we will be able 
to impose some limits on the conditions in which these people are 
living.
  There is a good reason why the Red Cross has not been allowed access, 
we are afraid, and, that is, that they do not want us to know what they 
are doing, how they are treating the prisoners in their jails.
  This is a good amendment and it should pass unanimously.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield the balance of my 
time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the distinguished 
chairman of our Subcommittee on International Operations and Human 
Rights.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). The gentleman 
from New Jersey is recognized for 3\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I thank my very good friend 
for yielding me this time and rise in strong support of the Engel 
amendment and thank him for offering it to us this afternoon.
  Mr. Chairman, the people of Kosovo suffered greatly in the past 18 
months, especially during the brutal ethnic cleansing campaign which 
paralleled the NATO air strikes from March to June of this year.
  While now is the time for Kosovars to return and rebuild their homes 
and their lives, many continue to be held in Serbian prisons, wrongly 
held, and illegally held.
  Over the 3 months of the conflict, thousands of Albanians in Kosovo, 
mostly men, were pulled from their homes and from columns of refugees. 
Some were killed and only the excavation of mass graves and subsequent 
forensic investigations will tell their stories. But many were 
incarcerated in seven prisons around Kosovo, without formal charges, 
under a martial law decree that governed Yugoslavia during the war. At 
war's end as NATO forces advanced into Kosovo province, some prisoners 
escaped, others were marched to the Albanian border and released by 
Yugoslav forces, and the rest were taken in a long convoy of buses and 
trucks to Serbia. We do not know the exact numbers, but these are the 
people that we speak to in this amendment.
  I would like to point out that recently I led a delegation to the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary 
Assembly of the OSCE in St. Petersburg. I want to commend the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) because he was able to raise the issue 
during the course of those deliberations and we got language in the 
concluding document, the St. Petersburg Declaration, that raised this 
issue in a way that hopefully will get the attention of the entire 
international community and especially of Belgrade to let them go.
  The bottom line, Mr. Chairman, is that the continued incarceration of 
Kosovar Albanians by Serbian authorities is in violation of the Geneva 
Conventions, as is the denial of outside access by other international 
observers like the Red Cross. This must be corrected. It is very 
important that we go on the record, hopefully unanimously, saying: Let 
these people go.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned before, the Parliamentary 
Assembly of the OSCE, Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe, passed a resolution similar to our amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Cardin), the author of that resolution.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Engel) for authoring this amendment. It is a very important amendment. 
It does carry out what we have done in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
  Mr. Chairman, international organizations, including U.N. officials, 
have reported that between 1,500 to 5,000 prisoners were transferred 
from Kosovo to jails in Serbia around the time of the entry of 
international forces into Kosovo and that the Serbian Ministry of 
Justice has acknowledged that such transfers were made.
  International humanitarian law requires humane treatment of all 
prisoners seized in conjunction with the Kosovo crisis, and Red Cross 
access to such prisoners is guaranteed under international law. They 
must be released without delay after the cessation of active 
hostilities. That has not occurred.
  The Belgrade authorities have provided inaccurate lists and have not 
allowed access by the Red Cross. The illegal detention of these 
individuals is unacceptable. The OSCE has adopted a resolution that I 
authored on behalf of the United States delegation, a very similar 
resolution.
  It is time that the United States Congress also acts. I encourage my 
colleagues to approve this resolution.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent for an additional 2 
minutes.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Without objection, both sides will be 
granted an additional 2 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Olver).
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the indulgence of the body for 
that additional time. This resolution seems not to have any significant 
opposition and I assume it is going to be adopted unanimously, but I 
thought I would make just a couple of comments and also describe a 
little bit of the experience of the congressional delegation that went 
to Kosovo that was built out of the leadership of the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Military Construction of the Committee on 
Appropriations of which I am the ranking member just a matter of a week 
or so ago.
  The men and boys that are involved in this resolution are those 
largely that were randomly pulled from columns of refugees and taken 
without trial, held without trial, without contact as an act really of 
terrorism on the part of the paramilitary Serbian forces at that time.
  Now, they should be released. They should be, and we should adopt 
that resolution unanimously. If there are

[[Page 17070]]

problems, if there are people who were actively law-breakers, then what 
should happen is that the detention process that is happening in every 
one of the occupation zones in Kosovo should take over.
  We visited a detention camp where there were several Serbs and about 
twice as many Albanian ethnics, Kosovars, who were being detained 
because they had committed some crime, which could have been murder or 
arson or robbery or whatever after the agreement had been reached. And 
ultimately if there are people who have committed a crime, they should 
be dealt with in the same way because we need to build a system, a 
legal system in which people can trust.
  I would hope that this amendment would be adopted unanimously without 
dissent.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank my colleagues. This 
obviously is supported on both sides of the aisle very strongly. I want 
to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his wonderful 
work on human rights and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and 
all the people on both sides of the aisle who have supported this.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly).
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment 
offered by my colleague and good friend from New York. The Kosovar 
Albanians that are being held in the Serbian prisons must be released 
and accounted for. Think of the agony felt by the families of these 
5,000 men who do not know what happened to their fathers, husbands and 
sons. The events that have taken place that have affected the families 
in Kosovo during the last several years have been atrocious and we 
cannot stand by and continue to allow this blatant disregard for the 
peace agreement. With the implementation of the Military Technical 
Agreement on June 9, the peacekeeping forces in Kosovo have been 
working to bring peace and stability back to this historically troubled 
region, but this job has only begun. The Kosovar Albanians held in 
these prisons are there without any formal charge, are being held in 
clear violation of international law, and this can only prove to erode 
the faith in the peace agreement.
  Mr. Chairman, despite the end of the military action that the 
international community had engaged in to bring about an end of the 
Serbian aggression, the war is not over for these 5,000 people. They 
still have a long way to go, they have lived through a terrible time, 
until they can live in peace and not fear for their safety.
  Mr. Chairman, Congress has to weigh in on this important issue.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).
  The question was taken; and the Chairman pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 247, further 
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Engel) will be postponed.


                Amendments En Bloc Offered by Mr. Gilman

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to the authority granted in H. 
Res. 247, I offer amendments en bloc.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendments en 
bloc.
  The text of the amendments en bloc is as follows:

       Part B amendments en bloc offered by Mr. Gilman, consisting 
     of the following:
       Amendment No. 4 offered by Mr. Gejdenson:
       Page 8, after line 12, insert the following:
       (c) Civil Budget of the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization.--For the fiscal year 2000, there are authorized 
     to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to pay the 
     full amount for the United States assessment for the civil 
     budget of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
                                  ____

       Amendment No. 11 offered by Mr. Gejdenson:
       Page 35, after line 9, insert the following:

     SEC. 211. REPORT CONCERNING PROLIFERATION OF SMALL ARMS.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report containing--
       (1) an assessment of whether the global trade in small arms 
     poses any proliferation problems including--
       (A) estimates of the numbers and sources of licit and 
     illicit small arms and light arms in circulation and their 
     origins;
       (B) the challenges associated with monitoring small arms; 
     and
       (C) the political, economic, and security dimensions of 
     this issue, and the threats posed, if any, by these weapons 
     to United States interests, including national security 
     interests;
       (2) an assessment of whether the export of small arms of 
     the type sold commercially in the United States should be 
     considered a foreign policy or proliferation issue;
       (3) a description and analysis of the adequacy of current 
     Department of State activities to monitor and, to the extent 
     possible ensure adequate control of, both the licit and 
     illicit manufacture, transfer, and proliferation of small 
     arms and light weapons, including efforts to survey and 
     assess this matter with respect to Africa and to survey and 
     assess the scope and scale of the issue, including stockpile 
     security and destruction of excess inventory, in NATO and 
     Partnership for Peace countries;
       (4) a description of the impact of the reorganization of 
     the Department of State made by the Foreign Affairs Reform 
     and Restructuring Act of 1998 on the transfer of functions 
     relating to monitoring licensing, analysis, and policy on 
     small arms and light weapons, including--
       (A) the integration of and the functions relating to small 
     arms and light weapons of the United States Arms Control and 
     Disarmament Agency with those of the Department of State;
       (B) the functions of the Bureau of Arms Control, the Bureau 
     of Nonproliferation, the Bureau of Political-Military 
     Affairs, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law 
     Enforcement, regional bureaus, and any other relevant bureau 
     or office of the Department of State, including the 
     allocation of personnel and funds, as they pertain to small 
     arms and light weapons;
       (C) the functions of the regional bureaus of the Department 
     of State in providing information and policy coordination in 
     bilateral and multilateral settings on small arms and light 
     weapons;
       (D) the functions of the Under Secretary of State for Arms 
     Control and International Security pertaining to small arms 
     and light weapons; and
       (E) the functions of the scientific and policy advisory 
     board on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament 
     pertaining to small arms and light weapons; and
       (5) an assessment of whether foreign governments are 
     enforcing their own laws concerning small arms and light 
     weapons import and sale, including commitments under the 
     Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing 
     of an Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and 
     Other Related Materials or other relevant international 
     agreements.
                                  ____

       Amendment No. 23 offered by Mr. Gejdenson:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following:

     SEC. 703. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING COLOMBIA.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Colombia is a democratic country fighting multiple 
     wars--
       (A) a war against the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces 
     (FARC);
       (B) a war against the National Liberation Army (ELN);
       (C) a war against the United Self-Defense Forces of 
     Colombia (AUC) and other paramilitary organizations; and
       (D) a war against drug lords who traffic in deadly cocaine 
     and heroin.
       (2) In 1998 alone, 308,000 Colombians were internally 
     displaced in Colombia. Over the last decade, 35,000 
     Colombians have been killed.
       (3) The operations of the FARC, ELN, AUC, and other 
     extragovernmental forces have profited from, and become 
     increasingly dependent upon, cooperation with the illicit 
     narcotics trade.
       (4) The FARC and ELN have waged the longest-running anti-
     government insurgenices in Latin America and control roughly 
     60 percent of the country, including a demilitarized zone 
     ruled by the FARC.
       (5) Representatives of the Government of Colombia and the 
     FARC are scheduled to begin peace talks on July 20, 1999.
       (b) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that--
       (1) the United States should recognize the crisis in 
     Colombia and play a more pro-active role in its resolution, 
     including offering U.S. political support to help Colombia 
     with the peace process:
       (2) all extragovernmental combatant groups, including the 
     FARC, ELN, and AUC, should demonstrate their commitment to 
     peace by ceasing to engage in violence, kidnapping, and 
     cooperation with the drug trade; and

[[Page 17071]]

       (3) the United States should mobilize the international 
     community pro-actively engage in resolving the Colombian 
     wars.
                                  ____

       Amendment No. 25 offered by Mr. Hastings of Florida:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following:

     SEC. 703, SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCERNING 
                   HAITIAN ELECTIONS.

       The House of Representatives supports the critically 
     important Haitian parliamentary and local elections scheduled 
     for November 1999 and urges the Department of State to review 
     embassy operations to ensure that the embassy has sufficient 
     personnel and resources necessary to carry out its important 
     responsibilities during the run-up to the fall elections.
                                  ____

       Amendment No. 32 offered by Mrs. Capps:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following new section:

     SEC. 703. SENSE OF CONGRESS COMMENDING THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL 
                   FOR REAFFIRMING THE DEMOCRATIC IDEALS OF ISRAEL 
                   IN ITS ELECTIONS.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Since its creation in 1948, Israel has fulfilled the 
     dreams of its founders who envisioned a vigorous, open, and 
     stable democracy.
       (2) The centerpiece of Israeli democracy is its system of 
     competitive and free elections.
       (3) On May 17, 1999, the Israeli people--Israeli Jews and 
     Israeli Arabs--went to the polls in large numbers in a 
     remarkably peaceful election.
       (4) This election is only the latest example of Israel's 
     commitment to the democratic ideals of freedom and pluralism, 
     values that it shares with the United States.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--The Congress--
       (1) commends the people of Israel for reaffirming, in the 
     May 17, 1999, election, its dedication to democratic ideals;
       (2) congratulates Ehud Barak on his election as Prime 
     Minister of Israel; and
       (3) pledges to work with the President of the United States 
     and the new Government of Israel to strengthen the bonds 
     between the United States and Israel and to advance the cause 
     of peace in the Middle East.
                                  ____

       Amendment No. 34 offered by Mr. Andrews:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following:

     SEC. 703. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF 
                   TERRITORIES IN THE AEGEAN SEA.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The maritime borders between Greece and Turkey in the 
     Aegean have been delimited in international law and are 
     regarded as having been agreed, established, and settled.
       (2) A fundamental principle of international law is that, 
     once agreed, a boundary shall remain stable and predictable.
       (3) Turkey is claiming sovereignty to numerous islands and 
     islets and unspecified ``gray areas'' in the Aegean Sea.
       (4) In Article 15 of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey, and 
     Other Instruments, signed at Lausanne on July 24, 1923, 
     Turkey renounced in favor of Italy all right, title, and 
     interest of Turkey in the 12 enumerated island in the 
     Dodecanese region that were occupied at the time of the 
     treaty by Italy, including the Island of Calimnos, and the 
     islets dependent on such islands.
       (5) The Convention Between Italy and Turkey for the 
     Delimitation of the Territorial Waters Between the Coasts of 
     Anatolia and the Island of Castellorizo, signed at Ankara on 
     January 4, 1932, established the rights of Italy and Turkey 
     in coastal islands, waters, and rocks in the Aegean Sea and 
     delimited a maritime frontier between the two countries.
       (6) A protocol dated December 28, 1932, annexed to that 
     Convention memorialized an agreement on a water boundary 
     between Italy and Turkey which placed the Imia Islets under 
     the sovereignty of Italy.
       (7) In Article 14 of the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace with 
     Italy, Italy ceded to Greece the Dodecanese Islands under 
     Italy's control, including the Island of Calimnos and the 
     adjacent Islets of Imia.
       (8) By resolution dated February 15, 1996, the European 
     Parliament resolved that the water boundaries established in 
     the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the 1932 Convention 
     Between Italy and Turkey, including the protocol annexed to 
     such Convention, are the borders between Greece and Turkey.
       (9) Greece, as the successor state to Italy under the 
     above-enumerated treaties, conventions, and protocols, 
     acceded to sovereignty under the same treaties, conventions, 
     and protocols.
       (10) Turkish Government claims to territories in the Aegean 
     delimited as Greek sovereign territory under the above-
     enumerated treaties, conventions, and protocols contravene 
     these same treaties, conventions, and treaties.
       (11) Both Greece and Turkey are members of the North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and allies of the United 
     States.
       (12) It is in the interest of the United States and other 
     nations to have disputes resolved peacefully.
       (13) The Eastern Mediterranean region, in which the Aegean 
     Sea is located, is a region of vital strategic importance to 
     the United States.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that--
       (1) the water boundaries established in the Treaty of 
     Lausanne of 1923 and the 1932 Convention Between Italy and 
     Turkey, including the Protocol annexed to such Convention, 
     are the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea; 
     and
       (2) any party, including Turkey, objecting to these 
     established boundaries should seek redress in the 
     International Court of Justice at The Hague.
                                  ____

       Amendment No. 35 offered by Mr. Andrews:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following:

     SEC. 703. SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THE PRESIDENT SHOULD SEEK A 
                   PUBLIC RENUNCIATION BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
                   CHINA OF ANY USE OF FORCE, OR THREAT TO USE 
                   FORCE, AGAINST TAIWAN, AND THAT THE UNITED 
                   STATES SHOULD HELP TAIWAN IN CASE OF THREATS OR 
                   A MILITARY ATTACK BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
                   CHINA.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) In March of 1996, the political leadership of the 
     People's Republic of China used provocative military 
     maneuvers, including missile launch exercises in the Taiwan 
     Strait, in an attempt to intimidate the people of Taiwan 
     during their historic, free, and democratic presidential 
     elections.
       (2) The People's Republic of China refuses to renounce the 
     use of force against Taiwan.
       (3) The House of Representatives passed a resolution by a 
     vote of 411-0 in June 1998 urging the President to seek, 
     during his July 1998 summit meeting in Beijing, a public 
     renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use of 
     force, or threat of use of force, aainst democratic Taiwan.
       (4) Senior United States executive branch officials have 
     called upon the People's Republic of China to renounce the 
     use of force against Taiwan.
       (5) The use of force, and the threat to use force, by the 
     People's Republic of China against Taiwan threatens peace and 
     stability in the region.
       (6) The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted in 197, states that 
     ``[i]t is the policy of the United States . . . to consider 
     any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than 
     peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat 
     to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of 
     grave concern to the United States''.
       (7) The Taiwan Relations Act states that it is the policy 
     of the United States to provide Taiwan with arms of a 
     defensive character.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--
       (1) The Congress commends the people of Taiwan for having 
     established a democracy in Taiwan over the past decades and 
     repeatedly reaffirming their dedication to democratic ideals.
       (2) It is the sense of the Congress that--
       (A) the President of the United States should seek a public 
     renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use of 
     force, or threat to use force, against Taiwan, especially in 
     Taiwan's March 2000 free Presidential elections; and
       (B) the United States should help Taiwan defend itself in 
     case of threats or a military attack by the People's Republic 
     of China against Taiwan.

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment, as 
modified.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment No. 41, as modified, offered by Mr. Gilman:
       Page 84, after line 16, insert the following:

     SEC. 703. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SUPPORT FOR THE IRAQI 
                   DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION.

       It is the sense of Congress that the United States 
     Government should support the holding of a plenary session of 
     the Iraqi National Assembly in the near future.

  Mr. GILMAN (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment, as modified, be considered as read and 
printed in the Record.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 247, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Gejdenson) each will control 10 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate 
the contributions that our Members have made to the bill and their 
willingness to en bloc their provisions.
  One of the provisions included in this group in the en bloc is the 
amendment

[[Page 17072]]

offered by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the ranking 
Democrat of the Committee on International Relations, that addresses 
the situation in Colombia.
  I believe that the gentleman from Connecticut has made a good faith 
effort in this amendment to identify many of the concerns that we all 
share regarding the situation in Colombia, and I thank the gentleman 
for his agreement to include a reference to increased aid in this 
amendment. We have an obligation to provide political support but 
appropriate forms of aid as well for a democracy in real trouble. I 
would hope that the administration would get off the dime and get the 
aid down where we have already appropriated the moneys for to fight 
drugs.
  I note Colombian President Pastrana himself has stated today, 
according to news reports, that he is losing patience with the rebels 
and that they are throwing obstacles in his path to find peace. We may 
be praising a peace process headed for the dustbin of history as 
another failed effort at appeasement.
  With regard to the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Andrews) on Taiwan, the President should continue to call upon the 
People's Republic of China to renounce the use of force against Taiwan 
in determining the future of that island democracy. Our Nation has 
indeed had an abiding interest in peace and stability in East Asia and 
China's refusal to renounce the use of force against Taiwan is 
provocative and destabilizing. Any use of force by the PRC against 
Taiwan would be of grave concern to our Nation as stated in the 1979 
Taiwan Relations Act.
  I call upon the parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to make 
certain that Taiwan's future will be resolved in a peaceful manner and 
consistent with the desire of the people of Taiwan.
  Let me also state that there are reports circulating that the 
administration has been considering curtailing security assistance to 
Taiwan due to its displeasure with President Lee's recent statements 
and a desire to mend relations with Beijing. If that is true, these 
shortsighted, wrongheaded sanctions are not in our Nation's best 
interest, they will undermine Taiwan's fundamental security, and could 
destabilize the fragile peace in Northeast Asia.
  Recently, the appropriate committees in the Congress have expressed 
willingness to consider two notifications for armed transfers to 
Taiwan. It appears that these transfers were never notified to the 
Congress due to the administration's decision to punish Taiwan and to 
curry favor with China. I cannot accept undercutting Taiwan's national 
security and its rights under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to receive 
appropriate security assistance from our Nation to meet its legitimate 
self-defense needs.

                              {time}  1630

  Accordingly, as a result of these concerns, I plan at this point to 
withhold my approval for arms transfers notified to the Congress until 
this matter is resolved to our satisfaction.
  Finally, Mr. Chairman, I note that the en bloc amendment includes my 
amendment calling on our Nation's government to support the holding of 
a plenary session of the Iraqi National Assembly in the near future. 
This amendment is our response to the July 7, 1999, letter from the 
Executive Council of the Iraqi National Congress to Secretary of State 
Albright seeking our support for holding an Iraqi National Assembly 
meeting in Salahuddin in Iraq. I am supporting the holding of such a 
meeting. We are reiterating our continued support for the Iraqi 
democratic opposition and the policy of replacing the Saddam Hussein 
regime which we endorsed in last year's Iraq Liberation Act.
  Mr. Chairman, we have discussed a number of important issues during 
the debate of this measure and the many amendments for this bill, AIDS 
in Africa, the North Korean threat and international family planning. 
Here at the end of this day, however, we must focus on one vital issue, 
security for those brave Americans who serve our Nation abroad.
  Last year, and let me remind our colleagues, 12 Americans were killed 
when our embassies in Kenya and in Tanzania were bombed by Osama bin 
Ladin's cowardly terrorists. Bipartisan Review Board chaired by Admiral 
William Crowe recommended that we fund upgrades to our embassy security 
at the level of $1.4 billion per year for a 10-year period.
  This bill meets those recommended levels, and Admiral Crowe has 
endorsed it along with several former secretaries of state. Last year, 
we in Congress indicated our commitment to Americans serving our 
government abroad by appropriating an initial $1.4 billion for embassy 
security. Today we have the opportunity to follow through on that 
commitment.
  This measure has been endorsed, as I noted, by former Secretary of 
State James Baker and Secretary Larry Eagleburger. It is the right 
thing to do, and I urge my colleagues to fully support this bill, the 
American Embassy Security Act.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from California (Mrs. Capps) who has done such exemplary work on the 
peace process in the Middle East, a former member of the committee that 
we miss.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague for yielding me the 
time, and I am very pleased to rise in support of this en bloc 
amendment, and I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) for their hard work and kind 
support.
  This amendment contains a provision that I have authored with the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) commending Israel for 
reaffirming its democratic ideals in the recent election. The amendment 
reminds the American people that Israel and the United States share the 
values of freedom and pluralism.
  The amendment also congratulates Ehud Barak on his election as prime 
minister, and it reaffirms the commitment of Congress to strengthen the 
bonds between our two nations and to advance the cause of peace. 
Yesterday, Mr. Barak concluded his first visit to Washington as prime 
minister. He spent the day here in this capital meeting with many of us 
in Congress. The Prime Minister has pledged to work hard to nuture warm 
relations with our country. His trip to Washington has breathed new 
life into the peace process.
  Mr. Chairman, I ask the House to formally congratulate Mr. Barak and 
commend our friend and ally, Israel, for its magnificent display of 
democracy.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Gejdenson for yielding this 
time. I would like to express my appreciation to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) 
for their cooperation in including two items of legislation I have 
proposed in the en bloc amendment.
  I am very proud of my country. Throughout history, great powers have 
used their power usually when they are attacked or to gain treasure or 
territory. I am very proud of the fact that our country, as a great 
power, has chosen to exert its considerable power and influence to 
promote a cause, and that cause is that nations should resort to 
peaceful means of negotiation and law to resolve their disputes rather 
than resorting to violence.
  My two amendments speak to that principle. Amendment No. 34 expresses 
our sense that the water boundaries established in the Treaty of 
Lausanne of 1923 and the 1932 convention between Italy and Turkey 
established the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean today, 
and it calls upon Turkey to resort to the ordinary processes of 
international law and not violence if it objects to that conclusion.
  I appreciate the gentleman from New York mentioning my amendment with 
respect to China. It calls upon the President to continue to urge the 
People's Republic of China to renounce any offensive strike policy 
against the free

[[Page 17073]]

people of Taiwan. Certainly there are differences between Taiwan and 
the People's Republic of China, but we recognize that the proper method 
to resolve those differences is by international law and negotiation, 
not by conflict. The free people of Taiwan and the free people of the 
United States deserve no less.
  Again I appreciate the cooperation of the chairman and the ranking 
member, and I urge my colleagues to support these amendments as well as 
the entire en bloc amendment.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding this 
time to me.
  Mr. Chairman, as to the Andrews amendment and the water boundaries in 
the Aegean, I rise in support. My parents were born on the island of 
Kalymnos only miles from an occupied islet of Imia. The group of islets 
have always been considered Greek territory, and at no previous time 
has Turkey questioned Imia's territorial ownership.
  The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution which 
stated that, and I quote, the islets of Imia belong to the Dodecanese 
group of islands on the basis of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, the 
protocol between Italy and Turkey of 1932, the Paris Treaty of 1947, 
and whereas even on Turkish maps from the 1960s the islets are shown as 
Greek territory. Turkey has been invited by Greece to take their case 
to the International Court of Justice at the Hague; and to this day, 
Turkey has not sought redress. Although Turkey is an ally, Mr. 
Chairman, its actions must not go unquestioned. Turkey must respect and 
abide by international law. As President Eisenhower once stated and I 
quote him, there can be no peace without law, and there could be no law 
if we were to invoke one code of international conduct for those who 
oppose us and another for our friends.
  Mr. Chairman, enough is enough. We must support the amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise also in support of the Andrews amendment 
regarding Taiwan. Taiwan has been one of our oldest and closest friends 
in Asia since 1949. The people of that republic live in a free 
democratic society, and we should commend Taiwan for its dedication to 
democratic ideals. Last year, the House overwhelmingly approved a 
resolution reaffirming the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act and 
our commitment to the people of Taiwan. Congress must once again send a 
strong message to the People's Republic of China and the world that we 
intend to stand by our friends and allies. The United States must 
dispel any notion on the part of China's leaders that we will tolerate 
the use of force in determining the future of Taiwan. The people of 
Taiwan must be responsible for determining their own future in a 
peaceful and democratic fashion.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Andrews amendment on 
recognition of the Sovereignty of the Territories in the Aegean Sea. On 
December 25, 1995, a Turkish cargo ship ran aground on one of the Imia 
islets. The ships' captain refused assistance from the Greek Coast 
Guard on the basis that the Islet was Turkish.
  Tensions began to mount and by January 29, 1996, both Greece and 
Turkey had dispatched naval vessels to the area. On January 31st, 
through U.S. mediation, both sides agreed to withdraw. While I am 
thankful that this incident did not lead to an armed conflict then, 
this matter still remains unresolved today because Turkey continues to 
breach international law.
  As you may know, my parents were born on the island of Kalymnos--only 
miles from Imia. The group of Islets have always been considered Greek 
territory and at no previous time has Turkey questioned Imia's 
territorial ownership. Indeed, past Greek foreign minister Theodore 
Pangalos stated ``This is the first time that Turkey has actually laid 
claim to Greek territory.''
  The European parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution which 
stated that ``The Islets of Imia belong to the Dodecanese group of 
islands, on the basis of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, the protocol 
between Italy and Turkey of 1932, the Paris Treaty of 1947, and whereas 
even on Turkish maps from the 1960's, the Islets are shown as Greek 
territory.''
  Moreover, the governments of Italy and France have publicly stated 
their support of Greek sovereignty over Imia, as provided by 
international law.
  Turkey has been invited by Greece to take their case to the 
international court of justice at the Hague. To this date, Turkey has 
not sought redress.
  Although Turkey is an ally, its actions must not go unquestioned. 
Turkey must respect and abide by international law. As President 
Eisenhower once stated, ``There can be no peace without law. And there 
can be no law if we were to invoke one code of international conduct 
for those who oppose us and another for our friends.''
  Mr. Chairman, enough is enough.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\3/4\ minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), vice chairman of our committee.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for this time as we 
wind up debate on the Embassy Security Act of 1999. We have had good 
debate here on a variety of issues. We have had some close votes 
occasionally; but I think despite those close votes, all Members of 
this body should feel good about this legislation. The proper emphasis 
has been on embassy security, as the title implies, and as we close 
debate, I want to remind my colleagues of our responsibilities here.
  Think back just to last August. On August 7, terrorists successfully 
attacked U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Over 220 people 
were killed including 12 Americans, 40 local hires. While all in this 
body would like to believe this could never happen again, 
unfortunately, it can. And terrorist attacks are becoming more 
sophisticated, more deadly all the time.
  We had a rocket attack against our embassy in Moscow, we had a rocket 
attack a couple years ago against our embassy in Athens, a NATO 
country, a friendly country. Only because of technical failures did we 
escape any damage and loss of life. We had the windows blown out of our 
embassy in Uzbekistan in February from an auxiliary explosion nearby.
  In fact, there have been too many attacks, and we had to close our 
embassies in Africa last month because of extraordinary threat against 
a number of them by Bin Ladin. The Crowe report urges a total of $1.4 
billion be authorized. In this bill we are and appropriated for dealing 
with the security issues for our embassies and consulates abroad. 
Remember it is our responsibility ultimately for the safety and 
soundness of the people that represent us abroad, the State Department 
personnel, but it goes beyond that to include personnel from many other 
agencies that are housed in our consulates and embassies and the people 
that we hire from those countries. None of us want to have a 
responsibility falling on this body because we fail to do what is 
recommended to us by a blue ribbon commission. I urge my colleagues to 
strongly support an excellent piece of legislation.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The gentleman from New York is recognized 
for 15 seconds.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I want to indicate that the legislative 
history of this bill is the same as the legislative history of the 
provisions of H.R. 1211 that were identical to those in H.R. 2145. H.R. 
1211 was a bill from which H.R. 2415 was derived, and, Mr. Chairman, I 
want to thank the staff, and I want to thank the Chairman pro tempore 
for his patience in this bill and thank our minority members for being 
patient and helping us get this bill through at this point.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I would just like to join the gentleman from New York 
in expressing my appreciation for the cooperation and support for 
Members on both sides of the aisle and staff in accomplishing our work 
in a good spirit and an effort to try and achieve a bipartisan goal 
here of a better policy. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail, but 
we are all working for the best interests of the country.

[[Page 17074]]


  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Andrews 
amendment, part of the en bloc, and thank my colleague from New Jersey 
for offering it. In February of this year, I introduced a bill, H. Con. 
Res. 36, that is very similar to my colleague's amendment. Like the 
amendment, it expresses the Sense of the Congress that the islets of 
Imia in the Aegean Sea are sovereign Greek territory under 
international law.
  As those who are familiar with this issue know, for some three and a 
half years now Turkey has stood firm in its totally groundless claim 
that it has sovereignty over the Greek islets of Imia.
  On December 25, 1995 a Turkish bulk carrier ran ashore on the islets 
of Imia, one of two uninhabited islets which are part of the Dodecanese 
islands group in the Aegean Sea. This incident nearly escalated into 
armed conflict between NATO allies Turkey and Greece due to Turkey's 
belligerent claim that the islets, which are sovereign Greek territory, 
belonged to Turkey. Hostilities were avoided after the Greek government 
refused to attack a detachment of Turkish commandos who had been 
dispatched to the islets and President Clinton personally intervened to 
help defuse the crisis.
  Despite Turkey's continued insistence that the islets are Turkish 
territories, the historical record on this issue is clear. As this 
amendment, as well as my bill details, the Dodecanese islands group was 
ceded by Turkey to Italy in the Lausanne Treaty of 1923. The boundaries 
delineating the exact sovereignty between Turkey and the islands group 
were finalized in a December 1932 protocol between Turkey and Italy. 
That protocol, which was annexed to the Convention Between Italy and 
Turkey for the Delimitation of Anatolia and the Island of 
Castellorizio, placed the islets of Imia under the sovereignty of 
Italy. In the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace with Italy, Italy ceded the 
Dodecanese islands groups to Greece.
  The legal status of the Dodecanese islands group remained 
unchallenged by Turkey until its bulk carrier ran aground in late 1995 
and Ankara began making its unfounded claims in 1996. That same year, 
the European Parliament approved a resolution reaffirming the 
historical record. The 1996 resolution stated that the water boundaries 
established in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the 1932 protocol to 
the convention between Italy and Turkey, are the borders between Greece 
and Turkey.
  Despite all of these readily available and irrefutable facts, Turkey 
continues to promote instability in the region by ignoring the 
historical record with its claim of sovereignty over the islets of 
Imia.
  Mr. Chairman, Turkey's unfounded claim should not go unnoticed by 
Congress. The United States Congress should follow the precedent of the 
European Parliament and reaffirm the historical record in a show of 
support for territory that is unquestionably sovereign to Greece and 
for the rule of international law in general. The United States should 
also pressure Turkey to resolve this issue, and all other outstanding 
territorial disputes with Greece--the most notable of which is the 
nearly 25 year old invasion of Cyprus--in a peaceful fashion. To that 
end, in addition to reaffirming Greece's sovereignty over the islets of 
Imia, both my bill and the Andrews amendment include language urging 
Turkey to agree to bring the dispute in the Aegean over Imia to the 
International Court of Justice at the Hague for a resolution.
  I encourage all Members to join myself and Mr. Andrews in formally 
putting the United States on record in support of Greek sovereignty and 
in opposition to Turkey's seemingly endless campaign to subvert 
international law and destabilize the entire Mediterranean region.
  I urge support of the en bloc amendment.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Andrews 
amendment, which expresses the Sense of Congress that the water 
boundaries established by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1932 
Convention between Italy and Turkey are the borders between Greece and 
Turkey in the Aegean Sea. The amendment further states that any party, 
including Turkey, that objects to these boundaries should seek redress 
in the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
  What could be more reasonable? Certainly, the stability of the 
eastern Mediterranean and the stability of international boundaries are 
of fundamental interest to the United States, as well as respect for 
international law.
  Yet the Government of Turkey continues to claim sovereignty to the 
islets in the Aegean Sea called Imia by Greece and Kardak by Turkey. 
These disputes were settled over 67 years ago. The international 
community regards them as agreed and settled, yet Turkey continues to 
raise unilateral objections to these boundaries, but has cited no legal 
authority for such claims.
  As recently as February 15, 1996, the European Parliament adopted a 
resolution that the water boundaries established in the Treaty of 
Lausanne of 1923 and the 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey are 
indeed the borders between Greece and Turkey. The United States should 
accept this position, as well as supporting Greece's proposal to Turkey 
that it should refer its claims to the International Court of Justice 
in The Hague for adjudication. Turkey has thus far refused to take such 
a step and has rejected the Greek proposal.
  Clearly it is in the interest of the United States, Europe and the 
Mediterranean region to have this dispute resolved once and for all, 
and resolved peacefully. Turkey needs to agree to bring this matter 
before the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, 
for a resolution. And the United States needs to recognize that the 
islets of Imia in the Aegean Sea are the sovereign territory of Greece 
under international law and to state that it accepts the present 
maritime boundaries between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean.
  I urge my colleagues to stand up for international law and support 
the Andrews amendment.
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to revise 
and extend my remarks.
  I rise in strong support of the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Hastings' 
amendment (#36) to the State Department authorization bill, expressing 
the sense of the House's support for the parliamentary and local 
elections scheduled for November 1999 in Haiti.
  The establishment of a constitutional government and functioning 
parliament in Haiti demands a commitment to support free and fair 
elections. It is essential that the State Department ensure that the 
U.S. Embassy in Haiti have sufficient personnel and resources to carry 
out its election-related activities.
  Earlier this year, President Rene Preval's government and six 
political parties signed an agreement aimed at resolving a costly and 
contentious political standoff that has left Haiti without a 
functioning government for the past two years.
  This agreement paves the way for new parliamentary elections. The 
gentleman's amendment will help to assure that these elections are 
successful.
  Mr. Chairman, the situation in Haiti is fragile. We know that since 
the resignation of the Prime Minister in June 1997, this impoverished 
country has been experiencing some very disturbing violence.
  These conditions have alerted the country's landscape in ways that, 
among other things, have limited Haiti's ability to advance business 
deals and to provide needed services to a desperate people.
  The United States has made a significant commitment to democracy in 
Haiti. A Democratic Haiti is in our national interest. The United 
States should stay the course and support democracy in Haiti.
  Supporting the Hastings amendment.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, along with my colleagues Mr. Goss, Mr. 
Ranger and Mr. Conyers, I returned from a visit to Haiti in January of 
this year convinced that good elections were essential in Haiti. Judge 
Hastings recently brought a resolution before our International 
Relations Committee regarding the Haitian elections which was approved. 
I thank him for his gracious efforts to achieve a consensus with this 
side of the aisle on that measure.
  I thank the gentleman from Florida for offering this amendment which 
underscores U.S. congressional support for Haiti. However, I am 
concerned that the upcoming parliamentary and local elections must be 
credible in order to help Haiti move forward.
  Regrettably, the election process in Haiti is getting off to a rocky 
start. President Preval finally signed a decree prepared by Haiti's 
electoral authorities on Friday of last week. That measure was 
carefully framed by Haiti's provisional electoral council to be the 
cornerstone of the upcoming elections.
  I am deeply disappointed that President Preval modified the electoral 
law and, in particular, eliminated a provision in the law calling for 
elections for 19 Senate seats. This particular element of the electoral 
measure would have provided for a transparent resolution of the 
disputed April 1997 elections.
  The State Department is hoping that Haiti's electoral council can act 
to correct President Preval's elimination of the ``19 seat'' provision. 
There must not be any further delay in fully enacting this critically 
important measure.
  The United States and our allies in the international community stand 
poised to provide substantial support for these elections. However, 
statutory restrictions and common sense require there to be a 
transparent settlement of the disputed 1997 elections. Only then will

[[Page 17075]]

U.S. assistance be able to flow to these critically important elections 
that can and should be Haiti's way out of its protracted and costly 
crisis.
  I support the Hastings amendment. However, I hope that the gentleman 
from Florida will agree with me that securing a good election first 
requires a transparent resolution of the 1997 elections, and will then 
require both support and sustained vigilance from the international 
community.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, since the time for debate on 
this amendment is limited, I will be brief. I traveled recently to 
Haiti with Senator Bob Graham and Congressman Delahunt. What I saw 
there reinforced my strong belief that Haiti is in dire need of our 
support. The stability of Haiti rests on the transparency and 
legitimacy of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
  Our approach to Haiti must be multi-dimensional. To assist in 
maintaining stability in Haiti and strengthening the roots of the rule 
of law there we must do the following: illustrate our support for the 
election monitors on the ground; recognize the invaluable good works 
that our armed forces have carried out in Haiti; salute the electoral 
authorities for striving to be fair and judicious; and condemn any 
person or persons, including President Preval, who attempts to 
abrogate, alter, or delay the implementation of the electoral laws 
which have been so painstakenly crafted.
  Mr. Chairman, my amendment is simple: it expresses the sense of this 
body in support of parliamentary elections in Haiti, and urges the 
Department of State to ensure that the U.S. Embassy in Haiti has 
sufficient personnel and resources necessary to carry out its 
responsibilities related to these elections.
  I believe that all persons in this body, no matter where they stand 
on the issue of U.S. involvement in Haiti, can support this simple 
resolution. While it demands little of us in the way of expenditures of 
personnel and resources, it illustrates the importance which the U.S. 
places on free, fair and transparent elections in Haiti. Please support 
this amendment.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, the Hastings amendment is well meaning in 
restating the obvious that it is the sense of Congress to support 
Democratic elections scheduled for November 1999 in Haiti. Continued 
encouragement is appropriate considering the fact that the Clinton-Gore 
administration has already committed millions of dollars in election 
assistance, as have other countries. So I would characterize the 
Hastings amendment as a benign placebo--the problem is Haiti needs 
strong medicine--in large doses. Since January, 1999, there has been 
plenty of bad news from Haiti, only one small piece of it good. Now 
even that has been spoiled by Haiti's own home-style power mongers. An 
independent election commission has tentatively announced a transparent 
reasonable resolution of the fraudulent 1997 elections, which were the 
trigger event of today's Government crisis in Haiti.
  But a spokesman for former President Aristide described this 
development this way: ``You are declaring war on Aristide. This is a 
second coup d'etat against Aristide . . . The CEP (electoral council) 
must correct it immediately if it wants elections to really take place 
. . . '' Mr. Chairman, with all due respect to former President 
Aristide, these are not the words of a democrat or someone committed to 
the rule of law. They are the threatening words of a dictator intent on 
maintaining his control over the country at any price. And now 
Aristide's handpicked successor, President Rene Preval, did not sign 
the election law as drafted but he gutted it first. Mr. Chairman the 
United States has given Haiti every possible opportunity to embrace 
democracy. It is an absolute tragedy that some of the Haitian leaders 
care more about power than they do democracy and the needs of the 
Haitian people. I wish my friends on the other side of the Aisle and 
the political advisors in the Clinton administration would end the 
pretense and admit that poor Haiti is sick--really sick. My good friend 
and colleague from Florida's placebo isn't going to cure what's wrong. 
And neither are the current expensive and misguided policies of the 
Clinton-Gore administration, which seems to focus more on happy face 
diagnoses, over-optimistic prognoses and expensive treatments that cure 
nothing. Democracy in Haiti is dying fast. It is being deliberately 
smothered by emerging dictatorship. What's worse is that the Clinton-
Gore administration is tolerating it--if not helping people hold the 
pillows. This is equivalent of Dr. Kevorkian foreign policy and it 
needs to stop.
  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, as Chairman of the Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee, I rise in support of the amendment offered by the Ranking 
Democrat of the International Relations Committee and the other 
cosponsors who have joined in this bi-partisan effort to support a 
peaceful resolution of the conflict in Colombia.
  I want to thank the distinguished Chairman of the International 
Relations Committee, Ben Gilman, for including this important 
initiative in the en bloc amendment.
  This amendment condemns the continued violence being carried out by 
the FARC and ELN guerrillas and the paramilitaries of the United Self-
Defense Forces in the conflict and urges the leadership of the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to begin substantive 
negotiations to end the conflict.
  I especially want to commend our colleagues, Mr. Ackerman, our 
Subcommittee's Ranking Democrat, Mr. Ballenger, and Mr. Delahunt, for 
helping to bring this provision to the Floor.
  As Subcommittee Chairman I have been very supportive of the counter-
narcotics efforts of the Colombian National Police and our own law 
enforcement agencies to stem the flow of dangerous drugs from Colombia. 
But despite the valiant efforts of the Colombian Police, who have 
sacrificed so much in their thus far successful efforts against drugs, 
I am concerned that their 4,000 strong elite DANTE counter-narcotics 
force may be no match for the 20,000 strong guerrilla forces of the 
FARC and the ELN. And, as long as the FARC and ELN continue to use 
their substantial military power to protect the drug trade, I fear the 
police will not be able to achieve ultimate success over drugs.
  Therefore, I believe it is critical that we support the Colombian 
government's attempts to bring the long and deadly guerrilla insurgency 
to an end. Despite the recent announcement that the peace talks have 
been suspended because of the continued violence, a condition which 
lies squarely on the shoulders of the FARC, it will only be through a 
negotiated settlement of this insurgency that Colombia can 
realistically expect to end the violence and turn its full attentions 
to a nationwide commitment to end the deadly narcotics trade which 
plagues that nation and brings so much destruction, human suffering and 
violence to communities around the world.
  While we should support peace efforts, as embodied in this amendment, 
we must be firm in condemning the unacceptable kidnappings and violence 
of the guerrillas and paramilitaries against innocent civilian 
populations, and especially against human rights workers and American 
citizens. These unprovoked attacks and acts of violence strain the 
patience of many Americans and others who are willing to give peace a 
chance.
  At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we as a nation, should reassess our 
current limited support for the Colombian military in the event the 
peace process fails to bring an end to the violence. The fact that the 
FARC refuse to enter into a cease fire and continue to attack Colombian 
government institutions, can only lead one to doubt the sincerity of 
the FARC's real interest in a peaceful resolution. If this is true, we 
must help the Colombian government and its military protect the 
democracy and those freedoms we in this country so cherish.
  This amendment expresses our support for the efforts to bring about a 
peaceful resolution to the conflict being pursued by President Pastrana 
and will help him in those efforts.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge the House to adopt this amendment.
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Chairman, Colombia, South America is one 
of the most beautiful and diverse countries in the world. Its location 
on both the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans where the snow capped 
mountains can be seen from tropical beaches is the second most 
biologically diverse country on the planet.
  The people of Colombia created and maintain what is now the oldest 
democracy in Latin America. As one of the original Peace Corps 
countries, Colombia was a leader in the Alliance for Progress during 
the 1960's.
  Drug demand in North America created a market for illegal cultivation 
in a country once rich in agricultural diversity. Now, whole regions 
are dependent on illegal crops. Drug profits corrupted the Colombian 
economy and led many farmers to stop growing sustenance crops in favor 
of marijuana, coca, and poppies.
  The war against drugs, combined with regional violence, has led 
Colombia to near collapse. Hundreds of thousands of people are 
displaced and tens of thousands have died in the civil war that is 
tearing the country apart. With the election of President Andres 
Pastrana, Colombians were given new hope that the killings and 
kidnapings would finally come to an end.
  The willingness of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 
to negotiate with the Pastrana Administration was a much needed leap 
toward peace. I was extremely pleased that long sought negotiations 
between the Colombian government and the FARC

[[Page 17076]]

were set to begin this week. Unfortunately, those talks have been 
postponed.
  This, however, does not diminish the importance of Mr. Gejdenson's 
amendment to support the peace process in Colombia. In fact, it is all 
the more important to support peace now when it is in jeopardy of 
falling apart. I feel that, as their neighbors, we have a 
responsibility to foster an environment in which that peace can 
blossom. This will affect the daily lives of Colombians, the stability 
of the region and the ability to combat drug traffickers.
  Having lived in Colombia during my service in the Peace Corps, I have 
a special affinity for the Colombian people. I know they want peace. I 
know they are willing to work for it. I know they will be successful 
given time and support. And I want to do everything possible to help 
them through this long process. This amendment is one step in that 
process.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and send a 
strong message to the Colombian people that we stand behind them and 
encourage them to continue to work toward peace.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The question is on the amendments en bloc 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
  The amendments en bloc were agreed to.


          Sequential Votes Postponed In Committee of the Whole

  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to House Resolution 247, proceedings will now 
resume on those amendments on which further proceedings were postponed 
in the following order: Amendment No. 36 in Part B offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett); Amendment No. 37 in Part B offered 
by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).
  The Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the time for any electronic vote 
after the first vote in this series.


                Amendment No. 36 Offered by Mr. Doggett

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The pending business is a demand for a 
recorded vote on amendment No. 36 offered by the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Doggett) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which 
the ayes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             recorded vote

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 427, 
noes 0, not voting 6, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 328]

                               AYES--427

     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crowley
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green (TX)
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hansen
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill (IN)
     Hill (MT)
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     Kuykendall
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Largent
     Larson
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Ose
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Regula
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Strickland
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Talent
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Abercrombie
     Chenoweth
     Kennedy
     McDermott
     Peterson (PA)
     Towns

                              {time}  1704

  Mr. RADANOVICH changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
  So the amendment was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.


                Announcement by the Chairman Pro Tempore

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). Pursuant to 
House Resolution 247, the Chair announces that he will reduce to a 
minimum of 5 minutes the period of time within which a vote by 
electronic device will be taken on the additional amendment on which 
the Chair has postponed further proceedings.


                 Amendment No. 37 Offered by Mr. Engel

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The pending business is the demand for a 
recorded vote on amendment No. 37 offered by the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel) on which further proceedings were postponed and on 
which the ayes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 424, 
noes 0, not voting 9, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 329]

                               AYES--424

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crowley
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English

[[Page 17077]]


     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Ford
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green (TX)
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hansen
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill (IN)
     Hill (MT)
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     Kuykendall
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Largent
     Larson
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Ose
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Regula
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Strickland
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Talent
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Chenoweth
     Coburn
     DeLay
     Forbes
     Kennedy
     McDermott
     Peterson (PA)
     Towns
     Watts (OK)

                              {time}  1714

  So the amendment was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated for:
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 329, I was inadvertently 
detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's 
remarkable response to the Kosovo crisis demonstrates why we need to 
continue to support this station at current or even enhanced funding 
levels. As you know, I have been a longtime supporter of RFE/RL both 
because of its contribution to the cause of freedom during the cold war 
and because of its continuing assistance to post-communist countries 
who are still struggling to complete the transition to democracy and 
free market economies. But RFE/RL's effort during the Kosovo crisis 
convinces me that we need RFE/RL now more than ever.
  As the crisis deepended last year, RFE/RL and in particular its South 
Slavic Service rapidly expanded their broadcasts to the region. In 
April, 1999 the Prague-based radios increased surge broadcasting in 
cooperation with other American and European stations to ensure that 
the Serbs received the kind of reliable information 24 hours a day that 
their government sought to prevent them from obtaining. And they set up 
an Albanian language unit that provided news to Kosovars both in that 
region and in the refugee camps.
  Our government and NATO commanders have praised RFE/RL's efforts, 
noting that just as in Bosnia, such broadcasting has helped to calm the 
situation, explain NATO's mission, and thus helped the alliance to 
overcome the resistance of those who had earlier opposed it. And 
perhaps even more important, those listening to these broadcasts have 
sent letters and e-mails pointing out that these broadcasts helped them 
to survive through a most difficult time.
  But despite these contributions, contributions that cost very little, 
many question why we should maintain RFE/RL when we also spend money to 
support the Voice of America. To my mind, there are several good 
reasons for this, all of which have been highlighted by the Kosovo 
crisis.
  First of all, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service is unique in broadcasting 
to all the peoples of the former Yugoslavia in different languages but 
with a common perspective on the need for peaceful, democratic 
development. RFE/RL did not broadcast to Yugoslavia during the Cold 
War. Had it done so, we might be facing fewer problems today.
  In addition, RFE/RL continues to be a ``home service'' for people 
whose governments often deny them the chance to have a free media. The 
Voice of America proudly presents America's position on the issues; 
RFE/RL makes sure that its listeners be they in Belgrade or in Kosovo 
have the information they need about their own country as well. These 
are complementary missions; we need both.
  And finally, in Eastern Europe, RFE/RL not only has real brand 
loyalty but also represents an important symbol of American concern 
about the region. People there continue to listen to RFE/RL because it 
provides reliable information that they need, and they see the 
existence of this station as reflecting America's longstanding 
commitment to freedom and democracy in their own countries. VOA also 
plays a role, and it also enjoys this kind of support. But in our time 
particularly, symbols matter, and RFE/RL's broadcasts remain an 
extraordinarily important one.
  Not only is RFE/RL effective in promoting our national interests, but 
it is remarkably efficient: It now broadcasts more hours each week than 
it did a decade ago when both its budget and its number of employees 
were three times larger than they are now. That is a record few other 
broadcasters or government agencies can match. And it is one that we 
should reward rather than punish, continue rather than stop.
  As the tragic events of Kosovo and NATO's recent military conflict 
with Serbia have demonstrated, the transition to a peaceful and 
democratic Europe is far from complete. We should support RFE/RL's 
vital work as we enter the 21st century.

                              {time}  1715

  The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). Under the 
rule, the Committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Pease) having assumed the chair, Mr. Hastings of Washington, Chairman 
pro tempore of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union, reported that the Committee, having had under consideration the 
bill (H.R. 2415) to enhance security of United States missions and 
personnel overseas, to authorize appropriations for the Department of 
State for fiscal year 2000, and for other purposes, pursuant to House 
Resolution 247, he reported the bill back to the House with sundry 
amendments adopted by the Committee of the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment? If not, the Chair will 
put them en gros.
  The amendments were agreed to.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.




                          ____________________